Honeywell has announced that its Field Device Manager (FDM), which is widely used to command and control field instruments found throughout industrial facilities, now supports Foundation fieldbus advanced diagnostics and maintenance. This new support allows plants to take greater advantage of open systems benefits and improve overall reliability by managing a wider range of smart instruments.
     
FDM R410 is one of the major enhancements to Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) R400, which helps process manufacturers more easily and cost effectively manage their automation and control systems in the face of constantly evolving technology. Experion features such as easier installation and migration capabilities, virtualization technology and extended support life allow facilities to focus on leveraging open systems benefits instead of managing the challenges with systems themselves. 
     
FDM R410 uses Device Type Manager technology to manage Hart, Profibus, and Fieldbus smart instruments. It provides a number of time-saving capabilities for plant instrument engineers, technicians, and maintenance personnel. By centralizing remote access to all instrumentation throughout the plant, it simplifies and reduces configuration and diagnosis effort. The technology also saves configuration time by automatically detecting smart devices and adding them to its database. Information from connected Fieldbus, Hart, or Profibus devices is then used to establish device records and automatically assign the proper templates. This eliminates any need to pre-build the instrument database. 
     
“Smart device instrument asset management systems are playing a greater role in improving plant profitability,” said Scott Hillman, global solutions director, Honeywell Process Solutions. “There is a bigger emphasis on preventative maintenance than ever for our customers because effective maintenance in the end protects revenue - proving that prevention is better than a cure. Tools like the Field Device Manager R410 help our customers be more proactive about their maintenance and avoid costly failures.”
     
For more information, visit www.honeywell.com/ps.