A publication of Fisher Controls’ FIELDVUE Instrumentation Team.
Issue 1, Spring 1999
Welcome, Readers!
Welcome to a new newsletter for
all current and potential users of
FIELDVUE digital valve
controllers. Our purpose is to help
you, our customers, get the most
out of the product. Through these
pages, we will show that the
product family, and the field-based
architecture it supports, actually
provides much more than “smart”
instrumentation.
By sharing technical tips
to help you maximize DVC
functionality, responding to
frequently-asked questions from
the field, and offering a variety of
applications, success stories, and
testimonials we will show you the
benefits and capabilities of this
award-winning product line.
Improving control or
reducing maintenance of a single
loop can dramatically improve
your throughput and cost efficien-
cies overall. The FIELDVUE
product family, especially when
installed together, helps Fisher
customers in virtually every indus-
try around the world optimize their
production and save money.
On the pages of this
newsletter, you will learn how
FIELDVUE instruments---in combi-
nation with Fisher’s technical
leadership and superior customer
service---can make a difference for
you, too.
To receive future copies of
VUE to SUCCESS, please
complete and return the FAX-back
form on the back of the cover
letter. The newsletter will also be
posted on the Fisher web-site. ■
Meet the Family
FIELDVUE Instrumentation refers
to the product family described
below:
A FIELDVUE
Series 5000
digital valve
controller
(DVC) is a
communicat-
ing, micro-
processor-based, current-to-
pneumatic instrument. The DVC
accurately positions the valve in
response to small signal changes
and monitors the health of the
entire assembly. Using the HART
communications protocol or
FOUNDATION fieldbus tech-
nology, the unit provides operators
with easy access to critical
process operating information.
Self-diagnostic capabilities
allow you to check valve perfor-
mance without taking the valve
out of the line. By comparing the
present valve signature (graph of
valve performance) against stored
signatures, you may discover
performance changes before they
cause problems. You can receive
diagnostic information on a single
loop or on the entire process and
integrate the data into existing
systems.
ValveLink software is the user
interface that provides an easy-to-
use environment on a personal
computer for configuring, calibrat-
ing, and diagnosing the operating
characteristics of the DVCs.
Offered as a stand-alone
product or as a SNAP-ON™ to
Asset Management Solutions
(AMS) software, ValveLink can
manage data from thousands of
DVCs at a time. It can help you
engineer new installations, facili-
tate loop check-out, and provide
alert logging and audit reporting.
ValveLink software manages
DVC diagnostics data.
The HART 275 Communicator is
a hand-held interface that
provides a common communica-
tion link to all HART-compatible,
micro-processor-based instru-
ments. It is easy for first-time
users to learn and fast and
efficient for frequent users to
operate. The keypad, liquid
crystal display (LCD), and
software menu make up the unit’s
user interface.When connected to
a HART-compatible device, the
communicator’s menu provides
critical information on the
connected device. ■
 Feat ur es
ValveLink-Modbus Interface Improves View,
Access To Operations Data
Advanced versions of ValveLink
software include Modbus commu-
nication capability. Modbus is a
common Request-Response
protocol used between field
devices and control systems to
communicate large arrays of
analog and discrete data.
With Modbus integration,
any distributed control system
(DCS) can display travel,
pressure, temperature and all the
instrument alerts right on the
system faceplate. It serves as a
gateway that catapults users into
a network solution, complete with
alert logging and diagnostics.
The ValveLink Product
Manager at Fisher-Marshalltown
said this enhancement to
ValveLink integrates FIELDVUE
instruments into an existing DCS,
including those that do not have a
HART interface. “Users in indus-
tries including refining, power, and
chemicals, recognize and reap the
benefits of Modbus integration,”
he says. “With our ValveLink-
Modbus interface, they’ve gained
access to FIELDVUE data on their
Wide Area Networks.”
& B enefits
The Modbus Interface
improves the visibility of valve
operations at a control system
console and thereby allows opera-
tors and system engineers to:
● monitor valve condition in real
time on the graphic display,
● integrate instrument parameters
into process control schemes, and
● trend valve operation and corre-
late it against process data using
the control system’s data historian
capability
Typically, an operator will
want to see the actual valve
travel and input current, brought
back from the DVC5000, in order
WAN
to verify that it is properly follow-
ing the 4-20 mA current signal.
With some control systems, this
can be displayed on the loop
faceplate as a 0-100 percent bar.
Critical alert status can also be
displayed on the faceplate. It may
be any of the DVC5000 alerts or it
may be an ‘all instrument’ alert
status. “The point is, when an
operator sees an alert or other
problem, ValveLink can be used
to investigate or check detailed
status,” says the ValveLink
Product Manager.
Current ValveLink VL2005
or VL2020 users can upgrade to
the VL2030 Modbus Interface
capability. For more how-to infor-
mation, contact your local
Representative or check out the
VL2000 Series User’s Guide. ■
2
New Design Program
Reduces Lead Times
For Custom Mountings
With millions of control valves in
the installed base, Fisher Controls
eagerly supports the replacement
of analog positioners with
FIELDVUE units, especially on
non-Fisher valves. The
FIELDVUE Product Manager is
understandably proud of Fisher’s
state-of-the-art DVCs.
“FIELDVUE sales have
doubled each year since its intro-
duction in 1994,” he said, “and no
competitor’s unit can match ours
in terms of diagnostic capabilities.
More importantly, our positioner
can be applied on any valve or
actuator, saving our customers
maintenance expense (common
parts) and training time while
improving functionality and control
in the field.”
Installing Fisher’s DVCs
on existing, non-Fisher valves,
however, requires designs for
numerous mounting kits. With
added resources and a new
design program, Fisher has
significantly improved its delivery
performance and customer
support in the supply of these
mounting kits. An experienced
outside firm develops the bracket
designs for mounting FIELDVUE
on non-Fisher products, and
Fisher maintains a design library
and stocking inventory in-house.
The FIELDVUE Product
Engineer serves as the primary
liaison with the design team. “This
new program has cut our delivery
lead-times in half and dramatically
improved our service levels and
response to customer requests,”
he said. “As the program evolves,
we’ll strive to deliver these custom
mounting kits within days, not
weeks.” ■
 Factor y
FIELDVUE Team Offers
Signature-Series
Performance Testing
“The average refinery has
thousands of control valves, and
many customers want to maintain
tight, accurate control of their
valves to optimize their process,”
says the Software
Program Manager. “Thus,
routinely testing valve
performance has broad
implications for optimizing
loop performance on a
vast scale.”
The testing
begins at the Fisher
manufacturing facility,
before the control valve
assembly ships. Any
valve that includes a
DVC5000 Series
controller is tested with
ValveLink software.
Select from three
Typical Valve Signature for a Sliding-Stem Valve.
different types of tests:
● Series 1 tests include
configuration, condition monitor-
ing, valve signature, and dynamic
error band.
● Series 2 tests include step
response, output signal, as well
as signal and alert monitoring.
Fisher Offers
Diagnostic Data
Interpretation Service
Traditionally, a maintenance
problem meant pulling the valve
out of line for inspection, repair,
and re-installation --- a time-
consuming and expensive
solution. Today, using remote
diagnostics technology from
Fisher Controls, you can deter-
mine the condition or performance
of a valve without removing it from
the line.
The true value of diagnos-
tics data, however, comes from its
correct interpretation. If users do
not have the time to become profi-
Tests
● Series 3 covers any additional
tests required, including repeats of
Series 1 or 2 with changes in end
points or scan times.
Along with a quality,
Fisher-manufactured valve
assembly, you receive report
documentation on each test. The
report includes a copy of the
computer-generated bar graphs
for dynamic error band and valve
signature tests as well as a 3 1/2-
inch diskette with test files for
direct import to your local
database. Valves that don’t meet
specified performance criteria are
cient in this analysis, they can
rely on others for this expertise.
Fisher Controls is the first
supplier in the industry to offer a
Diagnostic Interpretation service
to help you understand what the
diagnostic curves and possible
anomalies are saying about your
valve’s performance. Simply send
data gathered by ValveLink
software (on valves equipped with
FIELDVUE DVCs) or by
FlowScanner™ units (on valves
without FIELDVUE instrumenta-
tion) to the nearest Fisher
Representative.
The complexity of the
data determines who responds
and to what degree. If Diagnostic
Center services are warranted,
3
adjusted and re-tested prior to
shipment.
Customers may use this
initial factory report as a refer-
ence for future, in-line testing.
The valve signature test, for
example, plots actuator pressure
versus travel. It is essentially
what a complete cycle of your
valve, specified for your applica-
tion, should look like on
paper.
Later, with the
use of ValveLink soft-
ware, you can zoom in
on this curve, overlay it
on the original, and spot
any changes. Para-
meters such as seat
load, bench set, and
friction may be evaluated
using the diagnostic test
graphs and analysis.
Fisher diagnos-
tics personnel can help
you analyze test results.
“Our experienced, field-
service personnel will
help customers interpret
these graphs, compare test
results (such as for friction), and
ultimately predict maintenance
needs six months down the road,”
the software program manager
concluded. ■
you’ll receive a written, easy-to-
understand report, including
recommendations to improve
configuration and performance.
A long-time Field Service
engineer said: “Diagnostic tests
are performed on 100% of the
valves as they leave Fisher facili-
ties, ensuring a sound product.”
It’s good practice to repeat these
tests after the valve is installed.
Subsequent tests provide a sound
comparison or baseline for analy-
sis. The trained eye can spot
changes in performance before
serious problems arise.
To take advantage of this
new service, contact your local
Fisher Representative. ■
After Hurricane, Chevron Refinery Relies On
Team Fisher and FIELDVUE Instrumentation
For Chevron, the bad news is that
Hurricane Georges hit their refin-
ery in Pascagoula, Mississippi in
late September, plunging the
entire process and millions of
dollars worth of equipment under
four feet of water. The good news
is they have an alliance with
Fisher Controls.
John H. Carter (JHC)
Company, Fisher’s local
Representative, arrived on-site
October 6th, and rallied personnel
from all four regional sales offices
into action. Their Asset
Management crew set the scope
and priorities for the work and
contacted Fisher Service
Company (FSC) sites for
additional assistance.
More than 85 Fisher
employees from ten states
responded to the call, including
FSC personnel from Maine,
Florida, Illinois, and Texas. Local
service technicians from the FSC
in Mobile, Alabama, for example,
traveled to the site in shifts,
working 12 to 14 hour days, seven
days a week for several weeks.
Additional support arrived from
throughout the Fisher network,
including the headquarters in
Marshalltown, Iowa.
The FIELDVUE Product
A DVC at Chevron-Pascagoula, mounted on a Baumann Valve.
Manager was one of a dozen
Fisher-Marshalltown employees to
make the trip. He said the
295,000 barrels-per-day refinery
has 48 operating units, and the
volume of work they faced was
almost overwhelming.
“Chevron was able to shut
down before the storm hit, but
little else,” he said. “The scope of
the valve work included disassem-
bling, cleaning, and reassembling
the actuators as well as replacing
electronic components for all
valves below the five-foot water
mark---about three thousand
valves.”
Chevron began replacing
instruments in-kind, but several
factors influenced them to make
selective improvements as well.
Chevron’s Reliability Team found
a way to replace decades-old
analog positioners with
FIELDVUE DVCs where possible.
This resulted in an increase of on-
site DVCs from 200 to 700 units.
Each operating unit had a
scheduled startup date, and it was
very important that Fisher person-
nel complete their work on time.
The Utilities unit was up and
running within one week of
Fisher’s arrival. The first Crude
unit and its associated plants
4
began production November 21st,
a remarkable feat considering the
scope of repairs. By mid-January
1999, the refinery was running
again.
A JHC staff member said
the Fisher-Chevron alliance,
established in 1995, cut through
the red tape. “We could make
things happen and worry about
the paperwork later,” he said. “The
project also demonstrated the
tremendous ability and value of
multi-site teamwork. We
(Fisher/Carter) had an office/trail-
er, spare parts inventory, and
more than 40 people on site within
a week after the storm.”
Aubrey Hammons,
Instrument and Electrical (I&E)
Reliability Team Leader at
Chevron-Pascagoula, worked
closely with all the alliance
partners. “The high level of
service and teamwork provided by
the JHC/ Fisher personnel during
the recovery process exceeded
my expectations,” he said. “Such
cooperation would not have been
as successful without our alliance
relationship, which provided a
foundation of trust and communi-
cation.”
Gary Robinson, I&E
Analyst for Chevron-Pascagoula,
stressed the importance of under-
standing requirements. “Because
of their long-term relationship with
us, JHC/Fisher personnel were
two weeks ahead of other
contractors, both in starting and
completing their work,” Robinson
said. “This enabled us to complete
the clean-up sooner, without the
control valves limiting the startup
dates.”
With the support of their
alliance partners, Chevron was
able to complete a multi-million-
dollar recovery project in record
time, without any advanced
planning. ■
 F a c t o r y T r a i n i n g
● FRES also introduces a new
New Courses Available Both sessions are available at
training centers in Marshalltown, packaged, self-paced training
On FIELDVUE, Fieldbus Iowa; Houston, Texas; and module (#7020-3) titled, “Using
Edmonton, Alberta. AMS for FIELDVUE Instrument
In response to requests from ● A two day seminar titled Setup, Calibration, and
sales personnel and customers, FIELDVUE Instrument ValveLink Diagnostics.”
Fisher-Rosemount Educational Fundamentals Using the 275 The topics covered include
Services (FRES) increased and Communicator was designed to placing an instrument in or out of
improved its FIELDVUE instru- be given by field sales and service service; configuring
ment, fieldbus technology, and personnel. It covers mounting, FIELDVUE travel, alerts, and
diagnostics training courses. configuration, and calibration of controls; and running advanced
The classes below will model DVCs using the 275 HART- diagnostics using the ValveLink
interest those needing information based, hand-held communicator. SNAP-ON application.
on the FIELDVUE family or F-R’s ● Another course titled Fieldbus An Instructor,speaking for
fieldbus-compliant products. Devices (#7030), which continues the entire FRES team, said, “We
● A previous 4.5-day course on to evolve, is of particular value to have had some very positive
FIELDVUE (#1750) was split into persons responsible for the instal- feedback from sales personnel
two parts, designed to run back- lation and calibration of fieldbus about this material, and highly
to-back. The first is a 2-day devices (such as the DVC5000f). recommend it to help master the
course (#1751) on FIELDVUE This includes people with limited basics of the DVC.”
Fundamentals. (or no) DCS experience. This For a list of FRES offer-
The second (#1752) is a course is available in the ings and more detailed course
2.5 day course titled ValveLink Marshalltown, Iowa and Calgary, descriptions, see your 1999
Diagnostics For FIELDVUE. Alberta training centers. course catalog or visit the web
page (www.frco.com/education).
To register for a factory course,
schedule on-site classes, order
FIELDVUE Family Is Year 2000 Compliant training materials, or ask about
pricing, call 1-800-338-8158. ■
As the Year 2000 approaches, customers are more aware of potential
Y2K problems, and the volume of requests for compliance information
has dramatically increased. The Software Program Manager for Fisher-
Marshalltown assures users that all three products within the FIELDVUE Literature
family are Year 2000 compliant.
A 20-page brochure titled
Y2K problems arise from converting actual year values to or
“FIELDVUE Instruments. Meeting
from year-value formats that cannot distinguish between century dates.
Your Challenges. Exceeding Your
Loss of information occurs when a variable stores only the last two digits
Expectations” reviews the
of a 4-digit year value.
product’s many user benefits and
Fisher Controls conducted tests to ensure that the rollover from
backs up the instrument’s perfor-
1999 to 2000 and leap year calculations work correctly. These tests
mance messages with actual,
include an evaluation of all the uses of date or time in coded fields,
case-history reports on customer
calculations, text fields, input/output, and system clocks or timers.
savings. Get your copy by calling
To date, the results of these tests are as follows:
your local Representative.
● Digital Valve Controller DVC5000 Series firmware (revisions 3, 4, 5,
Request product #D35098X012.
and 6) is Year 2000 compliant. (Its internal clock is used to capture the
time and date of an alert event.)
● ValveLink VL2000 software versions 3.0 and later are also year 2000
compliant, but only as long as run on a year 2000-compliant Windows
The Vue To Success is cooperatively produced by
operating system. (Upgrades have already been sent to all registered Fisher Controls’ FIELDVUE Instrumentation and
Communications departments. It is written primarily for
VL2000 users.) Fisher Controls’ customers and field sales associates,
● As for the HART 275 hand-held communicator, used with FIELDVUE and distributed as both an electronic and printed piece.
Please forward correspondence to Lesley Smid,
instruments, Y2K issues are no longer a problem. Operating system Fisher Controls’ Technology Center, Marshalltown, IA,
Phone: (515) 754-3249 or FAX: (515) 754-2054.
4.6 uses four numerical characters to represent year 2000 or greater. If FIELDVUE, ValveLink, SNAP-ON, and Flowscanner
you update your unit to this operating system, it will be Year 2000 are registered trademarks of Fisher Controls. FOUNDA-
TION fieldbus is a registered trademark of the Fieldbus
compliant. ■ Foundation.1999 Fisher Controls International, Inc.All
rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

5

AMS With VL SNAP-ON
Improves Diagnostics
Through a ValveLink SNAP-ON
application, Fisher’s Asset
Management Solutions (AMS)
software allows technicians at any
plant direct access to status and
condition information on
DVC5000-equipped valves. This
information, processed by proven
diagnostic software, provides a
convenient, accurate new tool for
evaluating the health of operating
control valves and improving their
performance.
Service technicians at a
North American paper mill, where
the new module was installed,
report that ValveLink SNAP-ON
requires one-third the time previ-
Fisher Controls International, Inc.
205 S.Center Street
Marshalltown, IA 50158
ously needed to analyze control
valve operating status. Plus, using
AMS, they can efficiently config-
ure, calibrate, and monitor all
HART-based field devices from
the maintenance shop. ■
Performance Tuner
Makes It Easy
Fast-stroking valves are notori-
ously more unstable and harder to
tune. Fisher has assigned tuning
sets to make it easier for you, the
customer, but the new perfor-
mance tuner feature in ValveLink
VL2000 software takes that one
step more. It does automatic
"jump" tests to find and establish
tuning sets. This is especially
valuable for non-Fisher valve
applications. ■
Fisher Opens
Diagnostic Center
In March, Fisher plans to open a
Diagnostics Center in
Marshalltown, Iowa, serving North
American customers. An experi-
enced Field Service engineer will
manage the center, which will be
part of Fisher’s Performance
Services group.
“Our diagnostic data inter-
pretation service gives customers
a chance to have remote-diagnos-
tic tests of their in-line control
valves analyzed,” the center
manager said. “We have the
experience necessary to predict
potential maintenance problems,
and recommend specific checks
or repairs while the valve is still in-
line, thereby saving customers
potentially expensive failures or
downtime.” ■