"You keep asking us to make our systems even more user-friendly, and we keep hearing you." Rockwell Automation's Ben Mansfield on plans to make the PlantPAx process automation system easier to implement and use."We said last year," Mansfield continued, "that we would have a detailed DCS migration strategy. Now we have the tools to easily migrate from Siemens/Moore APACs, Foxboro I/A and Fisher Provox systems to PlantPAx."
In 2013, Mansfield continued, "we will have an Excel-based PlantPAx library configurator, and a PlantPAx Alarm Builder tool that will allow you to easily design system and process alarms. We are also providing a powerful Automated Sequencer tool and bringing our alarming systems into alignment with the ISA18.2 Alarm Management standard. This includes adding the 'shelve' capability and automatic timeout on operator suppressed alarms. All the suppression and disable capabilities are going to be aligned to the standard."
Mansfield added, "PlantPAx is a performance-based system, so we've provided a PlantPAx Sizing Tool that allows you to model the performance of the system and do what-if analysis on numbers of controllers, size of networks and the overall architecture of the system.
"You keep asking us to make our systems even more user-friendly, and we keep hearing you. In 2013, we're introducing new quick faceplates, simpler navigation, improved trending and, for those of you who still like photorealistic displays, we're improving our graphical rendering engine."
Scalability, Connectivity
"For 2013, we are also improving the scalability of PlantPAx," Mansfield said. "Because many plants are now being composed of skids, we've made it possible for end users to request a common DCS design, regardless of size of the skid, and we now support up to two-and-a-half times more servers, with up to fifty percent more operator clients. We'll be introducing a stand-alone client station that will be completely integrated with the system historian and security. This will permit a small remote part of the plant to have all the benefits of the complete DCS, while operating in a stand-alone fashion."
"Beyond just connectivity," Mansfield said, "we are providing a consistent experience for fieldbus networks, whether they are Foundation Fieldbus or Profibus, and our implementation of the HART protocol has undergone an expansion. With our partner, Endress+Hauser, we have improved our support for EtherNet/IP directly to the device, and our use of EtherNet/IP in power control. In partnership with Schweitzer (SEL), we have implemented IEC61850 connectivity in our power control systems.
"We also are pleased to announce that our Foundation Fieldbus linking device has received the registration and check-mark from the Fieldbus Foundation as a Class 61b integrated control system device.
"And we are distributing PlantPAx with virtual image templates on a USB hard drive complete with images in a hardware independent fashion. We're permitting consolidated activations, and the templates are in Open Virtualization Format (OVF), which is an open standard for designing virtual templates, similar to XML.
"Why virtual solutions?" Mansfield asked. "It allows you to pretest patches and upgrades without accidentally crashing your operating system, and it gives you a 'roll back to last good state' function. You can clone systems for remote support to produce a test bed environment for operator training and simulation, and importantly, backup and restore. Virtualization enables thin client solutions that are low-cost, from traditional Wyse desktops to iPads. It enables remote and mobile operations, and it allows you to deploy corporate standards."
"Virtualization even allows you to centralize development," Mansfield said. "One of our system integrator partners found that they could keep their far-flung engineering staff using the most current software versions by hosting applications in a private cloud. The engineer logs into the cloud, does his development, and the work is available for everyone with access.
"Yesterday," Mansfield noted, "you saw a three-way video and VoIP call with our service and support center in Cleveland and a demo room at the Endress+Hauser representative in Chalfont, Pa. This capability is designed into PlantPAx."