Making digitalization easy

Nov. 14, 2019

It’s been an exciting year at FieldComm Group where our members are working on a wide range of new technologies to help users get data at their fingertips! We are developing solutions to deliver data to the cloud, on-premise systems and mobile devices utilizing all types of physical layers. Now more than ever, users have many paths available to access that valuable data in their field devices.

New connectivity and integration technologies are finally unlocking the value of stranded data to better leverage the 48 million HART devices installed in the field. The “low hanging fruit” of digitalization are solutions that provide simple and easy ways to access this data in context and bring device information (DeviceInfo) to the cloud. As the market transitions to a new and more robust integration technology for field device integration (FDI), suppliers will be able to use common industry standard information models for defining key parameters of process automation devices (PA-DIM). Furthermore, with the ability to use Ethernet and wireless networks, there are many ways to connect to higher-level systems within a facility or enterprise at data rates previously unavailable. These technologies have made HART “cool again” and the article “Hip HART” will help you understand the many ways in which HART data can enable Connect + Integrate = Value.

The enabling technology for simplified digitalization is the FDI Device Package. Simply put, this is the industry’s standard container for all information needed from a field device. Standards development organizations are collaborating around the FDI Device Package and the article “Beyond Interoperability” discusses the capability and the industry’s cloud-based repository to place device descriptions in easy reach of users and suppliers.

We are working hard to make sure the industry is ready for this transition and delivering new tools to suppliers capable of building FDI Device Packages for any device. We are expanding our training and Plugfest events to build expertise and design around interoperability between hosts and devices. We are now over 370 members of the top suppliers of process automation products to the industry and ready to bridge the transition and assure users that FieldComm Group registered products will meet their performance and interoperability needs.

Digitalization certainly helps operations run smoother, however, sometimes we cannot foresee all events. No plant understands that better than our Plant of the Year winner Chevron Phillips Cedar Bayou. At a critical time in the commissioning process, they were struck with Hurricane Harvey and intense flooding of the facility. Read their amazing story to understand how they used technology and data to gain intelligence about the status of the plant and what needed to be done to keep commissioning on track.

We have much to do and are thankful for the support of our member companies who make it all happen by aligning together for the benefit of the industry and ways to help the users turn data into intelligence. Happy reading!