“A step change in value may be achieved if it is readily recognizable, it is easily shared, there is no extra work to get the value, behavioral changes to get the value are trivial, there is little risk, and the price point is right.”
With those introductory words, Duncan Schleiss, vice president for systems at Emerson Process Management, Austin, Texas, provided a sneak peek at the new DeltaV version 10.3… and beyond to Walt Boyes and Keith Larson of our sister publication Control . Here’s what they found out.
Making It Easy
DeltaV version 10.3 is not the huge makeover of DeltaV that industry pundits have been calling “DeltaX.” That, whatever form it takes, is still some distance away. But as Emerson has been doing for several years, DeltaV version 10.3 contains some major new features, and advances. It is designed to take advantage of both WindowsXP SP3 (just released) and Windows Vista SP1 to serve the largest number of DeltaV customers.
Keith Bellville and Randy Balentine, product marketing managers, described how DeltaV 10.3 has been improved with easy configuration tools. “Configuration,” Bellville says, “is a four letter word to Emerson: Easy.”
“We are leading the way in easy-to-use software,” Balentine says. “We’re not focused on adding more features. We’re focused on delivering ease of use. We’re focused on delivering value with less effort than what is required today. We’re focused on operations, and delivering optimal results quicker, with less risk, and with maximum security.”
The first steps are a simple, intuitive DeltaV to Intergraph SmartPlant Instrumentation (SPI) database interface, new ease-of-use in DeltaV Foundation Fieldbus tools, and a wholesale transition of the DeltaV Engineering Tools to a fluent, task-based human-centered design. Balentine says, “This will increase engineering efficiency, and increase engineering performance.” Data exchange between SPI and DeltaV is bidirectional and data published from SPI create and configure all these items inside the DeltaV system. Data created and published in DeltaV automatically populate the SPI database.
Cybersecurity
Bob Huba, Emerson’s cybersecurity guru and DeltaV product manager, noted that systems now must tackle “security in the age of COTS (commercial off the shelf) devices.” Security has been integrated into this version of DeltaV, he says. “Network and security devices become DeltaV devices,” and there is easy configuration by DeltaV administrators. Security alerts and diagnostics are integrated into DeltaV and appear as would any other process alarms and alerts.
“We’ve also provided a controller firewall,” he says, referring to the device Emerson private labels from Innominate. The major challenge, he notes, was maintaining the traditional DCS openness in the age of enterprise integration. DeltaV has a new SOA (services oriented architecture) based on the ISA95 data model, with secure web services.
Safety
Version 10.3 extends the PlantWeb architecture to Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), and enables advanced function blocks for both SIS and non-SIS controllers. In keeping with the new emphasis on security in version 10.3, secure communications have been provided between logic solvers, and the new version doubles the bandwidth between logic solvers.
Boudreaux also announced the availability for DeltaV SIS in version 10.3 of DeltaV Simulate.
Batch Management
Dawn Marruchella, batch product marketing manager, claims “batch leadership” for DeltaV, and notes that the new version of Batch Product Manager should really be called Agile Manufacturing Product Manager. She notes that ever since version 8.0, DeltaV has had a robust batch executive, and that in version 10, Emerson introduced a single environment for batch operations.
New features in version 10.3 include a bigger, faster “MX” batch controller, with 2.5 to 3 times the performance and twice the memory. There’s a new historian, too, but Marruchella firmly proclaims support for Emerson’s version of the embedded PI historian, and notes that with version 10.3 Enterprise PI can be installed on a DeltaV application station. The new historian, she notes, “is designed for non-DeltaV users.”
Batch campaign management and recipe exchange are also enabled, as well as support for OPC XML-DA.
Emerson’s acquisition of DMI last year has borne fruit in version 10.3 as well. Product manager Bob Lenich showed the DeltaV Compliance Suite, which, he says, “closes the loop in batch manufacturing.” Compliance Suite is an SOA and .NET compliant application that is designed to work in ISA95 levels 1, 2 and 3.
All This And Wireless Too
DeltaV version 10.3 includes native support for WirelessHART instrumentation and gateways. Emerson’s AMS asset management system will include a new wireless snap-on that allows users to design their networks graphically and then monitor network health directly in AMS. DeltaV 10.3 includes full support for Cisco/Smart Wireless applications, as well, including a nifty implementation of the new Panasonic U1 wireless palm-held computer as a complete DeltaV workstation.
DeltaV version 10.3 was introduced in early October at the Emerson Exchange 2008 in Washington, D.C.
