Experion® is the Process Knowledge System (PKS) from Honeywell, designed to unify all automation solutions of a process plant into one unified architecture. In combination with FieldConnex Advanced Diagnostics, Experion turns into a fully featured platform for managing the physical layer of a FOUNDATION fieldbus H1 infrastructure.
This added functionality including its configuration utilities are called Honeywell Experion Advanced Physical Layer Diagnostics (APLD). It offers a wealth of benefits all the way from speeding up segment commissioning to providing early stage failure detection to support proactive maintenance strategies.
Honeywell's Experion APLD is based on the interaction of several FieldConnex components:
FieldConnex Advanced Diagnostic Modules (ADM) plug into the FieldConnex Power Hub. They monitor the fieldbus physical layer and communicate via the FieldConnex Diagnostic Gateway with the FieldConnex Diagnostic Server (FDS).
The FDS is a server application designed to allow the Honeywell Experion system to access data from the ADM modules. Such information is displayed and managed via the FieldConnex Diagnostic Manager which is an integral part of the Experion system.
For seamless integration of the ADM signals into the Experion APLD, a special software tool reads Experion engineering data and automatically generates ADM and FDS configuration. In turn, tags for ADM warnings and alarms are written back to the Experion configuration database. As a result, the fieldbus physical layer appears as a manageable asset within the Experion environment.
A FieldConnex Diagnostic ActiveX component serves as the interface between the Pepperl+Fuchs ADM system and Experion. This enables monitoring, viewing and analyzing ADM data in order to provide deep insight into the physical fieldbus layer directly within the Experion environment.
While commissioning a fieldbus segment, the commissioning wizard automatically tests the physical layer by measuring key values for all devices. Automated tag reading enables the Experion APLD to read and document tags and device IDs. In this way, segment communication and verification only requires a few mouse clicks. Time consuming, repetitive tasks are eliminated and the required time for segment commissioning is reduced by up to 80 %.
Due to the FieldConnex Advanced Diagnostic Manager, Experion APLD now includes a comprehensive expert system. The physical fieldbus layer is continuously diagnosed by comparing actual values against those set during commissioning. As soon as any potentially critical situation is detected, the system not only issues a warning. It also provides actionable incident-related information based upon past experience.
Due to the combination of measured values, configuration data and experience-based information, the field technician already knows what needs to be done before arriving on site. Time needed for troubleshooting is reduced to an absolute minimum. Plant shutdowns are avoided to a great extent.
The ADM Integration Package – Honeywell includes all software required
The project builder automatically sets up the software for the FieldConnex Advanced Diagnostic Manager. After the configuration of the DCS is complete the project builder reads all configuration and segment tagging and writes back configuration information for Advanced Diagnostics. With a few simple mouse clicks the setup is complete.