Reflecting a reorganization designed to integrate the products and ideas of the various brands under the Invensys Process Systems umbrella (Avantis, Foxboro, SimSci-Esscor and Triconex), these solutions draw from all of these as well as from the Wonderware unit of Invensys and other partners.
“In the past, asset availability was the domain of maintenance departments and asset utilization was the domain of operations. As a result, vendor solutions were typically aimed at one or the other, depending on the vendor’s particular area of expertise,” says Mike Caliel, president of Invensys Process Systems. “However, maximum asset value is derived by balancing asset availability and utilization in a manner that best meets current business objectives.”
Find the mix
As Invensys Vice President Peter Martin puts it, if you have maximum utilization, then you have little to no availability. Conversely, if there is maximum availability, then there is no utilization. Correct management of manufacturing assets involves finding the right mix of both elements.
Initially, Invensys Process Systems is introducing a family of nine component- and system-level asset performance management solutions, or “monitors.” These build upon new and existing capabilities, and will soon be expanded to encompass performance management solutions for entire industry-specific asset sets.
The released monitors include:
Instrument monitor enables field devices to be managed from the host system by installing the device vendor’s Device Descriptors, their Field Device Tool-compliant Device Type Manager plug-ins, or both. The solution integrates into enterprise-wide predictive maintenance management, activating predefined workflow action.
Valve monitor exploits intelligent positioners to help deliver maximum availability and performance from control valves.
Loop monitor, based upon the Loop Management Services introduced last year, utilizes diagnostic methods for determining control loop performance.
Pump monitor provides online diagnostic and analysis tools that work like a “computerized stethoscope” to determine corrective workflow activity to reduce unplanned pump-related downtime and minimize production slowdowns.
Equipment monitor combines elements of vibration monitoring capabilities, sonic signature profiling technology, empirical and first principles modeling, and condition monitoring technologies with analysis tools and workflow guidance for preventive and predictive maintenance.
Alarm management monitor provides an applied tool set for rationalizing process, system and equipment alarms to reduce irrelevant nuisance alarms and virtually eliminate the possibility of alarm storms.
Security management monitor, reflecting current security standards and guidelines such as ISA-99, NERC CIP002-CIP009 and 21 CFR Part 11 (promulgated by the Intrumentation, Systems and Automation Society, the North American Electric Reilabilty Council and the Food and Drug Adminstration, respectively), helps users identify site-specific network security vulnerabilities, and provide ongoing services to help protect the process control network against external intrusions or malicious internal tampering.
Safety integrity monitor is based on the actual probability-of-failure-on-demand (PFD) for Safety Instrumented Functions (SIF) throughout a plant. Using a continuous online Safety Integrity Level (SIL) management methodology, it reconciles testing events against PFD statistics, and allows predictive “what-if” scenarios to be conducted to optimize testing cycles and help keep the plant’s operating SIL within design specification.
Automation platform monitor utilizes new remote diagnostic tools to help ensure that plant automation systems are operating at peak performance at all times.
Gary Mintchell
