Chicago -- Announcements made here at this week's ISA Expo 2005 were as vast as the show's exhibitor list. But the focus was clear: How to get the most out of plant floor technology investments -- and use the information generated wisely.
HART Communication Foundation, Invensys Process Systems, Iconics and FDT Joint Interest Group were a few of the organizations that made formal announcements. Others like Siemens Energy and Automation, Dust Networks and eBay -- yes, eBay --made a quiet splash on the floor.
Invensys cast the largest shadow at the show, revealing what analysts called a unique managed network approach to wireless communications, while also popping up at press conferences held by HART and FDT.
Following a performance management announcement made at its users group meeting earlier this month, Invensys' vice president of performance management Peter Martin outlined the company's goal of helping customers pull three critical functions together: devices, asset sets and business systems.
"The key is getting more base measurements," he said during a press conference. "But you have to get the information from the plant in a cost-effective way. That's where the wireless program comes in."
The wireless program Martin referred to is a managed service centered around shared access point technology and a common data and security model. Working with a new partner, Apprion (Moffett Field, CA), Invensys is creating an infrastructure that eliminates the clash of multiple wireless standards and organizations that make a cohesive strategy difficult.
Apprion offers a multiplexing access point and system management software that can take many different frequencies and protocols and integrate them into one common security model. Invensys offers an on-site assessment and will develop a wireless roadmap that helps tailor the offering to particular customer requirements, said Hesh Kagan, Invensys' wireless program manager.
Network management is an emerging area of interest, according to Harry Forbes, senior analyst at ARC Advisory Group. Invensys is one player, as is Dust Networks, which used the show to roll out SmartMesh-XR, its new industrial-strength, sensor-based mesh networking technology that adds two gateways for failover redundancy and tools that provide visibility into the network.
Invensys' approach to rolling out wireless networking -- as a managed service -- could help spur adoption, Forbes said. "That is a critical aspect because people don't understand that they need to have the resources managed ... all of these technologies are merging, some are mature to the point they become critical enterprise infrastructure, but [not everyone] can deal with that, so they need to have a managed service," he said in an interview with Managing Automation. "That's the trend you'll see in the next year or two -- managed infrastructure services. I think you'll find a lot of managed services for other kinds of things like measurement and alarming too; even managed SCADA services is an upcoming model. It's very important because it focuses attention on what the customer needs are and where the value is and lets the technology company figure out how to divide that, giving them a single point of responsibility for the installation. It's good for the customer and really good for the business."
Invensys also announced at the HART press conference that it will use the HART Smart Device Configurator (SDC-625) technology to enable its process automation system for enhanced electronic device description language (EDDL). This was a significant announcement because Invensys is a big backer of field device tool (FDT) technology, which HART does not use to configure devices.
Whether a company supports FDT or EDDL has had its share of discussion lately. Some people have pitted the two device configuration technologies against each other, calling them competitors. In an effort to extinguish that claim, the FDT Group used the ISA Expo to clarify its position.
At a press conference, Scott Bump of the FDT Executive Committee said, "The two technologies have literally nothing in common. They are distinct technologies that complement each other."
A technology backgrounder defined EDDL as a language used to describe devices that outlines the rules of conversation before communication can start, whereas FDT is a program that defines the interfaces between device applications, control system platforms and the physical fieldbus devices.
The FDT Group, recently renamed The FDT Group AISBL (which incorporates the group under Belgian law), is working to make the specification an IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) standard. It also announced that Honeywell Process Solutions, Schneider Electric, Saudi Aramco and Shell Global Solutions have joined the group.
Other ISA happenings included:
- Iconics announced GENESIS32 vs. 9, a complete suite of HMI/SCADA applications for real-time visualization of industrial automation systems. It integrates new capabilities such as the company's DataWorX32 OPC Tunneling (also new it supports all OPC Foundation standards), OPC Data redundancy, a unified data manager and ScheduleWorX that tie information for building control and manufacturing into a common Web-enabled dashboard. It also includes new data-mining technology to integrate real-time manufacturing and business information. Separately, Iconics announced its new BizViz vs. 9 suite of manufacturing intelligence software including Alarm Analytics, a module that will provide dashboards and real-time portal views of alarms and historical data.
- Siemens Energy & Automation revealed it is building industry-specific libraries for its SIMATIC IT MES product that include work rules, screens and reports allowing users to get granular, while making it easier to apply. The company is working on 40 cross-industry libraries, each in varying stages of completion. One of the first ready to roll-out is the HACCP library for the food and beverage industry.
- eBay, known for its online auctions, has increasingly directed it services to manufacturing customers. According to officials, on any given day eBay sells about 182 PLCs and modules, 96 circuit boards, 72 motors, 62 oscilloscopes and 56 motor controls. Now the company is planning to provide more services for manufacturing businesses, and is in the process of researching new suppliers to round out its offering.