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Honeywell Stresses Wireless and Tank Gauging

ControlGlobal.com
01/17/2011

By Nick Denbow, Industrial Automation Insider

During the HUG meeting in Barcelona, Jean-Marie Alliet, from Honeywell in Belgium, and Jason Urso, vice president and chief technology officer, explained the major technology developments within Honeywell in order to put the 84 new product innovations and developments created in the current year into some perspective. Honeywell takes the advice and recommendations made by the user group committees as a major pointer as to where developments should be planned, and many of these have been completed.

The major areas of software technology where significant work has been focused have included the enabling of virtualization and in maintaining security, including cyber security, particularly for remote services. The acquisition of Matrikon has enhanced the group capability in safely gathering data from any kind of system and providing advanced solutions for accessing well performance monitoring, alarm management, loop control performance management and mobile equipment.

In terms of products and systems, the major area for innovation is in wireless sensors and on-plant communications, and here Alliet mentioned the wireless gauge reader and transmitter, a valve position sensor and a rotating equipment monitor. Perhaps most important is the soon-to-be-released toxic gas detector, suitable for five separate gases, and the associated personnel locator. For transmitting information to the field operator, the Field Advisor, licensed from Shell, enables mobile operators to plan and report on their plant inspections more efficiently: Honeywell can also provide a mobile Experion operator work station on an intrinsically safe tablet PC.

Henri Tausch, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Field Solutions, explained that site application experience is very important for Enraf marine tank gauging and for high level alarm systems, particularly following the Buncefield accident. Honeywell Enraf gauges, including wireless transmitting radar gauges, have been developed to achieve TÜV SIL 2 certification, and some have built-in automatic testing systems. The same degree of application experience is essential for the RMG flame arrestors, vent valves and gas transport monitoring systems. Tausch also confirmed that the sales agreement with Krohne applied across the whole Honeywell distributor network, not just the United States: however, it was a surprise not to see Krohne present in the supplier expo.