Foundation Fieldbus – the US- internationally developed ‘open’ fieldbus protocol for industrial process control – appears to be gaining a solid foothold in New Zealand with at least five organisations choosing to install the technology this year.

 

New Zealand’s relatively rapid uptake of the protocol was revealed at a two-day FOUNDATION Fieldbus (FF) workshop at the end of June at the Auckland Institute of Technology (AIT). The workshop was organised by the FF End User Council (established late last year) and was attended by some 45 delegates.

Organisations that are commissioning FF systems include Watercare Services, Fletcher Challenge Energy, the Dairy Research Institute, Waikato Polytech and AIT. The latter’s system (incorporating a Fisher-Rosemount Delta V controller) is already operational and will be used as a hands-on training tool.

EUC co-chairman Jim Neville says the installation of the systems is an encouraging development given the relatively recent availability of the technology in New Zealand. “It also endorses the view that industry is perhaps more confident that Foundation Fieldbus is a truly ‘open’ protocol and will probably become the internationally-accepted fieldbus standard.”

 

He also points out that New Zealand’s supply and support infrastructure for FF-compatible equipment is already surprisingly well developed. “The AIT workshop featured a multi-vendor demonstration, where sensors, valves and transmitters from a variety of suppliers were configured together in a ‘live’ system. While the display clearly illustrates that the technology is not brand-sensitive, it also proves that New Zealand industry already has a reasonable range of FF-compatible equipment from which to choose.”

FF software suppliers used the same display to demonstrate configuration and diagnostic tools for setting up and operating systems, and to illustrate the benefits of the technology. Honeywell sales manager Colin Campbell, for example, believes FF is particularly valuable for device diagnostics and predicative maintenance programmes because it integrates operational and management information seamlessly.

Fisher-Rosemount engineer Murray Cox says FF provides enhanced distributed control functionality. “Because the system transfers control out to device level, there is less load on the main controller. That strategy increases device and plant security and reduces process variability.”

Cox predicts that FF will ultimately nurture a trend to ‘standard design characteristics’ among process control equipment manufacturers, without compromising individual features. “We might see all vendors creating function blocks with standard connectivity features. But designers and programmers will still be able to customise the algorithms within the function blocks to provide special features – to measure the volume of a spherical vessel, for example.”

High Speed FF

A report from Texas-based FF president John Pittman was presented at the workshop. In it, he says FF engineers are on schedule with their development of the high speed ethernet (H2) and that products for the system will become available early next year. H2 HSE systems will operate at 100Mbits/second – a quantum leap from the 12 Mbits/second of current systems.

 

Pittman also says the outcome of the current round of IEC deliberations about an internationally-accepted fieldbus standard will be known within a few months. In the latest development, the supporters of the predominantly European fieldbus protocol – Profibus – have been given four months to motivate for its acceptance as the international fieldbus standard. That’s likely to be followed on an IEC vote on the issue.

 

Training

The workshop also witnessed intense discussion about the responsibility for FF training in New Zealand. A panel of representatives from a number of tertiary technical organisations warned that industry could be facing another skilled personnel crisis (like the one in 1976), and argued for a proactive FF training strategy.

 

In a move to address these concerns, four delegates at the workshop have volunteered to act as coordinators in researching industry needs, identifying facilities and developing a proposed training strategy. They are Simon White (Waikato Polytech ), Ross McDonald (Beca Simons - Tauranga), Dave Hutchinson (Electrix Ltd) and Peter Dalgity (Anchor Products - Edgecumbe).

 

Upskilling personnel was also identified as one of the most crucial requirements for a successful FF installation by Australian Rob Glastonbury. He was project manager for the recently completed FF installation in a new filtration plant at Carlton United Breweries (CUB) in Melbourne. It is Australia’s first FF system, and Glastonbury says

the operators are still attempting to analyse the wealth of data supplied by the system. “We’re still on a steep learning curve.”

Control ‘99

The FF EUC has reserved a stand at Control ‘99 at the Ellersllie Convention Centre (23 – 24 November), and plans to erect a multi-vendor display. It is also arranging another FF workshop which will feature an international speaker and possibly a representative from one of New Zealand’s recent FF installations.

 

For more information:

 

Contact Jim Neville at:

 Tel: 09-634-1391

Fax: 09-656-3456

 Email: JNeville@CustomControls.co.nz

or

Dominic Hollewand at:

 Tel: 09-634-4812

 Fax: 09-634-6380

 Email: dhollewand@clear.net.nz

---

back to the main IMC page