[sidebar id =1]What’s the best way to deal with today’s disruptive technologies like the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)? Well, after 41 user groups, Honeywell Process Solutions knows longtime skills like flexibility, reliability and perseverance can help users cope with new technical shifts like IIoT just as they’ve always done.
“Today’s technology is moving faster than ever. What we have is becoming obsolete more quickly, and we continue to be challenged to take advantage of the new,” says HPS President Vimal Kapur in his opening keynote at Honeywell Users Group (HUG) Americas 2016 on June 20 in San Antonio, Tex. “We’re making the business case for efficiency, reliability and safety gains. It’s an evolution, not a revolution—yet it will impact everything we do. For Honeywell, IIoT is simply a means of unlocking value that couldn’t be unleashed before.”
Kapur and Bruce Calder, HPS vice president and CTO, told more than 1,200 attendees from 31 countries at HUG how Honeywell is harnessing the latest waves of technology innovation for its customers, while continuing to preserve a path forward for users of even decades-old process automation equipment and systems. The company’s Lean Execution of Automation Projects (LEAP) program is already used in hundreds of projects, accelerating time to market and reducing project risk with cloud engineering, virtualization and Universal Process I/O. It’s also added outcome-based services, signing on 25 new subscribers to its Assurance 360 programs in 2015, while its Experion LCN migration path for older Honeywell systems preserves intellectual property and updates operations to use its latest capabilities.
Hug 2016 explores cutting-edge capabilities
Other IIoT-related and cutting-edge solutions at HUG 2016 included: automatic field device commissioning; an extension of LEAP that streamlines instrument commissioning; electrical controls integration; Honeywell Sentience cloud platform, and a new PLC, ControlEdge, which can be cloud-engineered within LEAP projects.
[sidebar id =2]Scheduled for release in October, ControlEdge is a flagship addition to Honeywell’s intelligent controllers using IIoT. Beyond securing connectivity and integrating with devices from multiple vendors, ControlEdge enables easy configuration, efficient operations and reduced maintenance. It also uses OPC UA and built-in cybersecurity for smooth integration to instruments, equipment and software from multiple vendors. ControlEdge is the first PLC to offer Universal I/O, providing remote configuration and late-design-change flexibility for improved project implementation.
Likewise, Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) R500 has added a new Series C communications module that takes in IEC 61850 and EtherNet/IP, with more modules coming soon. In addition, Universal Channel technology is offered for its distributed control, safety and PLC systems, while its One Wireless is multilingual, handling ISA 100 and WirelessHART protocols, and Universal Remote Modular cabinets are offered for safety and control applications.