Automation provider ABB today unveiled a fieldbus management and asset optimization application that works with ABB and third-party instrumentation.
Asset Master, a desktop application that runs on Windows-based PCs, can monitor up to 500 devices in real time. Device support includes flow meters, analyzers, actuators, and control valves from ABB and other vendors. Future versions of the product will support additional devices, according to the company. The software communicates with the hard-wired instrumentation via HART, PROFIBUS, and FOUNDATION FIELDBUS protocols.
The application leverages the same human-machine interface (HMI) as ABB's flagship 800xA industrial automation control platform, but runs as a stand-alone desktop application. This is important for manufacturers that need a way to manage production assets but don't need a full, distributed control system (DCS), ABB officials said.
Users of Asset Manager can configure devices through an integration library that allows diagnostic information, including probable cause and suggested corrective actions, to be transmitted to the operator. Alarms can be sent automatically via mobile phones, e-mail, or pagers, the company said. In addition, fault-tracking information can be integrated with a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) to initiate work orders.
Although Asset Master can connect with the company's flagship 800xA DCS, ABB configured it as a stand-alone alternative for asset management in response to customer need, officials said. Typically, such software is bundled into a DCS — which can be an expensive investment.
"Some customers are doing configuration management outside of 800xA. For instance, they may have one of ABB's heritage control systems and haven't yet moved to 800xA, yet they are looking to manage [devices] in the field," said Eric Olson, Asset Master product manager, in an interview with Managing Automation.
While the software may seem best suited to small and mid-size manufacturers, larger companies can benefit from it as well, Olson said. "I don't think the size of the manufacturing organization is impacted by this...it just depends on their needs." For example, larger companies with thousands of devices can use Asset Master strictly to manage the most critical among them. "Not every device in the plant needs to be monitored online. Even if you have 1,000 devices, it may be that only 200 are critical," he said.
If a company wants to eventually migrate to 800xA, the software is built to scale.
"Asset Master is literally built from the same software as our 800xA control system, meaning that configuration screens, asset alerts, and operations methods are identical in both," said Bob Hausler, ABB's vice president of marketing, in a company statement. "It also means that an Asset Master installation can be easily expanded into an 800xA control system without the need to re-engineer any existing configurations."
Asset Master is available immediately with a base price of $1,000. The price increases according to the number of devices monitored and whether a CMMS connection is required. Future releases of Asset Master will support other products within the ABB portfolio, including things such as switching gear, officials said.