Longwatch added new features and functions to its Video System Version 5.0 to make it easier for users to integrate cameras in local and remote areas, combine video data with a wide variety of plant information, and enable operators to access video data from HMI terminals, cellphones or on a PC via the Internet.

The enhancements integrate local and remote video systems, using existing plant infrastructure such as fiber and wireless networks, and a distributed system architecture that delivers scalability, performance and fault tolerance. The new Longwatch Viewer and Video Historian bring a new level of data integration capability that links video with a wide variety of plant information, such as process alarms and events, maintenance messages, batch tracking and historical trends.

Video Viewing and Archiving

The new Video Historian links to the plant’s HMI/SCADA system, making it possible to store video with real-time plant data, so that operators can see what happened during various events. For example, a video capture can be commanded during a batch step to record an operator’s actions when adding ingredients to a reactor. The Video Historian can then play that sequence back at any time, along with images from similar batch sequences, so that engineers can analyze the differences among operators under various process conditions. The Historian can display up to four videos simultaneously. The Video Historian also features the new Longwatch Viewer which provides an intuitive and easy platform to help the user retrieve, annotate, view and analyze video and process information.