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InTech-221022-NOVDEC 2013 PDF
InTech-221022-NOVDEC 2013 PDF
InTech-221022-NOVDEC 2013 PDF
A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L S O C I E T Y O F A U T O M AT I O N
www.isa.org/intech
secure plan(t)
12 Next frontier:
Operator-automation 7 Talk to Me
Who done it?
relationship
By Eddie Habibi 8 Your Letters
Training college grads, frewall
Industrial control systems are complex
designs with little consideration to the reliability
needs of the human operator, which has
caused serious and costly accidents. By 10 Automation Update
empowering operators with the right Cyberattacks on water industry,
human-automation relationship tools, a By the Numbers, and more
company will achieve and exceed goals.
44 Executive Corner
PROCESS AUTOMATION SYSTEM INTEGRATION Remember the customer
18 Big changes ahead for 30 Field wireless networks
Fieldbus Foundation 45 Channel Chat
By Amit Ajmeri
Four key benefts of integrated
By Larry OBrien Industrial wireless has specifc require- safety control networks
The Foundation Fieldbus spec is evolv- ments for performance, reliability, and
ing with an increased focus on usabil- security. Various wireless technologies, 46 Association News
ity and cross-industry cooperation. The including the ISA-100.11a protocol, Certifcation review
big discussion lately is the memoran- are employed to meet these require-
dum of understanding about a poten- ments in areas such as topology,
tial merger of Fieldbus Foundation and
48 Automation Basics
security, and customization. Thermocouples versus RTDs
HART Communication Foundation.
The overall goal is to help users man- AUTOMATION IT
age their intelligent devices effectively 52 Workforce Development
and get the maximum beneft.
36 OPC Foundation open Workforce development challenges
standards in combating cyberthreats
FACTORY AUTOMATION
By Thomas J. Burke
24 Automation project OPC became the de facto standard
53 Standards
justifcation just for data acquisition for discrete and
ISA-100 wireless standard ap-
proved in IEC technical voting
about the math? process control applications, and has
By Dick Hill
evolved and revolutionized industrial
automation multiplatform interoper-
54 Products and Resources
Justifying an automation project re- Spotlight on pressure sensors
ability. The new OPC UA standard
quires a view of the big picture. Every
moves to the next level, enabling
change needs to make your company
frictionless information integration.
58 The Final Say
more competitive, in both the short Workforce sustainability in the
and long term. Use that argument for SPECIAL SECTION: PRESSURE MEASUREMENT process industry
justifying your project, and back it up 40 Reference recorders
with hard fgures. RESOURCES
shake up old standards
By David K. Porter, P.E.
56 Index to Advertisers
Continuous innovation has become the 57 Datafles
norm within the pressure measurement 57 Classifed Advertising
industry. Commonly used, decades-
old equipment is being phased out 57 ISA Jobs
by modern instruments. And today,
reference recorders are shaking up old
standards in pressure measurement.
4 INTECH NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 WWW.ISA.ORG
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See what company is doing what at ISA Jobs. www.isa.org/intech/feedback
Find out about people and positions.
www.isa.org/intech1/jobs People in Automation
Technology is great, but when it all comes down
Products 4 U to it, the industry thrives because of the people
Companies are releasing new products all the time; working day in and day out. From movers and
fnd out the latest automation products hitting the shakers, to the real people behind the scenes,
plant foor. fnd out about the heroes in automation.
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changing automation industry.
Heavy-duty flange
configuration is designed
to perform reliably in service pressures
up to 5000 psig (345 bar).
PUBLISHER
Susan Colwell
scolwell@isa.org
PRODUCTION EDITOR
Lynne Franke
Sometimes an old murder mystery novel erly; this is generally a qualitative observa- lfranke@isa.org
or movie is referred to as a who done tion. We can then start looking at process ART DIRECTOR
it, and when we have issues in automa- data, running trend reports, and quantify- Colleen Casper
tion, manufacturing, and production, we ing what is happening. ccasper@isa.org
have the real-world equivalent. The plot When problems are particularly dif- SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER
of these novels and movies was for the fcult, we can make inferences that help Pam King
good guys to fnd out who performed the explain an observation we have made. pking@isa.org
murder. Throughout the movie the good The inferences are based on past experi- GRAPHIC DESIGN SPECIALIST
guys uncover information and use these ences and prior knowledge that help il- Lisa Starck
clues and their intuition to solve the mys- lustrate what is happening. Inferences are lstarck@isa.org
tery. The most powerful tools the good valuable, but in unusual situations, they
guys use are observation, questions, and become a velvet trap leading us to the
ISA PRESIDENT
validating information. These are good wrong conclusions. Many times, we are
Terrence G. Ives
strongly infuenced by the last problem
we solved and assume this one is similar. PUBLICATIONS VICE PRESIDENT
The lesson is we need to be This is where it is valuable and instructive David J. Adler, CAP, P.E.
careful about the assump- to validate information as we uncover it. I EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
recall, for example, spending a great deal CHAIRMAN
tions we make consciously of time troubleshooting an automation Steve Valdez
and unconsciously when problem and essentially going around GE Sensing
in circles troubleshooting control loops. Joseph S. Alford Ph.D., P.E., CAP
working on problems. As it turned out, I was relying on sensor Eli Lilly (retired)
readings that should have been operating
Joao Miguel Bassa
tools we all can use to understand who properly and accurately. Unfortunately, Independent Consultant
or what done it when faced with auto- there was an issue with a sensor interface,
Eoin Riain
mation, manufacturing, and production resulting in bad measured data. After a Read-out, Ireland
problems and issues. considerable amount of time trouble-
It is easy to jump to conclusions based shooting, I desperately started checking Vitor S. Finkel, CAP
Finkel Engineers & Consultants
on past experience or what obviously all the system components and identifed
looks to be the problem. Many times at the faulty sensor interface. The lesson is Guilherme Rocha Lovisi
Bayer Technology Services
this point, it is good to step back and ob- we need to be careful about the assump-
serve without judgment and ask, what is tions we make consciously and uncon- David W. Spitzer, P.E.
happening? As the great baseball coach sciously when working on problems. Spitzer and Boyes, LLC
Yogi Berra once stated, You can observe The popular fctional detective Sher- James F. Tatera
a lot by just watching. The most basic lock Holmes companion, Dr. Watson, Tatera & Associates Inc.
level of observation is the gathering of in- commented on a case, This is indeed a Michael Fedenyszen
formation by using our fve senses: sight, mystery; what do you imagine it means? R.G. Vanderweil Engineers, LLP
smell, hearing, taste, and touch. Based on Holmes replied, I have no data yet. It is Dean Ford, CAP
this information, we make qualitative and a capital mistake to theorize before one Westin Engineering
quantitative observations. As technical has data. Insensibly one begins to twist David Hobart
people, we tend to like quantitative infor- facts to suit theories, instead of theories Hobart Automation Engineering
mation that is absolute. But both types of to suit facts. In some situations, we
Allan Kern, P.E.
observations are valuable, and exploring need to really drill down by asking ques- Tesoro Corporation
qualitative observations can lead to un- tions to get facts.
covering information that is quantitative. We can all beneft from listening,
An operator, for example, can tell us a observing, questioning, and validating
production process is not running prop- information.
Controller selection vides a single operating and engineering Cut the cable
Your May/June 2013 platform for batch execution while meet- My comments concern the otherwise well-
article Considerations ing the objective of ISA-88, of separating written article by Lee Neitzel entitled Six
for selecting a controller engineering activities from recipe manage- steps to control systems cybersecurity in your
or server-based batch ment. It also reduces complexity and im- May/June issue. His suggestions refect the
sequencer makes good proves availability and speed of execution. typical attitude by many, that when one fre-
points about how legacy An operator can create a batch and run it to wall does not work, then add another and so
approaches to batch completion without dependence on a serv- on. Rather than use four frewalls and other
automation are now er anywhere in the system. The absence of expensive paraphernalia, I suggest you simply
challenged to provide sophisticated control a server removes associated licensing costs, cut the cable to the Internet. This will give you
capabilities that enable increased through- security concerns and maintenance issues, the best and least-expensive security.
put, lower costs, and improved regulatory as well as problems and production loss Hans D. Baumann
compliance. arising from communication latency.
The article positions controller-based sys- Other benefts: Silver money train
tems as being more appropriate for less-com- n The operators view of the batch comes As you mentioned in Talk to me [July/Au-
plex operations that require fewer upfront directly from the controller and is not gust 2013 InTech], the industry is suffering
investments, while the server-based approach dependent on a batch server. Operators from the ever-growing gap between skilled
is heralded as the Cadillac solution. That may gain access to standard displays for all employees and positions in the petroleum in-
have been true many years ago, but the article batch functions. dustry. The answer to correcting this revolves
does not acknowledge the recent advance- n Plant availability is improved because around one single thing that could result in
ments in controller-based batch systems. batches are executed on a platform that many different approachesmoney. The in-
The latest batch automation solutions are lacks a single point of failure. This can dustry professionals believe they are saving
designed to manage all batch operations drastically reduce the number of process money by saying there are no skilled em-
entirely in the controller. No complicated interruptions caused by hardware failures. ployees available. This is a scam to divert at-
assessment is necessary. This approach pro- n Moving batch execution into the control- tention and blame, as they reap the benefts
ler level can actu- of raises and pats on the back. As a college
ally streamline the student attending Lee College in Baytown,
process itself, and Texas, I can see clearly; please follow the pic-
eliminate the need tures that I am going to paint for you.
for plants to pur- First, the industry refuses to hire college
chasenot to men- graduates because of the lack of experience.
tion install or main- Almost every position being advertised re-
tainadditional quires at least three-to-fve years experience.
batch hardware or Second, these so-called educated man-
software packages. agement professionals are not learning
Using modern- from the plant tragedies of history and all
controller-based the lives lost. The mistakes were made by
batch control sys- not having qualifed, skilled employees and
tems (e.g., Hon- the silver-bullet layoffs and refusal to hire
eywells Experion and train people to have a formally qualifed
Batch Manage) al- understanding.
lows the execution This is what I call the magic silver bul-
of batch and unit let. Industry leaders can either spend the
procedures directly money to hire college graduates and train
in the controller them correctly to keep a productive and
to reduce system more trouble-free plant that can be classi-
complexity, and fed as lean tuning, or they can increase
improve availability the pay scale to attract qualifed employee
and speed of execu- candidates for the open positions.
tion. This can lower So, as you mentioned the silver-bullet syn-
costs by 5 percent drome, may I please add that you can only get
in improved pro- a silver bullet by a single way, and that is what
ductivity and 3 per- the goal of this article was truly about: money.
cent in reduced raw Maybe you should have considered naming
materials. your article The silver money train.
Chris Morse Troy Riddle
Endress+Hauser, Inc
2350 Endress Place
Greenwood, IN 46143 Sales: 888-ENDRESS
inquiry@us.endress.com Service: 800-642-8737
www.us.endress.com Fax: 317-535-8498
automation update | News from the Field This content is courtesy of
A K
ccording to data in the Repository for Industrial imberly Clarks Loudon, Tenn.,
Security Incidents (RISI) database, the transporta- paper mill was one of the frst
tion and water and wastewater industry sectors plants to test Emersons CSI 2140
have both experienced large increases in reported cyberse- machinery health analyzer. After several
curity incidents in recent years: 160 percent and 60 percent, re- weeks of using the new vibration ana-
spectively. These fndings and many more were published in the lyzer, the plant reported faster comple-
2013 Annual Report on Cyber Security Incidents and Trends Affecting tion of their normal maintenance routes,
Industrial Control Systems. easier and quicker data analysis, and an
RISI is an industry-wide repository for collecting, analyzing, and sharing information overall more comfortable experience
regarding cybersecurity incidents that directly affect industrial control and supervisory working with the unit in the feld.
control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. Industrial automation system suppliers, Multiple facilities like Kimberly Clark
end users, and international government agencies and research institutes have used RISI invested their time and experience in the
data for business justifcation, risk analysis, and a variety of research projects. beta test process for Emerson. Their real-
Industrial control system and SCADA security has been a serious concern for more world applications test the results users
than a decade, but has come under increased scrutiny following the discovery of the will achieve with the analyzer. Its very
Stuxnet virus in 2010, the Duqu virus in 2011, and the Shamoon virus in 2012. All of quick, especially with slow-speed equip-
these viruses specifcally targeted industrial control systems. ment, said Dennis Keaton, maintenance
The 2013 report includes detailed analysis of the 240 incidents recorded in the RISI mechanic at Kimberly Clarks Loudon pa-
database from 2001 through 2012. The analysis identifes where and when the inci- per mill. We run 1200 to 1300 points
dents occurred, the types of incidents, and the threat agents that executed them, in- per week, so the speed of setting up and
cluding the methods and techniques used to gain entry. The fnancial and operational taking readings is very important.
impacts on the victims are also analyzed.
The report includes detailed results and analysis from the second annual RISI Control
System Security Benchmark Survey. The survey data provides very interesting insight
Its very quick, especially
into the current state of control system security, especially when compared with the with slow-speed equipment.
data regarding actual incidents. For example, RISI data indicates that 33 percent of all Keaton
industrial control system security incidents were perpetrated through remote access.
This data is supported by 48 percent of survey respondents reporting that remote ac- An integrated analysis tool provides
cess to the controls systems is allowed at their facilities. the complete picture of asset reliability.
With the CSI 2140, vibration tools coex-
ist with balancing, temperature, trends,
Twelve control system integrators join CSIA and motor diagnostic tools. In addition,
The Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) announces the following control four-channel vibration analysis capabili-
system integration companies have joined the association: ties deliver insight into operating condi-
tions to help correctly diagnose complex
n Cogent Industrial Technologies, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
machinery problems. Embedded intel-
n Fosdick & Hilmer Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
ligence guided Kimberly Clark techni-
n Ingautin de Colombia Ltda, Bogota, D.C., Colombia
cians through testing and analytics. Even
n Intecol SA, Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia
less-experienced technicians could conf-
n Intelligent Systems Integrator EST, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
dently monitor and diagnose equipment
n IS International Services LLC, Lawrenceville, Ga., U.S.
issues with minimal training.
n Kubica Corp., Novi, Mich., U.S.
In addition, the human-centered ap-
n Matador Controls LLC, Palm Bay, Fla., U.S.
proach to the design of the CSI 2140
n Outbound Technologies, New Hudson, Mich., U.S.
made an immediate impact. At Kimberly
n Proctek Inc., Bakersfeld, Calif., U.S.
Clark, with approximately 8,400 mea-
n Superior Control Systems Inc., Tempe, Ariz., U.S.
surements per month, the smaller size
n Trutegra, Charlotte, N.C., U.S.
of the analyzer made routes more com-
CSIA helps members improve their business skills, provides a forum to share industry fortable. Measurements in the dark areas
expertise, and promotes the benefts of hiring a certifed control system integrator. of the mill were much easier with the
CSIA has more than 400 members in 27 countries. brighter screen.
$40 million
cation (RFID) sector survey by IDTechEx
mens constructed a fully automated high-
Research, the RFID market will increase
bay warehouse that acts as a central body
from $6.98 billion in 2012 to $7.88 bil-
buffer and occupies a key position within Endress+Hauser is set to serve its custom-
lion in 2013. It will reach $23.4 billion in
the production logistics of the plant. Sie- ers in North and South America with more
2020. The market includes tags, readers,
mens developed the controller of the stor- U.S.-made products. The Swiss specialist
and software and services for RFID cards,
age and retrieval machines and the convey- for measurement engineering and pro-
labels, fobs, and all other form factors for
or system for the body buffer on the basis cess automation has invested more than
both passive and active RFID.
of its Simatic S7 controllers. The bodies are $40 million in expanding its plants for
The market for RFID has grown steadily
conveyed by means of 350 Siemens electric fow, level, and pressure measurement
despite the economic meltdown due to
motors together with frequency converters. engineering in Greenwood, Ind. Produc-
the diverse nature of its applications, from
The integrated-drive system has energy- ing, assembling, and calibrating at sites all
tagging retail apparel to transport ticket-
saving motors and can recover and store over the world is one of Endress+Hausers
ing to animals. Governments drive most
kinetic energy. This means that it captures central business strategies. One important
RFID orders as they improve effciency
braking energy, stores it, and makes it avail- factor for this concept to work is globally
(transit systems), safety (passport tag-
able to other drives. The result: fewer un- uniform quality standards. The systems for
ging), and protective industries (animal
desirable network perturbations and lower calibrating fowmeters now include the
tagging). Since 2000 there has been a
power consumption. In addition, Siemens latest technology for gas calibration.
set up an RFID system that uniquely iden-
tifes each body stored in the body buffer
and on its way through production.
$2.765 million
Representative David Price (D-N.C.), the
54
ranking member of the House Home-
land Security Appropriations subcommit-
tee, announced that ABB Inc. has been
The PROFI Interface Center (PIC) has com-
awarded a $2.765 million Department of
pleted a wall of fame in its test lab that
Energy (DOE) grant to develop technology
features PROFINET devices it has tested and
to help the energy sector enhance its cy-
certifed. The PIC is part of the global net-
bersecurity. The project is one of 11 recent-
work of competence centers, training cen-
ly announced DOE grants totaling more
ters, and test labs established by PI, the um-
than $30 million. ABB will lead a project
brella organization responsible for PROFIBUS
to develop a system that allows electrical
and PROFINET internationally. Certifcation
substation devices to work together to
of PROFINET devices is required through PI.
validate the integrity of communications
strong push to use passive RFID to improve This ensures interoperability between prod-
along a power distribution network.
supply chain visibility, with investment in ucts, and the labs can support device ven-
The grant awards are a part of the
new RFID technologies, new standards, dors in case of conformance questions.
Obama administration and Congress com-
and much publicity. As with most new Manager of the PIC, Torsten Paulsen,
mitment to protecting the nations critical
technologies, initially some aspects were commented, We created this installation
infrastructure from cybersecurity threats.
overly hyped and demand was not in to feature all of the devices we have certi-
sync with capacity, but at the beginning fed over the years and put them to use
of 2010 the industry emerged from the as a real world test bed and reference
hype cycle and entered a period of rapid network. We currently have 54 nodes and
growth and proftability for some. There add more constantly. A wide range of
are different rates of growth for different devices are incorporated onto the wall
applications and many challengesbut including remote input/output, drives,
opportunities still exist. In total, IDTechEx vision systems, human-machine inter-
fnds that 5.9 billion tags will be sold in faces, wireless, embedded diagnostics,
2013, versus 4.8 billion in 2012. infrastructure, and security devices. To
Preclude operator
error, improve safety
and proftability
I
By Eddie Habibi ndustrial control systems are complex de- uted to advances in process automation tech-
signs, but they do not give much consider- nologies such as the distributed control system
ation to the needs of the human operator. (DCS), the historian, model-based controls, and
This oversight has caused serious and costly ac- production optimization. Without much incre-
cidents. By empowering operators with the right mental investment in plant equipment, auto-
human-automation relationship tools, compa- mation technologies have substantially reduced
nies will achieve and exceed their goals. variability and cost, improved throughput and
quality, extended asset reliability, and delivered
Unprecedented prosperity incredible fnancial returns on investment.
The world population is more prosperous today Industrial control systems are complex. They
than ever before. The average global per capita process and generate signifcant information
gross domestic product has grown by nearly in real time, and were designed without much
tenfold during the past 140 years. By compari- thought for the needs of the human operator.
son, this measure was practically fat from 1600 Serious and costly accidents have been the con-
to 1875, the period before the Industrial Revolu- sequences of this oversight. Chernobyl, Bhopal,
tion. The fastest growth in productivity emerged Three Mile Island, Piper Alpha, and Texas City
after World War II and accelerated during the were some of the worst industrial accidents in
past three decades. The U.S. economy explod- recent history. Human error is cited as the root
ed, growing from $2.8 trillion in 1980 to more cause or a major contributing factor in every one.
than $15.5 trillion in 2012. Human ingenuity
and innovation made possible by connectivity, Do not blame the operator
information sharing, and collaboration form Unfortunately, there is a tendency to automati-
the basis of this relative prosperity. cally blame the human operator. Often, the op-
erator is unjustly blamed for such accidents.
Unintended consequences An operator inherits a production facility as it
Specifc to industrial production, much of the was designed and constructed. Traditionally,
productivity growth in recent decades is attrib- the automation system confguration and the
www.honeywellprocess.com
2013 Honeywell
COVER STORY
trol system consoles today provide a integrated documentation and ratio- venting established SOPs. In 2010, ISA
key-hole view of the process through nalization engine is needed to facilitate launched a new standards committee
60-to-100 individual displays. Most op- proper engineering of priorities and trip on procedural automation for con-
erator displays are cluttered, lack hier- settings and to capture causes, conse- tinuous processes. ISA-106 refects
archy, provide no pattern recognition, quences, and corrective actions for each the combined best practices of several
and use colors indiscriminately. alarm. A master alarm database with global manufacturing companies such
An effective resolution to the def- audit and enforcement capability en- as Dow Chemical Company, Aramco,
ciencies of todays operator displays sures the integrity of the reengineered Chevron, and ConocoPhillips.
is high-performance human-machine alarm system. Dynamic state-based For over thirty years, Dow Chemical
interface (HP HMI). HP HMI displays alarming is an essential part of an inte- has used a proprietary control system
follow essential human-factor design grated alarm system that automatically [MOD] to implement state-based con-
principles that include, among other changes the alarm settings to properly trols methodology to improve operator
related display design best practices: match the state of the process. performance, enforce our operating
l Three levels of display hierarchy discipline, and signifcantly enhance
l Grey-scale colors Boundary management process safety throughout our com-
l Chunking and grouping of information Capturing, monitoring, and perform- pany, said Yahya Nazer, Ph.D., manu-
l Pattern recognition objects ing strict change control on limits of facturing and engineering consultant
l Simple and intuitive navigation, operability are crucial to safe opera- at Dow Chemical Company. We see
including pan and zoom tions. Typically, process and equip- ISA-106 standards for procedural au-
HP-HMI-based displays are minimal- ment boundaries such as alarms, the tomation as an avenue for sharing our
ist in detail and rich in useful informa- safety system trip point, pressure re- experience with other companies.
tion. True HP HMI displays also include lief specifcations, and other limits are Many automation system suppliers
the capability to easily integrate critically maintained by different organizations are integrating automated procedures
useful information like alarm response within a plant. Operators usually have into their new platform designs.
documentation, control logic interlocks, visibility to alarm limits only. There
checklists, and operating procedures. are two issues with the way boundary Integrated information portal
information is managed in todays op- An integrated information portal pro-
Alarm management erations: it is nearly impossible to en- vides simple access to supplemental
The purpose of an alarm is to inform sure the integrity of the information information such as operating pro-
the operator that action must be taken for all the boundaries associated with cedures, checklists, and instructional
to mitigate an undesired situation. An a given piece of equipment; and opera- videos that improve the operators situ-
effective alarm must be unambiguous, tors rarely have access to all the related ation awareness. It is also a platform for
unique, timely, actionable, and with boundary information in real time. knowledge retention and collaboration.
proper priority to convey the correct A consolidated approach is required Below is a summary of seven key ele-
level of urgency to the operator. Results to manage the integrity of operational ments of an effective knowledge reten-
of alarm system performance studies and safety boundaries; this includes tion and collaboration platform that en-
conducted by PAS indicate that most strict management of change and pe- ables the integrated information portal
alarm systems perform poorly under riodic audits. Furthermore, integrated within the operators work environment.
normal conditions and, even worse, be- operator interfaces are needed to give 1. Aggregate: capture existing infor-
come a hindrance to the operator dur- the operator an at-a-glance view of all mation or explicit knowledge that is
ing process upsets. Alarm foods, dis- the boundary limits associated with a available in a digital form (e.g., de-
abled alarms, and long-standing stale piece of equipment. sign drawings, procedures, training
alarms are three of the top culprits that videos, and control system logic)
create confusion in the control room Procedural automation 2. Author: allow operators and engi-
and cause operator error. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) neers to enter contextual informa-
The issue of ineffective alarm sys- are step-by-step written instructions tion and expand the knowledge base
tems has been around since the advent that guide operators in the uniform 3. Contextualize: automatically recog-
of the DCS. However, in recent years, operation of a process. Many industrial nize relationships and give context to
alarm management optimization has incidents happen when plant person- information from disparate sources
become an industry best practice and nel either deviate from or ignore the 4. Tag: allow users to categorize or
an opportunity to improve plant safety written SOP. Other times, incidents oc- classify related points of informa-
and proftability. cur when personnel follow a procedure tion by adding user-defned tags to
A robust alarm management strategy that is out-of-date. multiple information objects
must include software to automatically Procedural automation is an ef- 5. Search: allow Google-like searches
capture, archive, analyze, and report the fective method for mitigating most on the process control and plant in-
performance of the alarm system. An incidents that are caused by circum- formation networks. It is imperative
T
By Larry OBrien he Fieldbus Foundation will celebrate its and evolve our specifcation to improve what
twentieth year in 2014. It is also a year of we already have. Some of the key ways we are
transformation into what could very well moving forward for 2014 and beyond include
be a new organization entirely, with some very discussions with the HART Communication
exciting developments for the world of intelligent Foundation regarding a potential merger of the
devices and plant asset management. Today, the two organizations, the development and release
Fieldbus Foundation has more than 500 members of the Field Device Integration (FDI) specif-
and affliates around the world. An installed base cation, a continuous improvement initiative
of about $10 billion in products and systems con- called Project Gemstone focused on enhanced
trols critical processes in the worlds largest plants. usability, continued work on the ISA108 stan-
Because Foundation feldbus is a truly open dard for work processes that use diagnostic data
standard (anybody can purchase our specifca- from intelligent feld devices, and the further
tion or become a member), we can continue to development of the Foundation for Remote
adapt to new technologies as they come along Operations Management (ROM) specifcation.
FAST FORWARD
l Potential merger between Fieldbus Foundation and HART
Communication Foundation creates industry buzz.
l Fieldbus Foundation focuses on enhancing usability for developers
and end users.
l ISA108 committee works to give users the necessary work processes
to use digital diagnosticsthe right way.
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possible total cost-of-ownership. The chromatography
gives recommended corrective actions business. Today, the ROM segment is these devices as transducer blocks in the
and detailed help, as well as an indica- plagued with a high degree of custom- Foundation feldbus infrastructure and
tion of the overall health of the device. ization, solutions that are not easily con- all the capabilities that it holds, includ-
The Field Diagnostic Profle specifca- fgurable, and a break-and-fx mentality ing data management, alarms and events,
tion puts all the necessary mechanisms when it comes to asset management. data quality, and function block structure.
in place to provide context to diagnostic Foundation Fieldbushasnowexpanded The Fieldbus Foundation, in partner-
data and turn it into useful information. into the rapidly growing world of ROM, ship with our demonstration program
A major part of the diagnostics speci- from the digital oil feld to pipelines, sponsors, has been hard at work on a se-
fcation is the inclusion of the NAMUR tank farms, and foating production ries of live feld demonstrations to show
NE107 recommendations for providing storage and offoading facilities. the value of the technology. We had our
diagnostic information in context to the Several years ago, the Fieldbus Foun- frst successful live feld demo in April
right people at the right time. NAMUR dation began a new project that would at the Petrobras Cenpes research facil-
NE107 categorizes internal diagnostics extend the functionality and infrastruc- ity in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Running on
into four standard status signals: fail- ture of Foundation feldbus out to re- one of the many Cenpes pilot plants,
ure, function check, out of specifca- mote applications through the integra- the Petrobras feld demonstration of-
tion, and maintenance required (also tion of remote input/output (I/O) and fered a look at the full functionality of
known as FCSM). Each category can wired HART communications. We then Foundation forROM,includingwireless
also contain greater detail. In the case expanded that project to include lead- device integration, remote I/O integra-
tion, and wireless backhaul capabilities.
This demonstration was the frst step in
The Foundation for ROM specifcation can be embedded into showing the capabilities of Foundation
a range of products, including remote terminal units (RTUs), for ROM before it is specifed for com-
mercial projects. We also performed a
controllers, and remote I/O modules. demo of the technology at the Automa-
tion 2013 trade show in Mumbai, India,
of failure, for example, can the failure ing industrial wireless networks, such in October, where we won the technolo-
be traced to the device or the process? as ISA100.11a and WirelessHART. Work- gy advancement award for the show. The
Is maintenance required immediately, ing cooperatively with ISA, the Fieldbus equipment used on this demo will also
or is the requirement for long-term Foundation has also specifed a long- be used at our next live feld demonstra-
maintenance? distance backhaul network technology tion at the Reliance Jamnagar refnery,
based on standard high-speed Ethernet which is the largest single site refnery
NE107 standard status signals that connects remote assets with their in the world and the largest Foundation
The ultimate result is a series of new command centers. Today, our overall feldbus installation in the world. This
feld diagnostic alarms that corre- Foundation for ROM specifcation is demo is scheduled to take place in the
spond to the four primary diagnostic nearly complete and ready to extend frst half of 2014.
categories outlined by NAMUR NE107. our capabilities to manage data to a
Several standardized and therefore limitless range of networks and devices ABOUT THE AUTHOR
manufacturer-independent parameters in some of the worlds most unforgiv- Larry OBrien (larry.obrien@feldbus.org)
are available to confgure the NAMUR ing applications. Foundation for ROM joined the Fieldbus Foundation as global
category, the priorities, and the fl- is ready to address the rapidly changing marketing manager in April 2011. Before
ter mechanisms for the alarms. With business challenges of end users in re- his job at the Foundation, OBrien was
NAMUR NE107 diagnostics built in, mote operations. research director for process automation
you can turn off diagnostics you do not The Foundation for ROM specifca- at ARC Advisory Group, where he began
need or confgure how the diagnostics tion can be embedded into a range of work in 1993. As an industry analyst and
are reported. This supports the confg- products, including remote terminal units market researcher, he covered the topics
urability mandate of NE107. Providing (RTUs), controllers, and remote I/O mod- of process feldbus, distributed control
recommended actions and enabling ules. Once the Foundation ROM speci- systems, process safety, the automation
simulation allows the information to fcation is embedded in a device, how- services business, and intelligent feld in-
be presented in greater context. ever, its functionality expands to refect a struments. OBrien has authored or coau-
combination of the traditional functions thored numerous market forecast reports,
Foundation for ROM found in wireless gateways, process con- strategic-level advisory reports, and white
Remote operations management is the trollers, and RTUs. Foundation for ROM papers for ARC and its clients, including
management of automation assets and devices provide the protocol translation all the major process automation suppli-
resources that are geographically dis- functions of a gateway, but they go be- ers. He has a B.A. from the University of
persed. It is one of the fastest growing yond the traditional functions of a gate- Massachusetts at Lowell.
segments of the process automation way. They have the ability to represent View the online version at www.isa.org/intech/20131202.
The Emerson logo is a trademark and a service mark of Emerson Electric Co. 2013 Emerson Electric Co.
Automation project
justifcation
just about
the math?
Project justifcation is critical to
driving corporate competitiveness
C
By Dick Hill learly, any new automation project ing way to variable-speed drives for energy sav-
requires economic justifcation. Al- ings. Loose process control may cause cycling that
though this often involves hard dollars can waste energy or affect product quality. Process
and cents quantifcation of cost savings from control designs can be improved while also im-
increased production, reduced raw material proving energy effciency.
costs, or increased uptime, it is also about soft Recycling and sustainability: These factors may
benefts, such as reducing risks and improving also be relevant in corporate culture or product
agility. All contribute to making your company costing. Recycling costs or construction mate-
more competitive. This article will focus on the rials may fgure into the value of a system or its
latter, while also highlighting considerations for replacement.
the former. It will also share some best practices Improved control dynamics: These will also lead
that ARC Advisory Group has identifed. to shorter start-ups, improved product quality,
When considering a change of any kind and quicker product changeovers, and quicker shut-
researching the alternatives, it is very important downs. These all have associated cost savings.
to understand that your business is likely to be Removal of physical constraints: Modern control
fooded with opportunities to invest capital and systems, for example, may improve space utiliza-
that change needs to be justifed for the beneft of tion even with expanded operations.
the company. Personal or department goals need Improved data analytics: Todays advanced ana-
to be subordinated to corporate goals. In the au- lytics can help streamline operations through sys-
tomation domain, a number of factors should be tem modeling. Perhaps a new solution can rely on
evaluated for their economic contributions to a data analyticsprocess modeling to remove the
justifcation. But it does not end there. Justifca- need for physical product sampling. An example
tion must take into account the broader oppor- of this is predictive emissions monitoring systems
tunity to better position your company for future replacing continuous emissions monitoring sys-
competition, likely involving greater agility, addi- tems in some applications.
tional products, or improved quality. Added exibility: Existing systems may have
been designed and implemented for a specifc
Example items to consider in a justifcation product and purpose, but are diffcult to change
Maintenance and service costs: These costs will and adapt to new product or business require-
increase for older equipment. Spare parts may be ments. These requirements can include product
diffcult to fnd. Direct replacements for a compo- variations or changes to batch or lot sizes. A new
nent disappear. Those familiar with the technolo- system can provide a great deal of fexibility, which
gies may become a rare commodity. In addition to could be a signifcant beneft for your business.
increased costs of repair, older systems are likely Now, for a couple of items that may not be as
to have a longer mean time to repair. If repair re- intuitive:
quires production shutdown, this downtime will Upgrades to complex systems, such as a con-
clearly affect production throughput, and it will be trol system, often allow companies to make con-
important to know your cost of downtime. tinuous improvements over time, plan for grace-
Energy costs: Older systems typically use more ful degradation of an automation system, and
energy. For example, fxed-speed motors are giv- perform future expansions in a well-managed,
Conclusion
Many factors will affect the success of
automation or related information tech-
nology projects. But frst considerations
should be based on overall company di-
rectives with respect to its competitive
stance. What will make the company
more competitive in the future, and how
can this project infuence that?
Then, it is important for everyone
to be involved with the process. Com-
municate widely throughout your or-
ganization. Consider all alternatives
and reevaluate and tune the process
to drive toward your desired outcome.
If your staff is new or inexperienced in
making this type of strategic decision,
involve industry experts to assist with
selection criteria development, archi-
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Engineering and operations personnel survey conducted by Tritech Marketing Inc. Research.
I
ndustrial wireless devices and networks nications. This type of network is used for data
are used for measurement and control ap- transmission over very long distances.
plications in areas of process plants where A site backbone is a good solution in cases
it is too diffcult or too expensive to hard- where data is transmitted from cell-to-cell
wire sensors, transmitters, and fnal control ele- within a transmission distance of a few miles.
ments. They are also used for temporary appli- Although the distances covered are shorter than
cations, such as in research and development with a global canopy, a site backbone network
and pilot plants. Although most consumer wire- can still be used to transmit data over relatively
less networks are used for convenience, indus- long distances.
trial feld wireless networks must be much more A feld mesh or wireless sensor network is used
reliable, and cannot interfere with other wire- for sending and receiving a few kilobytes (kB) of
less applications in the plant. These networks, data over a short range up to a few hundred feet.
and their accompanying wireless devices, must These feld wireless networks are comprised of
also be simple for existing plant personnel to sensors and actuators, feld mobile devices, and
support. Finally, industrial wireless networks feld end pointsand these types of networks
and devices must easily integrate with exist- will be the focal point of this article.
ing wired devices and networks, and the entire
wireless system must be fexible and scalable. Frequency bands
Communication frequency is one of the most im-
Wireless solutions for the process industry portant factors when implementing a feld wireless
There are three basic areas in which industrial network. The 2.4-gigahertz (GHz) wireless com-
feld wireless networks can operate in the pro- munication frequency band is most commonly
cess industry: the global canopy, a site back- used for industrial applications. It is part of the in-
bone, and a feld mesh. The global canopy is the dustrial, scientifc, and medical (ISM) radio bands
term used for long-range wireless communica- that were originally reserved for international use
tion. It can be made up of a site-to-site private of radio-frequency energy for ISM purposes, as op-
network joining locations up to hundreds of posed to telecommunications.
miles apart, or it can use public networks, such The ISM band has become the de facto standard
as the Internet, a satellite, or cellular commu- because it is available worldwide and does not re-
Serial
Self-organizing mesh network
802.15.4 Channel hopping PAN-coordinator (FFD)
Reliable Reduced function device Full function device
Coordinator/routing node (FFD) (RFD) (FFD)
Secure
Mesh to the edge End node (RFD) Only star topology Star, mesh, and cluster
Leaf node Coordinator
Easy to adopt Battery power Line or battery power
Figure 1. Various wired and wireless network types are often found Figure 2. Network topologies for wireless networks can be a
in a typical manufacturing facility. single star or tree topology or combinations of topologies,
such as a mesh or cluster.
The mesh topology is comprised of and the cluster network is a combination security manager can exchange data.
nodes that can each route data from of star and mesh networks. l Integrity: Each data point uses an
neighboring nodes as long as they are end-to-end media access control
in the same radio frequency range. The Security (MAC) address to ensure data integ-
mesh network system provides reliable, Security is a critical factor for industrial rity and transport security.
secure data transmissions and is highly wireless systems used in the process in- l Key management: All wireless de-
scalable. If a path via one node or a set of dustries, so mechanisms for protecting vices must have a join key that acts
nodes is not working, a node can route its the wireless network must be imple- as a password that the device uses
data to a neighboring node, with the in- mented. The ISA-100.11a standard has to authenticate it to the network.
formation eventually reaching the desti- several security measures that can keep This is a key differentiator for the
nation node via this alternate path. the network safe, including: ISA-100.11a protocol.
The tree and cluster topologies are a l Encryption: Each ISA-100.11a data Authentication key management and
combination of the star and mesh net- communicator has 128-bit encryption. join-process technology enhance the se-
works. The tree network has one commu- l Authentication: Only devices authen- curity of the network by preventing an
nication node with star nodes below it, ticated by the system manager and unauthorized node from joining the net-
work. All node authentications are con-
trolled by the network security manager,
Understanding the ISA100 series of standards which requires any device joining the net-
work to provide all its credentials in an en-
ISA100 is a multi-national, multi-industry standards development initiative of ISA, an ac- crypted fashion (join key) to the gateway.
credited member organization of the American National Standards Institute. The ISA100 Each data packet has a 128-bit encryp-
program was launched to create a reliable and universal family of wireless standards and tion. End-to-end basis transport security
guidelines for industrial automation applications. It is a market-driven (not vendor-driven) includes message-level security, such as
standards development program created by a committee that includes end users. The message encryption, as well as transport-
end users actively participate and vote on decisions regarding the standards and on re- level security, such as Windows.
quirements for wireless plantwide communications. The network administrator gives all
The ISA100 committee is organized into several working groups (WG), including: wireless devices a join key and sets the pa-
n WG14, Trustworthy Wireless, to improve the reliability and security of wireless, as rameters required to access the network.
well as to simplify confguration and usage in a plant environment Once the join key is recognized and the
n WG15, Wireless Backhaul Network, focusing on middle-range cell communica- device has joined the network, the security
tions within the plant environment manager issues it additional keys (master,
n WG16, Factory Automation, to cover a completely separate requirement for data session, and private) for further commu-
latency compared with that of the process industries nication. These keys should be periodi-
n WG18, Power Sources, to improve battery standardization cally updated, because limiting their life
n WG20, Common Network Management (CNM), to present a CNM framework spans further protects the network.
to monitor and provide actionable information to various and disparate wireless The hop-by-hop MAC address secu-
networks commonly found in wireless network environments for industrial auto- rity requires every data element transmit-
mation and control systems. The framework will be scalable to address various ted between two wireless nodes to provide
network sizes and device populations and extensible to adapt to changing tech- the MAC address of the originating node
nologies, applications, and user requirements. as well as the end node for extra security.
ISA-100.11a-2011 was approved as an ISA and American National Standard in 2011,
and is currently nearing fnal approval by the International Electrotechnical Commission Coexistence strategy
as IEC 62734. Since many wireless standards use the
Other documents developed by ISA100 include: 2.4-GHz frequency band, it is very impor-
n ISA-TR100.15.01-2012 Backhaul Architecture Model: Secured Connectivity tant that the various wireless technologies
over Untrusted or Trusted Networks (Wi-Fi, WirelessHART, ZigBee, ultrawide
n ISA-TR100.14.01-Part I-2011 Trustworthiness in Wireless Industrial Automa- band, and others) can operate together on
tion: Part 1, Information for End Users and Regulators the band. Among the best methods for es-
n ISA-TR100.00.03-2011 Wireless User Requirements for Factory Automation tablishing coexistence among the various
n ISA-TR100.00.02-2009 The Automation Engineers Guide to Wireless wireless communication devices are spec-
Technology: Part 2 A Review of Technologies for Industrial Asset Tracking trum spreading, frequency hopping, and
n ISA-TR100.00.01-2006 The Automation Engineers Guide to Wireless time slotted and scheduled transmissions.
Technology Part 1: The Physics of Radio, a Tutorial Electronic and electrical noise within an
For more information, visit www.isa.org/fndstandards and select 100 from the industrial plant can cause disturbances if
drop-down list. protective measures are not taken. Lower-
power radio technology with a spectrum-
endurance to Withstand
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SYSTEM INTEGRATION
spread technique deployed at a 200-kB nications such as redundancy, intelligent decipher the information, which provides
rate helps overcome the noise problem. channel hopping, duocast technology, secure communication.
Data is distributed among various chan- and time synchronization.
nels, then collected and reassembled by A mesh network offers redundancy, be- Scalability and exibility
the receiver. Frequency hopping, in which cause it can reroute data from one node Each ISA-100.11a end device uses Inter-
the data rapidly switches among many to the destination mode, avoiding the ob- net Protocol version 6 (IPv6), the newest
frequency channels, helps avoid conges- structed node. For additional reliability, Internet technology. This helps future
tion. These techniques are also a good redundancy can also be implemented at proof the network by enabling access
way to increase security, because both the the gateway, backbone, security system, from a feld wireless node using the latest
spectrum-spread code and frequency- and system manager. For example, if one IP technologies. The ISA-100.11a protocol
hopping patterns are necessary to retrieve backbone router fails, the other router re- has many features for scalability in terms
the data sent over the network. trieves the data from the sensors, and then of the number of nodes that can be added,
Synchronized timing enables multiple sends the information to the gateway. as well as how much area can be covered.
access capabilities by assigning each de- Another method to ensure accurate To expand the network and add more
vice a particular time slot to avoid colli- throughput is channel hopping, where nodes, an additional backbone router
sions. Deterministic transmitting (TDMA) clear channel access technology dynami- can be added to create a subnet. Multiple
can also save power, because only the cally chooses different channels of opera- subnets, slow-hopping mode, protocol
sending and receiving devices must be tion to avoid interference (fgure 3). In ad- mapping, and tunneling and backbone
awake during the data transmission. dition, frequent retry attempts are made routing are all examples of the multiple
TDMA offers synchronized time sense to limit data latency to 100 ms or less. functions of the ISA-100.11a architecture.
in which each subnet gets time-synched ISA-100.11a also supports duocast for For fast frmware downloads and in-
data from the network protocol server, redundant connectivity in which one de- creased staff mobility, ISA-100.11a sup-
ensuring that all wireless network data vice sends information to two neighbor- ports the slow-hopping mode using car-
transmissions occur at the proper times. ing nodes simultaneously. The two receiv- rier sense multiple access. This enables a
Other methods for overcoming obsta- ing nodes send a confrmation from both channel to be locked for a specifc period,
cles are multipath mesh networks and in- end devices in the same time slot. Without instead of hopping every 10 ms. The slow-
telligent channel hopping. Wireless mesh duocast, if one communication path fails, hopping mode is particularly benefcial
networks route traffc toward the Internet a retry attempt is used before going to a when performing a frmware download
gateway (IGW), or from the IGW to the neighboring channel to transmit the data, to upgrade a radio or sensor electronics
access points. When multiple devices at- which can slow communications. for a wireless node. It also facilitates using
tempt to select the best throughput path Time synchronization is highly accu- a handheld device for calibration checks,
toward a gateway, the traffc on these rate, because each data packet is time and for confguring a specifc device.
paths can diminish the speed and perfor- stamped using International Atomic Protocol mapping and tunneling reduce
mance of the network. A multipath mesh Time. All data has a time slot allocation, infrastructure costs by supporting legacy
network seeks alternative paths during and the data must reach its end destina- protocols and combined wired and wireless
times of congestion. tion and receive a confrmation from each integrations. The ISA-100.11a architecture
ISA-100.11a also supports the black list- node within that time slot. There is a lim- supports many existing protocols, includ-
ing of channels. For example, suppose a ited time to capture the data packet and ing Foundation Fieldbus, HART, Profbus,
plant uses Wi-Fi channel 3 for ISA-100.11a
communications, and channels 21 and
24 for general Wi-Fi communications.
The system manager can be confgured
so channels 21 and 24 are blacklisted for
ISA-100.11a communications to avoid per-
formance issues on the network. In this
scenario, there are two separate channels:
one channel for the Wi-Fi and one for ISA-
100.11a communications, enabling the two
wireless technologies to coexist in the plant.
Reliability
Reliability is of paramount impor-
tance for industrial process control and
measurement applications, and the
ISA-100.11a standard has numerous Figure 3. Channel hopping allows wireless devices to dynamically choose different
techniques for ensuring reliable commu- channels of operation to avoid interference.
Modbus, and CIP. The ISA-100.11a stack in- sors, while another provides a
cludes provisions for protocol mapping and 1-second update rate for con- Protocol mapping and tunneling
tunneling to enable Foundation Fieldbus, trol applications.
HART, and Profbus to use the ISA-100.11a ISA-100.11a supports peer-
Field device
Maint. sys.
stack for wireless communications. ISA- to-peer control communica- Routing device
Nonrouting device Handheld device
100.11a is targeted for measurement and tions, so the data from a mea- Backbone device
R Backbone router
M System manager
G Gateway
S Security manager
control applications that can function with suring device does not need to Route 1
Route(s) 2...n
a 1-second data rate, and it also supports go to the gateway, but can in-
Control system
Plant network
peer-to-peer communications for propor- stead be transmitted directly to FF
tional, integral, derivative loop scheduling. the fnal end control element.
A HART device can transmit data by These peer-to-peer communi-
putting an ISA-100.11a wrapper on top of cations enable data exchange
PLC
the HART data, and then sending the data from one wireless node to an-
Profibus
through the wireless network router (fgure other within a high-speed sub- Multiple protocols at device and host:
4). When the data is received at the gate- net for 1-second updates. Single wireless NW supports many applications
way, the ISA-100.11a wrapper is removed, An ISA-100.11a wireless Figure 4. The ISA-100.11a standard can support multiple
and the HART data is sent to the network. network can be deployed and protocols simultaneously on a single network.
reconfgured through device
Customizable network performance installation and software confguration systems, and software to support the latest
To support control applications, a subnet and changesinstead of requiring bur- wireless technologies from temperature
can be created with a 1-second data up- densome wiring, addition of I/O mod- and pressure sensors, gateways, and more.
date rate via direct communications to the ules, programming, and possible up- Interoperability testing and certif-
backbone router. This enables a 1-second grades to the automation system. Many cation from the ISA100 Wireless Com-
transmission speed from the node to the of the ISA-100.11a system components, pliance Institute (www.isa100wci.org)
automation system. such as the backbone routers and the sys- ensures all manufacturers wireless de-
Multiple subnets can work in the same tem manager, are designed as function vices can communicate with the back-
physical space and share a single wire- modules that can be added or removed bone router and gateway without prob-
less network with fexible customization depending on system requirements. lems in a plug-and-play manner.
for optimal network performance. In ad- ISA-100.11a provides reliability, scal-
dition to sharing a single network, ISA- ability, high performance, and the ability ABOUT THE AUTHOR
100.11a also allows networks with differ- to simultaneously support numerous de- Amit Ajmeri (amit.ajmeri@us.yokogawa.
ent communication speeds to operate in vices and protocols. Several companies com) is a consultant for wireless and feld
the same physical space. For example, one are supporting the ISA-100.11a standard network technology at Yokogawa Corpo-
subnet can be comprised of low-speed sen- with feld instrumentation, automation ration of America. Ajmeri has been with
Yokogawa for more than ten years. He
ISA-100.11a wireless network architecture components currently represents Yokogawa on various
Role Role defnition and responsibilities committees for ISA, FDT Organization,
Input/output Sources or consumes data. Does not route. HART, and Fieldbus Foundation.
Provisioning Provisions devices with confgurations required for operation Wireless Networks for Industrial
within the network. Automation
System time source Responsible for maintaining the master time source of the network. www.isa.org/wirelessnetworks
I
s the concept of open standards all myth and products to meet and exceed the quality stan-
magic? Is there a real business and techni- dards of the end user community.
cal value proposition for open standards like
OPC that justifes the end users demanding the What are the benefts?
suppliers to deliver? How does OPC provide Typically suppliers have always preferred the
timeless durability and deliver specifcations brand-loyalty architecture; we want our end us-
and technology that the suppliers build into ers to only use products from our company
their product portfolios? This article explores and our preferred suppliers. The suppliers as-
the OPC vision, and the who, what, when, sert and assume they know what their end users
where, and why of OPC interoperability in 2014. want and need! Suppliers always tell the story
OPC became the de facto standard for data that standards are the least common denomi-
acquisition for discrete and process control nator approach, and they can give users bet-
applications, and over time has evolved and ter compatibility and performance along with
revolutionized industrial automation multi- guaranteed interoperability with their propri-
platform interoperability. The OPC Founda- etary architectures.
tion strategy is providing the infrastructure to The world of consumer electronics and the
enable the community of suppliers, consortia, expectations set with out-of-the-box multiven-
and end users to collaborate to bring interoper- dor plug-and-play interoperability is changing
able products to market. In addition, the OPC the world. End users have high expectations
Foundation had established a certifcation that technology innovations in consumer elec-
program that validates the interoperability of tronics must be propagated to industrial auto-
mation, and that tablets and smartphones must and vendors to ren-
FAST FORWARD
be integrated with their industrial automation der their respective l Is there a true business and technical value
devices and applications. information mod- proposition for open standards like OPC?
els into an OPC UA l Multivendor interoperability at its fnest
OPC Foundation name space. This leverages the capabilities of the information
Has the OPC Foundation successfully delivered unique information model and OPC UA.
the right technology and value proposition to model architecture l The business value proposition for OPC is
change the landscape of industrial automation allows applications frictionless information integration and
and related domains? to exchange data/ lower total cost of ownership.
OPC was started in 1995 by a group of compa- information with ap-
nies that had the vision for a simple interface that plications and devices, without having advance
allowed frst-tier visualization applications on knowledge of the data structures.
Microsoft platforms to read and write data from The OPC Foundation membership is the
process control and factory automation devices. community that continues to collaborate to de-
The value proposition at that time was simple; velop the best specifcations, technologies, cer-
vendors were looking to make their lives simpler tifcations, and processes. Years ago, the focus
and more cost-effective. They did not want to be was exchanging data inside a corporate frewall.
burdened with continual development of com- No one really worried or thought too much
plex device-driver software to talk to the myriad about security. No one thought about the vol-
devices. Before OPC, companies had developed umes of data and what to do with the volumes
their own proprietary open technology and dis- of data. Yesterday and today, it is all about con-
tributed tool kits to multitudes of vendors to de- verting terabytes of data into intelligent infor-
velop software as an interface for their software mation. After OPC released OPC Data Access,
to discrete and process devices. the OPC Foundation continued to work with
When OPC frst started, it was all about a the community of collaborating vendors to look
small set of vendors. It was a community think- for other interoperable problems. Some of the
ing and collaborating to solve a critical problem specifcations that resulted solve the problems
of moving data from the factory and process of alarming and historical data access.
control devices to the frst-tier visualization ap- Classic OPC is the base of the OPC Unifed
plications. The key concept here is a community Architecture. OPC UA expands classic OPC from
collaborating together. the embedded world to the enterprise. It is all
OPC continued to develop new standards be- about connectivity in and between industrial
yond the frst data-access specifcation that was automation and all the related domains.
developed in the mid-1990s. OPC solves problems
beyond data access, including specifcations for OpenO&M
alarming and historical data access. The Micro- One of the frst OPC Foundation collaborations
soft platform-based specifcations of data access, was OpenO&M (operations and maintenance),
alarms of events, and historical data access are which was a partnership between organizations
now labeled the classic OPC specifcations. including MIMOSA, ISA95, OAGIS, and OPC. It
was based on the initial work between OPC and
OPC Unifed Architecture MIMOSA, focusing on asset management and
Requirements and technology continued to ad- the idea of preventative maintenance and reli-
vance, which established the need for a new ar- ability applications. MIMOSA really provided
chitecture that addressed a far broader scope of the deep repository of information, and OPC
interoperability problems. became the mechanism for transporting the in-
In 2004, the OPC Foundation took on the formation between various applications.
task of developing this new architecture called
the OPC Unifed Architecture (OPC UA), which Broadening scope
provides a service-oriented architecture de- In the past two years, the focus has been elevat-
signed to provide multivendor, multiplatform, ing the collaboration with other consortia and
secure, and reliable interoperability. The OPC capitalizing on the information modeling con-
Unifed Architecture unifes all the data and in- cepts inside of the OPC unifed architecture.
formation models from the classic OPC speci- The focus of the collaborations has spanned
fcations. It provides an extensible information oil and gas, building automation, smart energy,
model that allows not only OPC classic data to and machine-to-machine connectivity. Some of
be modeled, but also allows other consortia the specifc consortia that the OPC Foundation
is collaborating with include MDIS, capabilities, including all of the sub- is the integration between OPC and
DSATS, MTConnect, PLCOpen, BAC- typing of information. The architecture Energistics. We are putting together
Net interest group Europe, Energistics possibilities include connectivity to a working group that will develop an
SLC, ISA95, and ODVA/Sercos. the subsea vendor hardware through OPC UA companion specifcation for
So how does this collaboration ar- a subsea gateway that is topside to the PRODML.
chitecture work? First, OPC has what is MCS and ultimately to the DCS hu- Outside of oil and gas we have been
known as the information model archi- man-machine interface (HMI) system. working with the building automa-
tecture. The OPC classic specifcations, Standardizing information will allow all tion community. Specifcally, the OPC
including data access, alarms and con- the equipment to operate seamlessly Foundation is engaged with the BAC-
ditions, and historical data access, are and talk the same semantics and syn- net interest group Europe, which is
modeled as information inside the OPC tax. Multivendor interoperability at its promoting BACnet in the European
name space. OPC UA took the classic fnest leverages the capabilities of the markets. BACnet is a data communica-
OPC specifcations and separated out information model and OPC UA. And tion protocol for building automation
the services from the information. This an OPC UA companion specifcation under the auspices of the American
enabled us to identify the key services of is being developed that will describe Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and
reading, writing, browsing, subscription, all the objects inside the system and all Air-Conditioning Engineers. It is con-
and security and to keep them generic the information necessary to provide sidered the global standard for com-
from the information that they operate the infrastructure for interoperability munication in building automation
on. We are also able to provide complete and compliance. systems. In the fall of 2012, the OPC
structures of information behind the In other areas of oil and gas this is Foundation and the BACnet interest
data, which can be thought of as the data known as drilling system automation group formed a working group with
and then the metadata behind the data. (DSA-TS). This is all about looking at the main task of creating an informa-
OPC provided its own information the surface equipment of a drilling tion-mapping model for OPC UA and
model for its various classic OPC speci- rig. How do you model all the objects BACnet. Excellent work is being ac-
fcations. Then the OPC Foundation and integrate information between complished where we are taking data
looked at the opportunity to model in-
formation from other vendors and other
consortias information in a generic way.
The companies that work together will ultimately reap the
The best way to explain the infor- benefts of OPC UA.
mation model is to show a picture and
show the separation between the OPC multiple vendor systems? This is col- from building automation inclusive of
UAbased services and the OPC infor- laboration between all the operators, energy-metering data, real-time oper-
mation model and the specifcations of the drilling contractors, the equipment ating information, and maintenance
the information model from other col- suppliers, and the service companies information to simplify the integration
laborative organizations. that essentially are cooperative adver- with enterprise systems, including ac-
saries interested in information mod- counting, operational surveillance,
Collaborations eling and interoperability. The compa- and extensive energy-monitoring ap-
In the oil and gas community, OPC nies that work together will ultimately plications. In addition, we are able to
is engaged in a collaboration called reap the benefts of OPC UA. There will take data from automation systems in-
MDIS, which stands for master con- be commercial off-the-shelf products clusive of the production information
trol system (MCS) distributed control that will easily support the complex programmable logic controller (PLC)
system (DCS) interface standardiza- information models, providing high and DCS used in building automa-
tion (IS). All the major oil companies degrees of maintainability in a secure tion and other energy supply systems
(the operators), all the major DCS ven- fashion. One of the key standards is and integrate them with historical data
dors, and all the subsea vendors col- known as the well (oil and gas well) in- storage and scheduling applications.
laborated to standardize the objects for formation transfer standard, which will
automation from the subsea world to be in the OPC UA information model Embedded
the DCS. They wanted to standardize and is used throughout the drilling in- OPC UA was initially focused on
on their communication protocol and dustry. providing the infrastructure neces-
information model, with the benefts Finally, in the oil and gas world is the sary for data and information inte-
being reduction in cost and simplifying Standard Leadership Council. The OPC gration between the control systems
engineering. The key features that they Foundation is proud to be engaged in in the information technology world.
will use from OPC UA are subscrip- this important initiative where all the As OPC began to provide the neces-
tion, security, robust medication, and upstream oil and gas consortia are co- sary services with respect to security
redundancybut most importantly operating. One of the specifc initia- and the corresponding scaling of ser-
leveraging the information-modeling tives coming from this particular effort vices for platform independence, we
recognize a unique opportunity for through the organizational collaboration have frictionless information integra-
OPC UA to actually be scaled down taking place across our industry. tion out of the box with plug-and-play
into the embedded world. OPC UA has The multitude of members inside the interoperability. Consumer electronics
now been ported and made available OPC community are bringing forward are driving expectations for industrial
on the smallest level chips, and at the products and services that take advan- automation end users and engineers of
same time OPC UA is now available in tage of the multiplatform architecture tomorrow. Frictionless interoperability
a variety of PLC and DCS systems, and from the world of consumer electronics can now be realized by all our suppliers
numerous vendors are building OPC and entertainment. The smartphone developing best-of-breed products that
UA into embedded HMI devices. More has become a way of life. People use leverage open standards inclusive of the
importantly people are starting to look their smartphones as a replacement OPC technology portfolio.
at OPC UA as a mechanism for data for global positioning systems. People
integration down into the instrument use their smartphones for bidirectional ABOUT THE AUTHOR
level. OPC UA can exist anywhere. This information exchange. Smartphones
Thomas J. Burke (thomas.burke@opc-
existence anywhere will allow the inte- have become many peoples comput-
foundation.org) is the OPC Foundation
gration between industrial automation ers. The proliferation of applications
president and executive director. He was
and multiple related domains. and the importance of applications be-
one of the original architects of OPC, and
With respect to the embedded world ing developed that tie into the world of
his vision of interoperability is to develop
and collaboration, we have an excellent industrial automation can now be real-
and maintain the best technology, speci-
collaboration between OPC and PLCO- ized in a standard way by leveraging the
fcations, certifcation, and process to en-
pen. In 2009, the initial plan was put to- OPC UA technology.
able multivendor, multiplatform, secure,
gether to map data structures inside of In summary, the business value prop-
and reliable interoperability for and be-
IEC 61131 into an OPC UA name space, osition for open standards and specif-
tween industrial automation and related
and the initial goal was completed by cally OPC is really all about looking at
domains (www.OPCFoundation.org).
March 2010. In 2000, we began the de- the total cost of ownership, and how
velopment of PLCOpen OPC UA func- products from multiple vendors can View the online version at www.isa.org/intech/20131205.
tion blocks and services. The OPC cli-
ent now resides inside of the PLC and is
able to interact through programmatic
method calls into the manufacturing
execution system world, which be-
haves as an OPC UA server running in
the cloud. The applications of this are Reference Recorder
very interesting, and we now have the
ability to make transactional calls from
Accurate
&Portable
a PLC leveraging the collaboration
between OPC and PLCOpen. RUGGED
Collaboration journey
The collaboration examples between
Accuracy up to 0.025%.
the OPC Foundation and other orga-
nizations are just the beginning in the
Collects and stores up to
journey to standardize information in- 1 million data points.
tegration.
Replaces a deadweight tester
The value proposition of open stan- and chart recorder.
dards recognized in the world of consum-
Temperature, current, voltage,
er electronics is gaining momentum in and switch.
industrial automation. Expectations are
Also available in a Lab Reference
clear from the engineers of tomorrow
configuration.
they rely on multivendor plug-and-play
interoperability in consumer electronics
and expect multivendor plug-and-play
interoperability from industrial automa-
tion. More importantly, the ability for all
the standards organizations to work to-
gether in a harmonization of those infor- crystal@ametek.com See our article Reference Recorders Shake Up Old Standards on page 40.
mation model standards is being realized
FAST FORWARD
l Reference recorders improve on decades-
old technology used in chart recorders.
l Reference recorders offer deadweight
tester accuracy in a small feld-designed
instrument.
l Reference recorders remove the need to
carry multiple gauges by replacing them
all with one tool.
extended periods in remote locations. Chart re- calibration of other pressure measurement de-
corders may be battery powered or entirely me- vices. Field versions also exist but, outside the
chanical (requiring no external power), allowing lab, their accuracy depends on a host of factors.
them to operate in hazardous locations. To deliver an accurate reading, a feld dead-
An experienced user may provide preliminary weight tester must be perfectly level. Addition-
analysis of the output from a chart recorder in ally, ambient temperature, humidity, wind, and
the feld. However, communicating or storing this local gravity will all affect the reading. Without
data electronically becomes possible only after a adjusting for these, a feld deadweight testers
technician enters or scans the chart into a com- accuracy may be no better than a common pres-
puter. This process typically takes several days. sure gauge. Even with these compensations, a
Chart recorders usually claim an accuracy ranging feld deadweight tester cannot actively detect or
from 0.25 percent to 1 percent of span, but that record changes in pressure; it only offers an ac-
fgure depends on changes in ambient tempera- curate reference pressure for comparison.
ture and on the thickness of its penswhich can A reference recorder serves two purposes.
cause an additional error up to 1 percent of the First, it stores readings continually, with update
recorded reading. Chart recorders are also suscep- rates up to 10 readings per second, and allows
tible to additional errors caused by overpressure the operator to record an entire test from start to
and can easily be damaged if dropped. fnish; second, it provides a consistent, accurate
By contrast, a reference recorder exports reference for feld calibrations. Measurements
digital data in a familiar spreadsheet that can from modern reference recorders are indepen-
be easily shared and understood by multiple dent of local gravity or humidity and produce
users. Accuracy remains consistent with tem- their accuracy via a proprietary mathematical
perature changes, is protected from high over- algorithm that corrects for ambient tempera-
pressure events, and is not affected if the gauge ture. Achievable accuracies range from 0.025
is dropped. Despite being battery powered, ref- percent of the indicated reading at lower pres-
erence recorders are also rated intrinsically safe sures, to 0.1 percent of reading up to 15,000 psi.
for use in hazardous locations. A good reference recorders accuracy should
New regulations in many industries require
that safety tests be documented in an electron-
ic format. Some even require that the fles pro-
duced are in a tamperproof, secure fle format.
Reference recorders can save the digital data
in a signed pdf fle, which produces read-only
fles that cannot be manipulated.
Reference recorders not change with temperature across Replacing multiple pressure ranges
unify the recording its operating range. This is where re- Pressure and temperature gauges
capability of a chart corders vary widely. The best manu- are widespread and varied in form.
recorder, the high
accuracy of a dead-
facturers will provide proof of their Gauges will continue being useful
weight tester, and accuracy claims, with a calibration for years, because of their portability,
the continuous certificate from an accredited lab, customizability, and affordability. In
measurements of showing test data at different tem- contrast, their drawbacks stem from
a pressure gauge peratures. their inherent fragility and the neces-
into one tool.
sity to carry multiple gauges to cover
a given pressure range.
Linearity and ruggedness are the two most Linearity and ruggedness are the
important features of any pressure gauge. two most important features of any
pressure gauge. Many pressure gauges
would be useful across a much larger
pressure range if their sensors were
more linear and predictable. Also,
many gauges continue to display read-
How many times have you decided to stop work- is keeping them up at night, and why? What is
ing with a company because you thought it was their wish list of solutions that would make their
not listening to you? Perhaps you have switched jobs easier? How can you help?
your bank, Internet service, or cell phone pro- When you actively engage your customers and
vider, because you found it impossible to reach learn about their challenges, you can anticipate what
someone who seemed even slightly interested in they will need. This is achieved by building a relation-
solving your problem. ship with your customers, investing time in a two-
You are not alone. Research shows that 68 per- way dialogue, and really listening to what they say.
cent of customers stop working with a company due A lot of this seems to be common sense, but as
to treatment they received or perceived indifference. we hurry to meet our deadlines, and just quickly
Only 9 percent leave due to competitive reasons. touch base with our smart phones or tablets to
Today we have great communications and col- close the loop, how many times do we pause
laboration tools that enable us to make a technical and really hear what our customers are telling us?
connection almost immediately; we can commu- Electronic message exchanges are fne for a quick
nicate more quickly across greater distances than status update or question, but it is diffcult to get
at any other point in human history. However, we to the heart of any problem with electronic com-
need to remember that all manufacturing, and oth- munication alone. You can accomplish far more
er types of business, are primarily driven by people over a cup of coffee, lunch, or even a phone con-
and relationships. Maintaining a personal touch versation than you can with countless emails or
with our customers is what really matters. text messages, many of which may not be read.
Our number one mission must be to help our That is because people are what drive business,
customers accomplish what they have hired us to and the communication methods are only an effec-
domake their jobs easier and their operations tive enabler if you have established a sound relation-
more effcient. Period. Those who ignore this do so ship frst. We need to remember that decisions to
at the risk of losing business. proceed with a project, implement a new technology,
When was the last time you had a meaningful, expand a business, or stay with or switch vendors, are
productive discussion with one of your customers? all made by people, and not faceless entities.
One that resulted in a real path forward to solve As we all rush forward to develop and fnd new
a problem, or better yet, looked ahead to the cus- ways to leverage the best new technologies and
tomers short- and long-term goals? One that dis- solutions, we need to keep our focus on the peo-
cussed different options to reach theseand the ple whom we are creating these for. What tools do
expectations you both have from your working rela- they need, and what support do they need from
tionship? All too often, conversations with our cus- us? How can we deliver these more effectively?
tomers are initiated as a reaction to an immediate How can we make their work environment more
problem or issue, rather than as a collaborative step effcient, safe, and productive, and their jobs more
forward. It is too easy to hide behind the ability to rewarding? Are we listening to their input and
communicate quickly. Just because you can reach looking ahead to what they will need next?
your customer immediately using todays technol- The time spent to listen and learn about your
ogy, does not mean that you have really connected. customers daily challenges, short- and long-term
What can we do to improve how we work to- goals, and priorities will be one of the best invest-
gether and what we deliver, ensuring we develop the ments you can ever make for your business.
products and services that will help our customers use
the latest technologies to make their processes more ABOUT THE AUTHOR
effcient, and their companies more competitive? Jon Olson is North America region division manager,
It takes a commitment to focus on the people process automation, for ABB Inc. The division devel-
behind the business relationshipand to learn ops, produces, sells, delivers, and services products
what they need to be successful in their jobs and and solutions to enable industrial and energy cus-
in the marketplace. It involves taking the time to tomers to operate more effciently and proftably.
know the individuals whom you are working with Before his current role, he served as the division
and understand their day-to-day challenges. What manager, process automation, for ABB in Australia.
T
here has always been some form narios all too often to stop the line. This The fault codes provided tell engineering
of safety systems implemented in generally causes longer downtime and exactly what happened. Our objective is
industrial manufacturing automa- affects production related to restarting to provide a data-rich environment.
tion. However, the manually driven, hard- the machines.
wired safety systems of the past are los- An integrated safety system allows Flexibility
ing their place in the modernized plant to plants to create safety zones to control Flexibility on a line has become increas-
networked safety systems. This is a new how the line is stopped or the areas of ingly important for manufacturers to
approach; in the past fve to six years you machines that are safe to access to clear meet changing customer demands.
would not have seen these integrated Whereas hardwired safety systems were
systems in applications. analogous to casting concrete or carving
Today, the trend is to make safety In general, the Occupation stone, digitally integrated safety systems
more methodical and more integrated are designed to be nimble. Standardized
into the core of the control systems
Safety and Health Adminis- design allows for changes on the line
not just added as an afterthought. In- tration (OSHA) requires the and expansion effciencies. The instal-
tegrating safety systems into the line lations typically only require a couple
control systems at the plant foor is now
employer to provide a safe wires, and new parts and old parts can
a part of the safety system design and work environment and to use be swapped out in minutes.
a requirement in the electrical specifca-
tions of most of our clients. We certainly
a proven method to assure OSHA/ISO-13849-1
encourage all customers to follow this that one exists. In general, the Occupation Safety and
methodology. Health Administration (OSHA) requires
In the old-style architecture, there the employer to provide a safe work en-
were hardwired safety systems that were jams without stopping the machines or vironment and to use a proven method to
functional, but they lacked key features the entire line. Now criteria can be de- assure that one exists. Therefore OSHA re-
and functions to protect against possible veloped and programmed into the in- lies on ISO-13489-1 to defne what makes
failure, creating an unsafe situation. For tegrated safety software for safe access an integrated safety system safe.
example, there is now redundancy in the and to maintain productivity on the line. The ISO-13849-1 standards help defne
devices, the mechanics, the electronics, Before, those changes had to be made the safety (performance) level, the safe-
and the software and hardware. Now, with hardwiring and machine changes. ty functions required, the safety con-
we can centrally manage all the safety trol system to be used, and the safety
devices, such as push-button E-stops, Control devices to be used. This is all done by
pull cords, and light curtains. They are Disparate controls and data slow down identifying the hazards defned in a risk
integrated directly into the line control operations. By integrating all of the assessment.
system and programmed for fexibility to safety controls, plant managers and op- By understanding these requirements,
easily control these devices in zones while erators can easily view the data, identify designing and integrating the system to
maintaining safety ratings. the problems, and decide the best course these standards, and properly document-
The safety system converges with the of action. Diagnostics and alarms can be ing the safety system, customers can be
line control systems and is held sepa- designed from collected safety informa- assured that OSHA requirements are met
rately and managed based on safety- tion. The customers determine how they and that a safe system has been integrated.
level requirements. This allows the safety want to monitor the system and what
system to be validated separately and to data they want to see, such as downtime
provide plantwide consistency. Key ben- monitoring. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
efts of an integrated system include the Before, it was nice to have data; now it Jay Cross, CAP, is project lead at Polytron
following: is required to have data. Supervisory soft- Inc., a certifed member of the Control
ware can drill down to interrogate each System Integrators Association (CSIA)
Tamperproof device. This gives the engineering staff with headquarters in Duluth, Ga. Contact
Some operators tend to use the E-stop the data to access the device and monitor info@polytron.com or visit the website at
as a convenient method to stop the ma- the equipment for failures and frequent www.polytron.com. For more information
chine. E-stops are designed for emergen- incidents. They can make adjustments to about CSIA and CSIA certifcation, visit
cies, but are used in nonemergency sce- improve overall equipment effectiveness. www.controlsys.org.
C
ertifed Automation Professionals (CAPs) are responsible sent. If a hacker is successful in changing set point data as that
for the direction, design, and deployment of systems data travels over the network, the hacker has compromised in-
and equipment for manufacturing and control systems. tegrity of the data, since it is no longer the same when received
as when sent.
CAP question Answer B is incorrect, because functionality is not a basic
If a hacker intercepts and changes set point data traveling over security property.
an industrial network, which basic security property is affected? Answer C is incorrect, because the problem statement did not
A. integrity address the availability of data. It appears that only the value of
B. functionality the set point (data integrity) was affected.
C. availability Answer D is incorrect, because defensibility is not a basic se-
D. defensibility curity property, but rather a measure of the vulnerability of a
system.
CAP answer
The correct answer is A, integrity. Data integrity implies that the Reference: Trevathan, Vernon L., A Guide to the Automation Body
data received is the same (value, format, quality) as the data of Knowledge, Second Edition, ISA, 2006.
C
ertifed Control System Technicians (CCSTs) calibrate, drop, is used to infer the fow rate. From the choices in the
document, troubleshoot, and repair/replace instrumenta- problem statement, the magnetic fowmeter is the only sensor
tion for systems that measure and control level, tempera- on the list that does not depend upon a differential pressure
ture, pressure, fow, and other process variables. to be developed to quantify fow rate, and therefore, does not
require square root extraction.
CCST question Answer B, venturi fowmeter, infers fow rate by measurement
Which of the following fow measurement devices does not re- of the differential pressure across a tapered tube.
quire square root extraction? Answer C, orifce plate, infers fow rate by measurement of
A. magnetic fowmeter the differential pressure across a thin plate with an orifce bored
B. venturi fowmeter through it.
C. orifce plate Answer D, pitot tube, infers fow rate by measurement of
D. pitot tube the differential pressure between a reference pressure (static
pressure of the fowing fuid) and the pressure measured at the
CCST answer impact tube.
The correct answer is A, magnetic fowmeter. Square root ex-
traction is a mathematical method that is required for fowme- Reference: Goettsche, L. D. (Editor), Maintenance of Instruments
ter readings where a measured differential pressure, or pressure and Systems, Second Edition, ISA, 2005.
Thermocouples
versus RTDs
Choosing the right temperature sensor requires
evaluation of the environment, temperature range,
accuracy, and speed of response
T
By Ehren Kiker hermocouples (TCs) and resistance tem- The above is pretty basic, taught in every In-
perature detectors (RTDs) are the most strumentation 101 class. But it poses the frst
widely used temperature sensors in au- question to consider when choosing a sensor:
tomation and process control. They are found How do you wire the sensor to the transducer,
embedded in motors, valves, turbines, bear- signal conditioner, or automation system? Such
ings, and a host of other devices. Most smart devices and systems, being electronic in nature,
instruments such as fowmeters, pressure need to be mounted in a reasonably safe loca-
transmitters, and level transmitters also have tion, away from high temperatures.
an embedded temperature sensorused to TCs must be wired with thermocouple exten-
correct the primary measured variable or for sion wire, which is the same as the wire used
process control. in the TC. For example, a Type K TC uses a wire
When used alone, temperature sensors are of nickel-chromium connected at the sensing
often installed in thermowells, which are insert- junction to a wire of nickel-alumel. Extension
ed into tanks, vessels, and pipes. A thermowell wire must be the same composition, that is,
protects the sensor from the environment, but one nickel-chromium and one nickel-alumel
it slows the response time and degrades the ac- wire. In general, longer runs of extension wire
curacy. Installing sensors in a thermowell is a are discouraged, as the wires act as an antenna,
different subject, and will not be covered here. making the measurement more susceptible to
Instead, this article discusses direct immersion electromagnetic and radio frequency interfer-
sensors; i.e., TCs and RTDs that are directly in- ence. Cost may also be an issue when dealing
serted and exposed to the process without the with long extension wires, especially ones with
protection of a thermowell. exotic materials (e.g., Type R TCs). In certain
cases, a compensation cable made up of a less
Theories of operation expensive material with similar EMF properties
A thermocouple consists of two wires of dissimi- to the TC can be used.
lar metals, joined at both endsat the reference RTDs, on the other hand, can be wired with
point outside the process (cold junction) and at a standard cable for much longer distances; how-
junction at the point of measurement (hot junc- ever, they are typically limited by issues related
tion). The metals react differently to temperature to self-heating errors. In both cases, the exten-
changes and generate an electromotive force sion wiring must be shielded against electrical
(EMF) voltage based on the temperature differ- noise in the plant. Note that TC extension wire is
ential between the junctions (the Seebeck effect). more susceptible to noise than RTD cable.
A resistance temperature detector is based on the
principle that electrical resistance in a wire in- Sensor construction
creases with temperature. A wire-wound RTD consists of fne coiled wire
In both cases, the sensor is wired to a transducer wrapped around a ceramic or glass element,
or signal conditioner that has been calibrated to then placed in a sheathed probe for protection
accept the input voltage or resistance, calculate (see fgure 1). Thin-flm RTDs have a platinum
the correct temperature, and output it as a 420 coating over a ceramic substrate. Thin-flm
mA, mV, or digital signal to an automation system. RTDs are not as susceptible to vibration as wire-
wound RTDs but typically are more limited in RTD Pt 100 sensor elements
their applicable temperature range.
Wire-wound RTDs are typically made from
copper, nickel, or platinum alloys. Platinum is
the most popular, because it has better accu-
racy and works over a wider temperature range.
RTDs can be taped or cemented to a surface,
mounted in a probe, or embedded in a device
via threaded holes.
Thermocouples are not as fragile as RTDs,
and are typically protected by a metal covering
that can be bolted, welded, soldered, or glued to
a surface. In some cases, the temperature junc-
tion can be left exposed to the environment, al-
lowing for faster response times (see fgure 2).
Grounding can be an issue. A TC can build up
a static charge that affects its accuracy, so it may
Ceramic RTD Glass RTD Thin-flm RTD
need to be grounded. However, TCs can also wire wound wire wound
pick up circuit noise when grounded to an elec-
trical device or machine. Determining whether Figure 1. Wire-wound RTD sensing elements are fragile, so they are placed in
or not to ground a TC depends on specifcs of a protective sheath.
the particular application, such as the amount
of electrical noise present in the measurement
environment and the grounding circuit.
surements typically are 200C to 400C, the power required is only 1 mA to 10 Although not a technical issue, TCs
so an RTD may be the best choice in mA, it can cause the platinum element are considerably less expensive than
that range. in the RTD to heat up, thus affecting RTDs due primarily to lower produc-
Response time: While both sensors re- accuracy of the measurement. If long tion costs. Depending on the number
spond quickly to temperature changes, extension wires are used, more power of sensors needed for a particular ap-
TCs are faster. In certain cases, however, may be needed to overcome resistance plication, this could be a major factor.
manufacturing processes allow for pro- in the wires, thus increasing the self- Careful selection of the right temper-
duction of thin-flm RTDs with greatly heating problem. ature sensing technology is essential to
improved response times. Stability: The long-term stability of ensure the best performance, reliabil-
Dimensions: Both sensors are fairly an RTD is very good, meaning that its ity, and cost effectiveness. Suppliers
small, at about 0.5 mm diameter. If readings will be repeatable and stable that sell both TCs and RTDs are often
space is an issue for mounting a sen- for a long time. TCs, on the other hand, good sources of information when de-
sor, check with the supplier for size and tend to drift. The EMF produced by a ciding which type of sensor to use, as is
mounting options. TC can change over time because of previous experience with different sen-
Vibration: In general, TCs are less oxidation, corrosion, and other chang- sor types in various applications.
susceptible to vibration than RTDs. es in the metallurgical properties of To learn more about practical ther-
However, in certain manufacturing pro- the sensing elements. TC drift is irre- mocouple thermometry, check out
cesses thin-flm RTDs can be produced versible, and some provision is needed www.isa.org/thermometry.
that are capable of much greater vibra- to detect it, such as software or testing
tion resistance than standard RTDs. for loop resistance. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Self-heating: An RTD is made of very Accuracy: As a general rule, RTDs are Ehren Kiker (ehren.kiker@us.endress.com)
fne wires or very fne coatings, and re- more accurate than TCs. RTDs can pro- is a product manager with Endress+Hauser
quires a voltage from a power supply duce accuracy of 0.1C, while TCs are with more than 15 years of experience in
TCs do not require power. Although typically accurate to only 1C. process control instrumentation.
E
very institution, from the federal gov- and preventing cyberthreats. technologies, to cyberthreats? The list of
ernment to the corner convenience As one might assume, most of the vulnerabilities and technologies affected
store, struggles with the ongoing is- currently listed programs were initially are seemingly endless.
sue of workforce developmentand now designed with network security in mind.
also with the issue of cybersecurity. Programs such as: New specializations
There is the initial struggle to recruit a n Global Information Assurance will be required
person who has the interpersonal skills Certifcation (GIAC) Information The Electronic Technician Association,
and attitude to succeed, and the knowl- Security Fundamentals International (ETA) has developed more
edge to contribute to the collective effort n CompTIA Security+ than 80 certifcation programs focused
on day one. And in evolving and technical n ISCs Certifed Information Systems on skill sets as varied as:
industries, there is the ongoing task of re- Security Professional n Certifed Network Computer Techni-
training technicians in emerging technol- n Certifed Hacking Forensic Investigator cian (CNCT)
ogies, developing job skills from this new But cybersecurity is not just for com- n Certifed Network Systems Technician
knowledge, adapting and applying these puters anymore. The playing feld is (CNST)
skills in the real world, and then evaluat- evolving . . . changing . . . converging. n Computer Service Technician (CST)
ing the individual to see if that employee n Wireless Network Technician (WNT)
really has absorbed the information now The threats come from n Wireless Communications (WCM)
necessary to perform the job. new vulnerabilities n Communication Site Installer (R56)
The challenges of workforce develop- Increasingly, computer networks are mov- n Mobile Communications & Electronics
ment can clearly be seen in the recent ing to wireless platforms. Even our per- Installer (MCEI)
initiative by the National Institute of Stan- sonal cars and public transit systems are n Fiber Optics Installer (FOI)
dards and Technology (NIST), a part of incorporating wireless data systems as n Fiber Optics Technician-Outside Plant
the U.S. Department of Commerce, as it standard features. With these changes (FOT-OSP)
struggles to address the concerns raised come increased and evolving network n Radio Frequency Identifcation
by the growing threat of cyberattacks on vulnerabilities. The world of computing is Technical Specialist (RFID)
our nations critical infrastructure. moving into a landscape previously domi- These programs are widely accepted
Out of these concerns has emerged the nated by those trained in radio frequency within their respective industries, and
National Initiative for Cybersecurity Edu- (RF) applications. undergo constant review and updates.
cation (NICE) Framework, a nationally co- And at the same time, over the past Many are currently incorporating cyber-
ordinated effort focused on cybersecurity 10 to 15 years, mobile radio communi- and network-security issues into their
awareness, education, training, and pro- cations and cell and wired telecommuni- programs.
fessional development. Within the NICE cations systems have become more and Conversely, those interested in cyber-
Framework, the effort seeks not only to more Internet Protocol based in an effort security issues increasingly need a com-
defne terms, create job descriptions, and to enhance their effciency, adaptability, prehensive knowledge of diverse tech-
divide security tasks into specialty areas and connectivity to existing data systems. nologiessimply to understand those
but it also seeks to come to grips with the The industries are converging. systems and the inherent vulnerabilities
areas of education necessary to make the In the early days of fber-optic technol- they present.
nations infrastructure more secure. ogy, it was touted as the industrys an- For more information about the cer-
After those felds of expertise are iden- swer to network security. But in recent tifcation programs, publications, and
tifed (which is no easy task), how do you years, it has been determined that, using technical information available through
go about verifying that an individual is only commonly available tools and equip- the ETA, International, visit its website at
indeed qualifed in that specialty? This ment, fber-optic cables are as easy to tap www.eta-i.org.
is where training and third-party certif- as copperand the security breach is al-
cation programs become paramount in most undetectable. With millions of miles ABOUT THE AUTHOR
preparing a workforce that can identify of fber transmitting billions of mega- Jay Warmke is a writer, speaker, and teach-
and alleviate these threats. As part of its bytes of data dailywho needs access to er and was recently awarded ETAs 2013
process, the NICE initiative is identifying the computer hardware? Educator of the Year Award. Warmke also
existing certifcation programs that are And how vulnerable are frst respond- serves on the board of the International
applicable and helpful in dealing with ers, who have traditionally relied on RF Certifcation Accreditation Council.
ISA
-100.11a-2011, Wireless ISAs ANSI-accredited procedures allow cated, ISA-100.11a has been adopted as
Systems for Industrial Au- experts from end-user companies to di- a plantwide standard for all future wire-
tomation: Process Control rectly participate and vote, ensuring con- less applications.
and Related Applications, has received sideration of the views and requirements To read about other real-world applica-
approval from all 21 participating nation- of those who will actually be deploying tions of ISA-100.11a, visit www.isa100w-
al committees to the International Elec- wireless systems in real-world industrial ci.org/en-US/Applications/Success-Stories.
trotechnical Commission (IEC) that voted
on the IEC version in a recently completed That end-user input is now evident in the growing
committee draft for vote (CDV) stage.
The CDV stage is the fnal stage in the
worldwide application of ISA-100.11a.
IEC process in which technical comments
applications. That end-user input is now The extension of ISA-100.11a to the
may be considered. The standard, expect-
evident in the growing worldwide appli- IEC is the latest in a long and productive
ed to be issued in early 2014 for a fnal IEC
cation of ISA-100.11a technology in pro- collaboration. Many original ISA stan-
approval stage in which no technical com-
cesses including oil and gas, liquefed nat- dards have been adopted to become
ments may be submitted, will carry the
ural gas (LNG), refning, petrochemicals, widely used IEC global standards in vital
designation IEC 62734 upon publication.
chemicals, power, biopharmaceuticals, areas including:
This follows previous approval of ISA-
thermal processing, and water treatment. n ISA-84/IEC 61511 Functional Safety
100.11a as an ISA and American National
In a presentation at the 2013 ARC Fo- n ISA-88/IEC 61512 Batch Control
Standard. The latter confrmed that ISAs
rum, for example, C. B. Chakradhaar of n ISA-95/IEC 62264 Enterprise-Control
open consensus standards development
RasGas described the highly cost-effec- System Integration
procedures as accredited by the American
tive application of ISA-100.11a-compli- n ISA-18/IEC 62682 Management of
National Standards Institute (ANSI) were fol-
ant wireless temperature transmitters to Alarm Systems
lowed properly in developing ISA-100.11a.
monitor a critical component in LNG pro- n ISA-99/IEC 62443 Cyber Security for
ANSI requires participation not only of sup-
duction. Based on that success, he indi- Industrial Automation and Control
pliers but of all key interest categories.
E
ach year, the ISA Standards & Prac- and outside the plant boundary. egies for incorporating automated pro-
tices Department recognizes signif- The fve additional winners of the award cedures into industrial automation and
cant contributions by standards com- were recognized for leadership and tech- basic process control systems (BPCS). The
mittee members toward achieving major nical contributions in developing the re- technical report complements the con-
milestoneswhich typically would result in cently published ISA-TR106.00.01-2013, cepts in key ISA standards that deal with
the publication of an ISA standard, recom- Procedure Automation for Continuous the use of procedures in specifc applica-
mended practice, or technical report. Six Process Operations Models and Termi- tions, including batch processing (ISA-88)
winners for 2013 were recently announced. nology. They are: and safety systems (ISA-84). Many such
Hal Thomas of exida was recognized for n Yahya Nazer, Dow Chemical fundamental concepts are common to all
his leadership and technical expertise as Company, ISA106 co-chair procedures without regard to the context
ISA84 Working Group 9 chairman in the n William Wray, Bayer MaterialScience, in which they are implemented, but there
development of ISA-TR84.00.09-2013, ISA106 co-chair are needs specifc to continuous process-
Security Countermeasures Related to n Marty King, Chevron Energy Technol- es. These needs are addressed in a proce-
SIS. The recently approved technical re- ogy Company, ISA106 past co-chair dure requirements model, procedure im-
port is expected to be published in early n David Emerson, Yokogawa, ISA106 plementation model, and physical model
December 2013. It provides guidance on lead editor as well as in sections concerning map-
the countermeasures used to reduce the n Charles Green, Aramco Services ping of procedures to BPCS components.
likelihood of a security breach of a safety- Company, ISA106 secretary For more information about ISA Stan-
instrumented system (SIS) that degrades ISATR106.00.01-2013 addresses good dards, contact Charley Robinson, crobin-
its ability to perform its function. This practices for procedure automation in son@isa.org, +1 919-990-9213, or visit
relates to cybersecurity from both inside continuous process operations and strat- www.isa.org/standards.
Model SP007 differential pressure transmitter ATEX, IECEx, CSA, CRN, CE, RoHS as well as SIL 3 capability. Pres-
The Tecsis Model SP007 differential pressure transmitter has a sure ranges from vacuum through 7500 psi are offered, along with
bidirectional wet/wet design that uses silicon technology for reli- a broad selection of pressure inlet fttings.
able data in tank level measurement. It monitors fow rate in Ashcroft, www.ashcroft.com
heat exchangers or flters and in a variety of test stand appli-
cations. The SP007 is built to perform in the most demanding ProSense MPS25 pressure switches
conditions with welded stainless-steel construction and a 3x- AutomationDirect introduces the Pro-
safe overload rating. This unit is available in ranges from 01 to Sense MPS25 series mechanical pressure
0500 psid with standard accuracy of 0.25 percent, or optional switches. These switches have an all-
high accuracy of 0.1 percent. welded 316 stainless-steel sealed dia-
Amplifed output of 05 VDC, 010 VDC or 420 mA is of- phragm actuator design (for up to 100
fered, and there are fve electrical connections to choose from. psi) or a direct-acting 316 stainless-steel
With six different pressure ports available, the SP007 will easily piston design with a Buna-N O-ring (for
integrate into most any system. Operating temperature is 40F 200 to 7500 psi). The 316 stainless-steel
to 240F, compensated from 40F to 140F. housing resists vibration and shock while
Tecsis, www.tecsis.com providing reliable operation over a wide
operating temperature range. Pressure
Dry block calibrator ranges from vacuum to 7500 psig are available; all models include
The Intempco DB100 Dry Block is a a -inch NPT process connection and a precision snap-acting
miniature temperature calibrator that SPDT, 3 A, mechanically operated switch output.
is lightweight and portable. The unit The mechanical pressure switches are available with an integral
measures 6.25 in by 5 in by 2 in. The 6-foot cable with -inch NPT male conduit connector, or a DIN
dry block can be ordered with various 175301-803C L-connector. The switches are UL, CSA, CE and
well sizes to ensure an optimal ft be- RoHS compliant and have a three-year warranty.
tween the sensor and the controlled AutomationDirect, www.automationdirect.com
thermal mass as well as to suit specifc
needs. It is factory calibrated using an advanced fuzzy logic con-
troller and has a four-digit LED display; the unit can be ordered
to indicate in either Fahrenheit or Celsius. The calibration range
is from ambient temperature plus 10C to 300C (86F to 570F).
Intempco, www.intempco.com
InTech advertisers are pleased to provide additional information about their products and services. To obtain further information,
please contact the advertiser using the contact information contained in their ads or the web address shown here.
Advertiser ......................................... Page # Advertiser ......................................... Page # Advertiser ......................................... Page #
Adalet ......................................................26 Cooper Bussmann ...........................Cover 3 Endress+Hauser, Inc. ..................................9
www.adalet.com www.cooperindustries.com www.endress.com
Additel Corporation .................................51 Crystal Engineering..................................39 Honeywell ................................................43
www.additel.com www.crystalengineering.net www.honeywell.com
ARC Advisory Group ................................56 Emerson DeltaV........................................23 Honeywell Process Solutions ..............3, 15
www.arcweb.com www.emersonprocess.com www.honeywellprocess.com
Arjay Engineering Ltd. .............................17 Emerson Process Management ......Cover 4 Intempco Controls......................................8
www.arjayeng.com www.emersonprocess.com www.intempco.com
ISA .......................................................47, 50
www.isa.org
ITS Enclosures ...........................................42
www.itsenclosures.com
Magnetrol International ............................6
www.magnetrol.com
MOXA Inc.........................................Cover 2
www.moxa.com
Pepperl+Fuchs Inc. ...................................33
www.pepperl-fuchs.us
ProComSol, Ltd. ........................................55
www.procomsol.com
Siemens...............................................28, 29
www.usa.siemens.com
Siemens Energy & Automation ...............21
www.usa.siemens.com
Vega Controls UK .....................................27
www.vegacontrols.co.uk
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