Bernd Schuessler, manager of fieldbus products at Pepper+Fuchs, an automation components vendor in Twinsburg, Ohio. “We can now point to actionable items. You get noise on the line, and instead of just saying there’s noise on the line, the tool will analyze the problem, pinpoint it, and give you a recommendation on how to solve it.”

Some observers say the savings in asset management is the real point of fieldbus, that installation savings may be a mirage. “People are saying they getting value out of the installation of fieldbus, but that hasn’t been a big savings,” says Dave Applebee, process business unit manager at vendor Rockwell Automation Inc., in Milwaukee. “What’s important is being able to monitor the health of the device. You can put an alert into the control system so that device health will be part of your control strategy.”

Overcoming Resistance

Even with all the benefits of fieldbus, there is still resistance to adoption. Henning says that virtually everyone involved in new projects is asking about fieldbus. “But only 40 percent actually move to fieldbus,” says Henning. “There is still some reluctance, especially at some of the large engineering firms. They don’t want to change what they’ve always done.”

He notes that there is a big difference in adoption between discrete plants and process plants. “This is a very conservative industry on the process side,” says Henning. “On the discrete side, almost every new project involves fieldbus.” He believes that regulation is a factor. “While all plants are equally under the microscope, the discrete plants are less regulated.” Henning believes that heavy regulation translates into hesitancy in adopting new forms of technology.

One of the emerging areas of fieldbus technology is wireless. The savings in installation is potentially higher if you don’t need wires. “We’ve been exploring wireless fieldbus,” says Chuck Carter, center director and principal investigator for the Fieldbus Center at Lee College, in Baytown, Texas, where fieldbus is taught. “Wireless looks like it’s coming in a couple of years. Right now, plants are uncomfortable with it. As it matures and more testing is done, and as wireless fieldbus gets approvals from agencies, plants will see that it’s viable.”

Some don’t see wireless fieldbus as a significant change that should prompt any reluctance to adopt. “There isn’t much change with wireless fieldbus—it’s a migration,” says Ed Ladd, director of technology programs at the Hart Communication Foundation, in Austin, Texas. “Hart Foundation has developed a WirelessHart standard that is fully compatible with wire devices.” The specification was voted on and approved in June, and was ratified last month.

Ladd notes that there is plenty of interest in wireless fieldbus because of the huge benefit of eliminating wires. “We have 24 million devices in the field and each has a wire attached. The wireless system gives the user another mechanism to communicate without changing the control system,” says Ladd.

While fieldbus has become well known as a network that brings savings in installation—the wiring and the configuration process—now plants are shifting the emphasis to asset management. They want the savings that comes from catching problems before they cause a plant shutdown. They also want the savings that comes from predictive maintenance rather than preventive maintenance. Why replace a device that’s still operating well, just because it hit an operational milestone? “As the word gets out about the benefits of fieldbus, it will become more and more prominent,” says Goodman, of JV Industrial. “There was much resistance and fear of something new. But as soon as they get a feel for the benefits, they warm up quickly.”

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