What the recent Honeywell User Group conference held in Phoenix June 14-18 lacked in overall attendance, it made up for in energy and enthusiasm. With company travel restrictions abounding, many companies just sent key decision makers rather than entire teams. Discussions were intense and attendees seriously selected sessions that were most applicable to their work.

Although “Return on Imagination” was the conference theme, the themes most featured by company speakers included “One Honeywell,” energy and “OneWireless.” One Honeywell refers to efforts to bring various businesses of Honeywell into technology collaboration where it makes sense in the market. For example, in energy markets, Honeywell has several businesses and technologies that can be integrated for a new set of products. The same is true in safety and security.

Automation World had a few minutes with Norm Gilsdorf, new president of Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS, http://hpsweb.honeywell.com),  and was able to ask him what he is trying to get across to the business during his tenure. He reiterated the overall themes and then mentioned “prioritize, focus, execute and deliver.” He wants everyone in the company on the same page focused on success.

Wireless as a “game changer” was brought up several times. Automation World asked Vice President of Strategy and Marketing Harsh Chitale what is so game changing about it. He stressed three areas. Asset management (especially of instruments), energy management and worker productivity. With the first two, the ability to more easily and cheaply integrate more sensors into a system in order to provide more information to the system and to personnel will greatly enhance production, Chitale explained. In addition, concurrent advances in software that can utilize the information are also crucial. Worker productivity refers to wireless mobile computing devices that allow operators to break the chains of the control room, visiting the plant when necessary, but still taking the control room with them, so to speak.

Products abound

Many new products were announced at HUG. Chief among them include:

Energy Management Solutions is a customizable portfolio of new and existing hardware, software and services to help improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The portfolio features the new Honeywell Energy Dashboard, which gathers information from various instruments and systems and tracks their energy consumption against dynamic energy targets. Capturing and analyzing this data allows users to understand key energy indicators and how they affect overall energy consumption. The Energy Dashboard, expected to be commercially available in the fourth quarter of 2009, enables users to establish specific goals for reducing energy consumption, costs and the associated GHG emissions, as well as to measure actual performance against those goals.

Once energy-saving potential has been identified, the Energy Management Solutions portfolio provides customizable hardware, software and services to improve performance, including enhancements to measurement and monitoring, control and optimization, heat recovery, feedstock optimization, advanced process technology, utilities optimization and services to sustain and even improve results over time. For refining and petrochemical industries, HPS and Honeywell’s UOP solutions can reduce energy consumption by up to 25 percent and the associated GHG emissions by up to 320 metric kilotons per year. For other process manufacturing industries such as pulp and paper, Energy Management Solutions can help reduce energy consumption by up to 20 percent and associated GHG emissions by up to 44 metric kilotons per year.

Energy Management Solutions can be implemented in stages starting with smaller-scale, quick return-on-investment projects, and moving to more comprehensive, higher-value projects. Honeywell has expertise in process technology, process control and energy efficiency, along with methodologies, best practices and work processes to assure that the value from energy efficiency projects is achieved and maintained.

Monitor valves wirelessly

The latest addition to Honeywell’s OneWireless industrial wireless portfolio is the XYR 6000 Valve Position Sensor. Based on the Honeywell Micro Switch CX series hazardous location analog sensor, the new XYR 6000 Valve Position Sensor monitors the position of the valve when used in OneWireless systems, sending the signal from remote or potentially dangerous areas of the plant. The sensor carries all the appropriate hazardous location certifications.

In addition to eliminating manual monitoring, the sensor’s accuracy improves safety by identifying linear or rotary valve positions, minimizing the risk of unwanted fluid release or unplanned product contamination. When used for safety shower notification, the sensor can serve as an emergency response trigger. The XYR 6000 Valve Position Sensor also simplifies maintenance by electronically tagging each valve in the system, identifying valves that have degraded or been damaged. This reduces the need ...