New Plantweb Architecture for Instumentation Maintance and Control, 1998 Engineering Conference Proceedings

Advancements in application-specific integrated circuits, ASIC technology have turned transmitters into smart instruments capable of producing accurate and reliable measurements, as well as performing self-diagnostics. To take advantage of this wealth of information available from smart instrumentation, an architecture which focuses on the instrument is necessary. The DCS-centric architecture to which we are accustomed was not designed to take this role, but rather to perform process control. The new architecture described in this paper, however, is designed to exploit the abundance of information and the powerful capabilities available with intelligent field devices. This field-based architecture decentralizes the flow of information and shifts the focus away from the digitally integrated DCS solutions. The PlantWeb TM field-based architecture provides a means to capture information and disperse it to the appropriate areas in a plant, via scalable and integrated software. This software allows the user to execute powerful control strategies, and to manage maintenance data essential for the implementation of effective preventive and predictive maintenance programs. This approach provides the infrastructure for complete plant management.