Console Recorder Stores Plant Operator Events

Dec. 23, 2010
The Longwatch Console Recorder acts much like an airplane's flight recorder because it stores all the screens that operators saw before, during and after a critical event.

Enhancements and upgrades in the Longwatch Video System Version 5.2 include a Value Edition of the Console Recorder, a low-power XLP version of the Video System that delivers surveillance in remote areas with limited power budgets and improved database functions.

The Longwatch Console Recorder acts much like an airplane's flight recorder because it stores all the screens that operators saw before, during and after a critical event, and it records every action the operators took during that time. Playing back the operator's display can help solve problems faster and more accurately, because the display correlates other plant data in an intuitive way. The Value Edition of the Console Recorder allows users to install the terminal monitoring software at a low entry cost.

The Value Edition of the Console Recorder monitors and records all activities at up to six operator consoles, including screen displays and operator actions via the keyboard and mouse, so engineers and supervisors can replay an event. By replaying the event, engineers and supervisors can see what the operators saw and did and determine if the operators were given the proper information and took the appropriate actions. The recorded data can be saved and used for training purposes, process improvement, justification to various regulatory bodies that the correct actions were taken, and detailed "post mortems" of events.

When part of a complete Longwatch Video Surveillance system, the Enterprise Edition of the Console Recorder can also synchronize with video taken in the plant from multiple cameras and with real-time and historical process data (including trends and alarms) from existing process automation systems. This allows engineers and supervisors to completely reconstruct an event, using video from the plant, data from the historian, and the operator displays and actions from the Console Recorder.