Dick Caro says he has always represented the end user. Unless you have the end-user you won't sell anything.
Dick Caro
CEO of CMC Associates: Business Strategy & Professional Services
Vice President of ARC Advisory Group in Dedham, Massachusetts
Chairman of ISA SP50 and formerly of IEC Fieldbus Standards Committees
ISA100 Founder and Co-Chair User Working Group
Senior Manager with Arthur D. Little, Inc. in Cambridge, MA
Founder of Autech Data Systems
Director of Marketing at ModComp
The Foxboro Company
BS and MS in Chemical Engineering, and an MBA
ISA Fellow
Certified Automation Professional
Process Automation Hall of Fame
Authored 3 books on automation networks
Data Sources:
ISA100 WG8 - User Requirements document
Control Magazine survey Jan-July 2007 (almost 500 responses)
InTech Magazine market study - ongoing
ISA100 Use Cases
ISA100 presentations and sessions
Direct user interviews
Personal experience
Topics:
User industry profile
Current wireless applications
Density of instrumentation
Future wireless applications
Host integration of wireless networks
Legacy wired networks
Factors influencing wireless networks in automation
Powering wireless field devices
Latency requirements
Dick went through the Control study, modifying as per his own experience and his own interviews.
Most users view wireless for monitoring and alerting
A few visualize use for control
Alerting gives a clue for actual applications
When an alert becomes an alarm
Scanning is now more frequent
Priority increases
Cannot wait for seconds/minutes before reporting an alarm
Implies device must originate alarms
User worries:
Coexistence/interference especially at 2.4 GHz
Multiple protocols sharing the same bandwidth
ISA100
WirelessHART
WiFi
Bluetooth
Microwave ovens in control rooms
Cordless telephones
Jamming of 2.4 GHz spectrum
Terrorism
Sabotage
Network privacy
Conclusions:
Most users visualize wireless for monitoring and alerting
A few plan to eventually use wireless for control
Users want a single protocol for the plant wireless network
Many wireless applications are new - not previously measured with wired instruments
Use of wireless networks is very important to most users
Battery life is important, but not critical
Reliability and security are critical
