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A colleague pointed me to a recent ConnectingIndustry.com article, Taking wireless level data acquisition to HART. Emerson's Catrine Bengtsson shared her expertise for this article.

Many plants have legacy control systems with analog input (AI) and analog output (AO) channels that cannot bring in the HART digital signal superimposed on the 4-20mA analog signal. She notes:

Control systems that are HART compatible can interpret the primary variable from the HART field device (HART systems will also be able to get digital data and not just primary variable), but analogue systems will not be able to understand the digital data - for example, the device tag and descriptor fields. The analogue systems are unable to read the secondary or tertiary variables from the field device, if it is a multivariable transmitter, and the diagnostic data.

HART multiplexer devices can route the signals from these devices in two directions--one to the control system I/O and the other to an asset management system. She notes the downside of this approach:

...is not a simple procedure, requiring the rewiring of marshalling cabinets which can pose a risk to current operations and be both time-consuming and costly.

As I highlighted in an earlier post, Thoughts on WirelessHART THUMs, Catrine also notes that WirelessHART THUMs can be used to:

...retrofit on any two or four-wire HART instrument, allowing the device to transmit up to four variables and HART status information at a user-configurable update rate. The data is sent wirelessly, via a gateway, to an asset management system, whereby the information can be interrogated by operators and maintenance staff.

Catrine shares how remote monitoring improves maintenance activities. Without access to the diagnostics, there are:

...huge inefficiencies in the way many process level devices are maintained, including routine checks and preventive maintenance on equipment when it's not needed. If the infrastructure is not in place to communicate the digital HART data to the control room or maintenance area, regular trips to the field may be the only option.

She cites as examples [hyperlinks added]:

...Rosemount 5300 Guided Wave Radar and 5400 Non-Contacting Radar devices can both transmit data to produce an Echo Curve graphic to any host that supports enhanced EDDLs. The Echo Curve is an important troubleshooting tool as it provides full insight to the installation echoes and how they behave over time. Understanding the performance of devices gives a much clearer picture as to when maintenance is required.

Regulatory changes have caused some plants to have to monitor on-line what previously was monitored manually, such as tank overfill protection. In these cases, she notes:

Often, tanks are located remotely and the cost of installing wired devices is very high. Here, wireless presents the obvious solution.

Catrine closes with the point:

Whether you want to install a new measurement point without the high cost of wiring or you would like access to stranded diagnostics and device health information from existing HART instruments, the ability to connect IEC 62591 WirelessHART adapters with process level devices is enabling the full range of HART functions to be accessed in a cost effective way.

Give the article a read if your level measurements do not provide the diagnostic information back to the operations and maintenance staff.

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In my email this morning was the monthly Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) digest. It's one of many ISA email discussion lists. Emerson's Jonas Berge is the driving force behind the EDDL educational information that comes out in this email list and on the EDDL.org website.

One of the items in the email was a mention of an updated section to the EDDL website, Intelligent Device Management. I took a closer look at one of the sections in this category, Calibration Trim. Here are a few points I gleaned from the page and one of the linked whitepapers, Intelligent Device Management: Calibration.

Process manufacturing facilities have hundreds to thousands of field devices including measurement instrumentation, analyzers, and final control elements such as valve positioners. It's quite a bit of work to setup & configure, calibrate, and perform ongoing troubleshooting and maintenance tasks on all of these devices.

Technology has helped as these field devices have incorporated microprocessors and digital communications protocols such as HART, Foundation fieldbus, and Profibus to connect these devices with asset management and process automation systems. These technologies have made centralized management of all these devices possible.

International standard EDDL (IEC 61804-3) provides a common language for device graphics and procedural wizards to provide a common user experience into these devices from software such as the AMS Device Manager and handheld devices such as the 475 Field Communicator across these various digital communication protocols.

I was casually familiar with device calibration trim, but the whitepaper helped to describe its components: sensor trim, range setting, and current trim. Sensor trim addresses drift which may occur in the transmitter's sensing device--although modern transmitters are extremely stable over time. An accurate physical input (pressure, level, temperature, etc.) is applied to the sensor. From a handheld device or software screen, the zero, lower, and upper sensor trims can be set.

For HART devices that have a hybrid analog and digital signal, the range setting translates into the analog 4-20mA current range. For instance, a pressure transmitter that is ranged from 0-1000psig has the 4mA output when the sensor measures 0psig and 20mA when the sensor measures 1000psig. The span of the transmitter is 1000psig. For purely digital protocols such as Foundation fieldbus and Profibus, the range is set in the controller. The whitepaper mentions differential pressure (DP) flow and level as an exception.

Current trim is limited to HART devices with their 4-20mA current signals. Current trim adjustments can be performed in the very rare case where the output current circuitry within a transmitter drifts.

EDDL wizards simplify the calibration trim process. Calibration tasks are guided by wizards to perform: sensor zero trim, sensor lower trim, sensor upper trim, lower range value set, upper range value set. For HART devices, 4mA current trim and 20mA current trim wizards assist in the calibration process. The wizards reduce opportunities for technician error and help enforce consistency.

The EDDL standard also supports instructional and procedural documentation, historical device audit trails, and scheduled maintenance tasks. Given the hundreds to thousands of field devices within a typical plant, this common approach from EDDL helps to simplify the process from setup and calibration through lifecycle maintenance.

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Emerson's Adam Lund has a great article, Human Centered Design Supports Improved Job Performance, in the February edition of Maintenance Technology magazine. Adam highlights some reasons why human centered design is growing in importance for process automation suppliers.

The rapid advancement of technology is breathtaking. Those like me with an affinity for gadgets follow the latest developments in Engadget and Gizmodo. While very cool and fun, Adam points to rapid technology advancement's downside for process automation professionals:

Years of professional analysis of industry work practices show that personnel are often overwhelmed with multiple systems and user interfaces, making it difficult to find critical information, especially while on a job in the field.

Technology's increasing capabilities and associated complexities are further heightened by the:

...demographic challenge as knowledgeable maintenance veterans retire and their places are taken by less experienced personnel.

Adam describes the human centered design (HCD) concept as being:

...aimed at identifying the information most needed by plant personnel and getting it to them in an easy-to-use format. This requires understanding the tasks frequently performed by end-users and presenting helpful information in a consistent fashion.

He describes the process in improving usability in the AMS Device Manager software and Emerson smart devices with familiar brand names such as Fisher, Rosemount, Micro Motion, CSI, DeltaV, Ovation, etc. Device dashboards in the AMS Device Manager were redesigned to:

...give workers an instant view of the critical items they need to evaluate, diagnose, and configure each device. Expert guidance is also provided to streamline the most important and frequently performed tasks by plant operations, engineering and maintenance personnel.

With the most common task performed by maintenance technicians identified, the software screens were reorganized into 3 primary areas: Overview, Configure, and Service Tools. This reorganization provides a quick glance when devices are working properly or not--and when not--highlights a path to quickly diagnose and troubleshoot the problem.

Much HCD work was performed on the smart device side to provide the same appearance to information coming from devices with different digital communications protocols including HART, WirelessHART, Foundation fieldbus, and Profibus. The device description (DD) varied widely among suppliers and different products within a single supplier. Emerson's Jonas Berge noted in an email to me that the IEC 61804-3 EDDL standard reduced this variation since the standard incorporates standard graphics. You can learn more about EDDL at the EDDL.org website and its email list.

Creating this common look and organization by task helps reduce complexity for maintenance technicians and allow them to:

...use the same procedures to manage devices regardless of communication protocol.

Beyond the Emerson brands mentioned in the article and this post, Jonas also noted the most automation suppliers support the IEC 61804-3 EDDL standard on the smart device side and the asset management and/or process automation system side.

The article describes how Emerson partner with Carnegie Mellon University to set a forward path in HCD. This work was the precursor to Emerson's creation of a Human Centered Design Institute. Adam describes it:

Emerson's new Human Centered Design Institute was established after more than five years of work-practice analysis, new product development re-engineering and organizational training. The Institute's goal is to bring about a significant improvement in ease-of-use and workforce productivity products that are reliable, compatible and cost-effective. User work practices and improved task completion (usability or workforce productivity) are at the heart of every new Emerson product.

The path going forward for all the technology developments across Emerson Process Management is to apply human center design concepts to reduce complexity and provide rapid discovery to its productivity-enhancing capabilities.

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Emerson's Jonas Berge, whom you may recall from earlier EDDL-related posts, has written a great summary of the EDDL demonstration at the recent ISA Expo 2009. I'll highlight a few of his key points and embed a slideshow of some pictures from the event.

For those unfamiliar with EDDL or Electronic Device Description Language, Jonas summarized it:

EDDL is the leading international standard for device integration and is known as IEC 61804-3. The EDDL standard enables device management software and handheld communicators to display device information so that technicians can setup and commission a device, calibrate, perform diagnostics and troubleshooting, and other device management tasks.

From a host system perspective, Jonas wrote:

Five different hosts including handheld field communicator, laptop software, and integrated control systems supporting EDDL enhancements were on display, and these are just some of the systems supporting EDDL. All leading DCS have by now passed the Fieldbus Foundation Host Registration Process (HRP), supporting EDDL enhancements. A handheld field communicator with color graphics was shown as well. Visitors to the booth could see how system software interoperates with devices from other manufacturers, implementing the EDDL enhancements. The EDDL standard allows a single software application or a single handheld field communicator to work with different types of devices from many manufacturers. That is, a single open solution takes the place of many proprietary tools.

He briefly summarized the history of the EDDL standard:

Traditional DD was introduced in 1992 but lacked graphics. It became an international standard in 2004. In 2006 the graphical enhancements were added to the standard making it possible to support sophisticated (complex) devices, meeting this and all the other NAMUR NE 105 requirements.

The list of device suppliers who participated was quite impressive. Jonas described it:

Simple temperature and pressure transmitters were provided by Emerson, Endress+Hauser, Microcyber and Siemens. Other devices included pH transmitter from Knick as well as Current to Fieldbus Converter from Microcyber. Sophisticated (complex) devices included radar and magnetostrictive level transmitters from Emerson, ISE-Magtech, Siemens, and Vega as well as control valves with positioners from Emerson, Foxboro-Eckardt, Metso, Samson, and Siemens. A variable speed drive was provided by Siemens and fieldbus diagnostics module (a relatively new type of device that monitors signal and noise level of the bus infrastructure) by MTL.

EDDL extended to WirelessHART devices:

Some HART devices were demonstrated with a WirelessHART adaptor. Since EDDL is independent of the communication path, these devices are integrated using the same EDDL file as when they communicate HART over the wire.

The summary report described aspects of the live demonstration including graphics and wizards, look and feel consistency, settings and diagnostics expert help, ease of integration, integrated device diagnostics, data access, and the EDDL role in automation systems' control strategies.

Jonas concluded the report:

State-of-the-art systems and devices support EDDL enhancements in the 2006 edition of the IEC 61804-3 standard. The ISA104 EDDL demonstration at ISA Expo confirmed what the report from BIS found: EDDL is interoperable and meets the requirements of NAMUR NE 105.

The EDDL.org website remains the best source for news, articles, videos, and other information on this important standard.

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Emerson's indefatigable Jonas Berge shared with the ISA EDDL list today that ISA has upgraded its email list server software. You may recall Jonas from his leadership on the electronic device description language (EDDL) web site and in many posts here on this blog. For those not already familiar with this device description language standard, it provides a common way for automation suppliers to describe the information inside their intelligent field devices. Information such as:

...function blocks, device parameters, calibration procedures, menu structures, and presentation of diagnostics.

With field device suppliers having a standard way to describe this data, it provides the suppliers of handheld devices, asset management software, and automation systems a method to present this information from the various suppliers' devices in a consistent, intuitive way.

Most folks already subscribed to one or more of the ISA email lists should have been automatically transferred to the new email list management system. Jonas wrote:

ISA has upgraded the list server. ISA members and customers have been migrated automatically. If you don't see [eddl] within brackets in the subject of this message you must manually transition to be part of the EDDL discussion list and to continue to receive the monthly update. Follow this procedure:

1. Create an ISA account (free)
2. Create list server password
   - Wait for confirmation email and click on link in it.
3. Join the EDDL discussion list
   - Log in
   - Click Join, enter your name, and click join
   - Wait for confirmation email and click on link in it.

In case you're not already on the EDDL list, Jonas also shared a few articles, which you may find of interest:

• Interface level made easy with EDDL
• Polymer Plant Achieves Interoperability and Intelligent Device Management with EDDL

The Polymer Plant article was a great example of a process manufacturer, Synthomer, quantifying the benefits of their application of automation and asset management. Things such as output 30% over nameplate rating, 30% faster batch turnarounds, and 15% reduced recipe development time. I'm guessing the engineers behind these quantified results are getting their next capital appropriation requests approved more easily!

The email also linked to the archive of articles on the EDDL.org site. There was also links to presentations, videos, news, technical white papers, and literature. Now you know why I used the word indefatigable to describe Jonas' efforts in educating process automation professionals on the value of this standard.

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You have to love the march of technology as it applies to handheld devices, such as smart phones. Calling, texting, tweeting, emailing, web browsing all continue to get easier. In our world of process automation, technology also advances, although not quite at the same pace. Automation suppliers need to contend with explosive and corrosive environments. To be successfully used in these environments, extensive testing and certification for intrinsically safe operation with agencies such as CENELEC/ATEX, FM, CSA, FISCO, IECEx, etc. is required.

I mention all this because a new Emerson handheld device, the 475 Field Communicator, is coming on to the scene. These handhelds began years ago with the 268 HART Communicator in the mid 1980s, the 275 HART Communicator in the early 1990s and the 375 Field Communicator in the early 2000s.

The first thing an instrumentation professional will notice in the 475 is the color display. In prior EDDL-related posts, I discussed how this standard provides a form and structure for automation systems and handheld communicators to access and display device diagnostic and setup information. The 475 color display makes these diagnostic and setup screens more quickly recognized and understood.

The other big thing is full support for HART 7, which includes WirelessHART. The 475 provides configuration, device diagnostics, and advanced troubleshooting for HART, Foundation fieldbus, and WirelessHART devices.

I asked brand manager, Alan Dewey, to name some other key improvements over the 375. The size and weight are reduced to make it easier to carry and use around the plant. Battery life doubles both in use and in standby. Alan mentioned that usability was also a focus for the design team and they reduced boot up time and device display call up times.

With Bluetooth becoming prevalent in PCs, it made sense for the 475 technology team to add this protocol to provide fast, secure data transfer with the AMS Device Manager application on the PC and the Easy Upgrade Utility (which helps users keep their communicator up-to-date with the latest system software and device drivers). Like the 375, Infrared (IrDA) communications is also available, but the transfer rate is doubled.

I hope to see a few "YouTube unboxing" videos out in the wild as instrumentation folks get their hands on these. You can bet I'll have my RSS search going to be on the lookout!

MP3 | iTunes

Update: Added link to the 475 Field Communicator site.

I saw ARC Advisory Group's Larry O'Brien's post this week, Emerson Profibus Membership is One More Step toward Common Ground. In it, he writes:

In fact, Emerson has supported Profibus for some time. The PNO membership officially seals the deal and gives Emerson a hand in future PNO development activities, most importantly the implementation of EDDL or Electronic Device Description Language in future iterations of Profibus. EDDL is a common technology that is shared across the Profibus, Foundation Fieldbus, and HART protocols, and serves essentially as a markup language that describes the characteristics of devices and how data should be stored and displayed. EDDL files are similar to XML files, and are used to describe equipment parameters, such as device status, diagnostic data, and configuration details. EDDL is operating system independent and host system independent.

Readers of this blog know that we do discuss EDDL and its cross-protocol applicability and importance to process manufacturers--a consistent view into devices from multiple suppliers, multiple digital communications protocols, and multiple operating systems. In one post, I summed it up:

Following the EDDL standard, device suppliers create Electronic Device Description (EDD) files for their smart field devices. These files provide a standardized form and structure for automation systems and handheld communicators to access and display device diagnostic and setup information, independent of communication protocol or operating system.

Emerson's Terry Blevins gave a nice, quick demonstration of this interoperability including WirelessHART devices at last year's ISA Expo.

The EDDL.org team also has quite a number of demonstration videos on their wwwEDDLorg YouTube channel. Emerson's Jonas Berge provides a lot of the energy behind the new content on EDDL.org. He had a conversation last fall with Automation World's Gary Mintchell, recorded in Gary's Feed Forward blog podcast.

As Larry notes, Profibus has been supported around Emerson for a long time. One example is Profibus DP support in the DeltaV system introduced back in the v5.1 release.

Common ground is a good thing when it comes to access to the information in the smart devices which touch your process and have the ability to warn you of abnormal situation which might impact your plant's performance. The advancement of the EDDL standard is one example of this common ground.

MP3 | iTunes

Update: Thanks to the person who spotted and alerted me to the broken link to Larry's post. I've fixed it above and added it here.

Three automation suppliers' host systems have just passed the Fieldbus Foundation's Host Profile Registration Process, including Emerson's DeltaV system and AMS Device Manager software. The DeltaV and AMS Device Manager software achieved Class 61 - Integrated Host registration by successfully completing the test procedures outlined in the FF-525 Host Profile Registration Process checklist.

The Fieldbus Foundation describes the benefit of this host testing process:

Both automation suppliers and end users will benefit from host registration. Like the current device registration process, host registration will strengthen fieldbus interoperability and system integration. The updated host profile specification is easier to understand than current specifications, and eliminates inconsistent features in favor of defined host profiles.

I caught up with DeltaV product manager, Randy Balentine on what this means for process manufacturers. His first point is that this host interoperability testing enforces a new level of consistency, interoperability, and integration between Foundation fieldbus (FF) host systems and FF field devices. It also highlights the significance of the Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL), because two pieces, DD v5 Visualizations, Methods and DD v5 Persistent Data, are mandatory in this testing. I've discussed in numerous posts, the importance of EDDL in providing a consistent view of information from intelligent field devices.

This host profile registration testing was performed this month in the DeltaV Interoperability test labs in Austin, Texas. Two representatives from the Fieldbus Foundation administered and witnessed the testing process. The tests confirm support for the features contained in the FF-569 (Host Interoperability Support Test Procedures Revision 2.1).

Randy highlights two important tests that only the DeltaV and AMS Device Manager software have passed so far. The first is DD v5.1 Device-Level Access, which provides the ability for the software to present the user with information from FF function, resource, and transducer blocks in a single view rather than multiple views--one for each block. This common view makes operations and troubleshooting easier since tasks can be organized into logical groupings of related information. The artificial barriers based on where the data resides in FF devices are removed.

A second unique test passed is support for Enhanced Parameter Download Support Services, which means that the DeltaV and AMS Device Manager host is able to read a list of parameters in an FF device and prevent a host download from overwriting the values in the device that the suppliers never want to be overwritten. This allows the DeltaV and AMS Device Manager software to perform automatic FF device commissioning and replacement operations without the need for personnel interaction with a software screen.

Randy noted that the following versions of software were part of the successful test:

• DeltaV software, v10.3
• DeltaV v10.3 ProfessionalPLUS Workstation
• DeltaV MD Controller, software revision 10.3.0
• DeltaV Fieldbus H1 Interface Card, Series 2, software revision 4.86
• AMS Suite: Intelligent Device Manager version 10.5

Congratulations to the whole Emerson team who developed the test plans and worked with the Fieldbus Foundation to successfully pass this host registration profile process. Tests like these help improve interoperability amongst products from many automation suppliers.

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I received an email recently from Emerson's Jonas Berge. As a member of the ISA104 Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) committee, Jonas works to educate process manufacturers on how this standard fosters interoperability between intelligent field devices, asset management software, and process automation systems from various automation suppliers.

Jonas is a large contributor to the EDDL.ORG website. This site provides a basic overview of the standard, news updates, demonstration videos, and other educational materials.

I'll highlight a few recent videos that Jonas and his team have added to the EDDL YouTube page. This first video shows how trend chart data and a level radar echo curve can be exported to Excel for analysis. It includes a Rosemount 3144P temperature transmitter and Rosemount 5400 radar level transmitter in Honeywell SDC-625 software.

The second video shows how the device manufacturer's expert provides their know-how in the form of context sensitive help text for parameter settings and diagnostics. It also shows how device management software provides easy access to device manuals as well as drawings and procedures, and ability store notes. It includes a Rosemount 3051S and Siemens TH300 transmitter, AMS Device Manager and Siemens PDM software, and a 375 field communicator.

The third video shows how the configuration of a device can be printed. It includes a Rosemount 3144P shown in Siemens PDM software and a Rosemount 3051S shown in AMS Device Manager.

There are plenty of other videos on the EDDL YouTube page, which show how EDDL is applicable to different communication protocols and is independent of the underlying communication hierarchy. Applications built on this standard can interoperate with data from HART, WirelessHART, Foundation fieldbus, and Profibus devices--all in the same application.

MP3 | iTunes

Earlier this week, I listened to Gary Mintchell's personal podcast, Automation Minutes Episode 59 (iTunes | RSS feed). Gary interviews Emerson's Jonas Berge, a member of the ISA104, Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) standards committee. EDDL is also recognized globally by international standard IEC 61804-3. A few weeks earlier, Gary had interviewed a member of the FDT (a competing standard) marketing committee.

Jonas provides a detailed summary of what EDDL means to process manufacturers. It's a standard to display information in intelligent field devices communicating via HART, WirelessHART, Foundation fieldbus and Profibus back to the device management software and automation system. EDDL files are standards-based compressed text files that reside in the device management software to provide a consistent view to devices from different manufacturers for setup, calibration, diagnostics, etc. Through the EDDL file, the device manufacturer tells the system what command to send to get information from the device, how to decode it, and how this manufacturer would like to present the data.

Jonas offers a great analogy of how EDDL is like HTML. Both are text-based files. Client software (device management software and web browser) renders both, both are platform independent since they are text files and not installed programs, and both are version independent again since they are not installable programs. And similar to how devices like PCs, MACs and smart phones render HTML pages, PCs and handheld devices with device management software render smart device information.

Also, in how HTML supports sophisticated displays, EDDL supports sophisticated ways to render valve signatures, vibration spectrums, radar level "echo curves", dial gauges, historical trends, and step-by-step "wizard" procedures. Jonas points out that these graphical enhancements were added to the EDDL standard in 2006 to address the NAMUR NE 105 requirement to support access to full functionality in complex devices in the way the device manufacturers want this functionality to be displayed. These complex devices include valve positioners, variable speed drives, machinery health transmitters, wireless gateways, and bus diagnostic modules to name a few.

The design basis behind the EDDL standard is that the device manufacturer knows best what information their devices contain and how it should be displayed. The device manufacturers can make the full functionality of their devices visible and available on any system. The device management software suppliers know best how to provide a consistent view of trends, gauges, step-by-step procedures, etc.

For plant staff members who manage the device management software, the EDDL files do not become obsolete as the operating system is revised or security patches are added. Since these are text-based files, multiple versions can exist together within the device management software to address the plant realities of different devices, from different vendors, communicating with different digital protocols.

The information presented from these various devices have a common look and feel for the instrument technician and others who access the information. And the integrated diagnostics provided by the EDDL standard meet the NAMUR NE 91 requirements.

I captured a quick video at the recent ISA Expo 2008 in Houston, Texas. I just received some photos and ISA104 / EDDL Booth Report that show systems from ABB, Emerson, Invensys, and Siemens interoperating with advanced valve positioners and transmitters from Emerson, Endress+Hauser, Invensys, Masoneilan, MTL, Metso, Samson, and Siemens. These pictures demonstrate this interoperability in action:

MP3 | iTunes

I spent the day yesterday at the ISA Expo in Houston, Texas to listen to some of the presentations and see some of the demonstrations taking place this week.

I caught up with Emerson's Terry Blevins who is showing the interoperability and view of smart device information with the EDDL standard in the ISA104 booth.

Terry was gracious enough to let me put him on the spot by doing an on-the-fly tour of the EDDL booth with my handy flip video camera. He gives a short three and half minute overview of different devices from different automation suppliers, communicating over different digital communications protocols--all being displayed on a single software package that supports the standard.

Without further adieu, here's Terry:

Thanks for the quick tour, Terry!

The ISA recently issued a press release around demonstrations of Electronic Device Description Language, EDDL (international standard IEC61804 and ANSI/ISA-61804-3) and FDT (ISA103) technologies at the ISA Expo 2008 in October in Houston, Texas.

For those not familiar with EDDL, I described it in an earlier post as a text-based language that is used to describe the characteristics of field devices. Following the EDDL standard, device suppliers create Electronic Device Description (EDD) files for their smart field devices. These files provide a standardized form and structure for automation systems and handheld communicators to access and display device diagnostic and setup information, independent of communication protocol or operating system.

Emerson's Terry Blevins has been working closely with other automation suppliers on the EDDL demonstration. He also is the ISA104 committee chairman. This committee has adopted the EDDL standard, IEC61804, as an ANSI/ISA standard. The release describes what will be shown in the ISA104 booth at ISA EXPO 2008:

The ISA104 EDDL booth at ISA EXPO 2008 is a demonstration by major DCS manufacturers such as Invensys, ABB, Siemens and Emerson that illustrates the technical strengths of the EDDL standard, IEC61804, to support advanced user interfaces for diagnostics and device setup independent of the communication technology support by the device. Devices such as valve position[er]s based on HART, Foundation Fieldbus, and Profibus from Metso, Samson, Invensys, Fisher Controls, and Siemens are used to illustrate how manufacturers are using EDDL to document their device capabilities in a single, open and consistent format. A live demonstration of diagnostic information being accessed using a WirelessHART adapter connected to a wired HART device and through wireless access to a self-powered WirelessHART device illustrates how EDDL supports the latest wireless devices.

The demonstration provides the exhibit attendees the opportunity to see the advanced interfaces for device diagnostics and device setup that are available from the major DCS manufacturers that use device EDD's. This demonstration will also show how the EDDL technology is by DCS supplier to provide interfaces to support wireless devices based on the WirelessHART standard.

In the release, Terry and the ISA104 committee also describe recent activities to continue to advance the IEC61804 standard:

International Electrotechnical Commission's Technical Committee 65 (IEC TC65) met in Tokyo, Japan, the week of 18 May. The working group responsible for the EDDL international standard, IEC SC65E WG7, met on 20 May and discussed future EDDL enhancements that will be incorporated into the existing standard, IEC61804. A number of guests from Japan and China that attended the WG7 meeting expressed an interest in learning more about EDDL. Thus, following the WG7 meeting, Christian Diedrich and Terry Blevins put on a workshop that provided more detail on EDDL and showed examples of how EDDL is used to write device descriptions.

If your plans include Houston the 14-16^th of October, make sure to stop by and visit with Terry and the other automation suppliers to see how this standard provides a common, interoperable way to present smart device information to you.

A colleague forwarded a recent ARC Advisory Group report, FDT Reaches Out to Process End Users. It described a recent briefing by representatives of the FDT Group to the ARC team. A few parts of the report that really raised some eyebrows among members involved in the ISA104, Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) standard (a.k.a. IEC 61804-3).

The first part I'll highlight:

FDT technology essentially standardizes the communication interface between field devices, control systems, and asset management systems. FDT is communication protocol independent, supporting devices that use HART, PROFIBUS, and more recently, Foundation Fieldbus (FF). It allows users to access device data and settings through any protocol or operating system.

Emerson's Jonas Berge, a member of the SP104 committee sent me the following response after he had a chance to read this report:

Although it is true that both open and proprietary protocols are supported by FDT/DTM, it is not correct that any operating system is supported. FDT/DTM is based on Microsoft technology and only works for Windows. Operating system independence is a unique characteristic of EDDL so it protects investment in software and devices against obsolescence as new Windows versions, service packs, and hot fixes are introduced over the life of the system. With EDDL, workstations can freely be upgraded. Because it is not tied to Windows, EDDL also avoids registry conflicts when new device types and versions are introduced. This in turn enables EDDL to be loaded on the DCS operator console (device management need not be an isolated console) so operators can see device failures and take evasive action and inform the technicians (who are in the field, not in front of maintenance console). This is a key capability to integrate predictive diagnostics into daily work processes. Moreover, new device types and versions can be integrated without divulging the administrator password. Operating system independence is a necessity even if you use Windows workstations. It also makes EDDL suitable for handheld field communicators (the technician's best friend for fieldwork) which are embedded devices not based on Windows. Thus, EDDL is supported in all tools from DCS engineering station for configuration, handheld communicators for commissioning and field service, device-management software part of asset management solutions during operation, and laptop software for the workshop. This is the reason why you only need EDDL and need not grapple with two technologies. EDDL with enhancements need not be complemented.

Another part of the report notes:

One major difference between FDT and EDDL is FDT's standard interface between field devices (DTMs) and supervisory system (frame application software). Due to the standardization and openness of FDT, DTM's from any supporting vendor can operate on frame applications from any supplier. The frame application provides a HMI to display device configuration, diagnostics, predictive alerts and more. EDDLs require an application that typically is proprietary, developed by vendors for their products that can be applied to multi-vendors with appropriate testing.

Jonas responds:

Device management software using EDDL are not proprietary. EDDL is an international standard IEC 61804 established since many years ago. Every control system supports the original EDDL from 1992 and most if not all support enhanced EDDL or have announced they will. Millions of devices from hundreds of manufacturers support EDDL including all HART and FOUNDATION fieldbus plus many PROFIBUS devices.

The OPC Foundation also supports the EDDL standard. Jonas recently wrote an article, OPC Made Easy, about the integration of the important OPC standard and its relationship with EDDL.

The ARC report also highlights an FDT evaluation report:

FDT further discussed the results of the WIB lab FDT evaluation report, dated November, 2007, executed by Shell Global Solution (SGS) using the FF protocol. The WIB International Instrument Users' Association, of which SGS is a member, executed the unbiased test on behalf of WIB in their facilities. SGS compared specific FF functionality and evaluated the ability FDT to access and utilize device data for commissioning and maintenance purposes. Five distributed control systems (DCS) with standalone framework applications were tested with five field devices that supported both EDDL and FDT/DTM in all feasible combinations.

Jonas adds these observations to this report:

The WIB report, if read in its entirety, has some interesting observations. Although only one device was compared (so not all EDDL capabilities were seen), it makes clear EDDL is unique in supporting FOUNDATION fieldbus block configuration. Several times over, it mentions EDDL is the technology with no interoperability issues. The EDDL approach has a clear structure for configuration and setup. It also implies EDDL does a better job of commissioning and parameterization with a single tool. It also suggests EDDL has a less manufacturer specific, more consistent, look and feel. Lastly, it hints EDDL is more attractive for DCS systems because the files are not executable.

Although it may be true that combining EDDL with FDT/DTM you get some benefits from both, unfortunately you also get the drawbacks of both. Since FDT/DTM adds little or nothing to enhanced EDDL (they both do the same thing, albeit differently) there is no additional benefit to speak of. However, the drawbacks of mixing both technologies are plenty. For example, on its own EDDL protects the system investment because it is independent of Windows. Mix in FDT/DTM and your system no longer has this advantage. Similarly, the ability to integrate diagnostics in operator stations is lost as is consistent look and feel. The ability to add new device types or versions without conflicts is also lost.

Update: Welcome Feed Forward blog readers! I welcome your thoughts on this.

It's often difficult to understand the value a new international standard brings to your process manufacturing operations. Emerson's Jonas Berge has been hard at work in his capacity on the standards committee ISA104, Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) to educate process automation professionals. In addition to the standards committee Jonas contributes his energy to the EDDL.org website and the EDDL email list. You can also see some of the other times I've featured his work.

His latest article, Temperature Transmitters: Warming Up to EDDL, in Industrial automation asia magazine, describes how enhancements to EDDL (a.k.a. IEC 61804-3) have improved setup and diagnostics of temperature transmitters.

Jonas describes how the technology in temperature transmitters has advanced to provide diagnosis of their health, the sensor wiring and the temperature-sensing element. This diagnostic information is communicated back to the asset management and/or automation system via digital protocols such as HART, WirelessHART and Foundation fieldbus.

An example Jonas offers is a temperature element burnout. The temperature device uses the EDDL standard to

...provide image displays, switched dynamically, that illustrate the problem.

Some of the more sophisticated temperature transmitters have dual sensing elements. Sensor drift can be determined and reported back to an operator or maintenance technician if a maximum difference is exceeded between the two measurements. These dual sensors can also operate in a hot-backup mode if they measure the same point. They are set in a primary/standby mode where failure of the primary sensor causes its value to be ignored and the backup sensor to be used.

Jonas also describes a loop-testing scenario typically performed by maintenance technicians:

Systems and software that fully implement IEC 61804-3 support EDDL wizards that take the technician through required steps to check the temperature transmitter as defined by its manufacturer.

The wizard reminds the technician to inform the operators that a loop test will be performed so the associated control loop can be changed to manual to prevent upsetting the process when temperature is simulated.

The EDDL standard provides a standard way for device manufacturers to embed help into these devices, which reduces learning hurdles for operators and maintenance techs to use these diagnostics.

Thanks to Rohit Kadam for pointing this story to me in his Nice To Meet You..! blog. Rohit is an active member in our DeltaV Twitter Community.

Emerson's Dale Perry and Jonas Berge teamed up for a look at EDDL (Electronic Device Description Language) technology from a pressure measurement device perspective in a recent Industrial Automation Asia article, Pressure Transmitters: EDDL Equals Easy.

Their summation describes well why you might have an interest in this interoperability standard:

Given the breadth of transmitters and other field devices throughout process facilities, interoperability is essential for integration and ease of use. EDDL is the key to interoperability in a digital plant architecture as it merges functionality of devices using HART, Foundation fieldbus, or WirelessHART into the same single software structure so they can be managed together from a single dashboard.

Dale and Jonas describe the problem the enhanced EDDL standard addresses from the perspective of a pressure transmitter supplier:

Historically there was no display standardisation. The dilemma was that the pressure transmitter manufacturer could not dictate the system display or accessible transmitter functionality on a system.

It was primarily left up to the system vendor to create specialised screens that may or may not have included all the specialised functionality of pressure transmitter. It was not uncommon that devices that did not come from the system vendor itself was at a disadvantage.

The article highlights some of the information presented by Rosemount pressure transmitters via enhancements to the EDDL standard. The authors note that before these enhancements:

...there was no graphics for quick visualisation of the pressure transmitter diagnostic status nor could you look at the current PV and tell what the pressure was two minutes ago. And if the device had multiple variables there would be multiple numbers to look at and do math and correlation in your head.

The article displays and describes screen captures as seen in AMS Device Manager that supports enhanced EDDL including: trend charts, device diagnostic summary status, graphical gauges, detailed diagnostics, and even specialized charts that device suppliers can create. One Rosemount pressure transmitter example is a standard deviation chart showing process noise. In this case, it typically signals a plugged impulse line.

Dale and Jonas sum up the article by defining the responsibilities for both the device and software application providers:

Although the transmitter manufacturer controls what information is made available from the transmitter and how it is laid out on the screen, the look & feel details such as the appearance of buttons as well as activation of the help, printing, acceptances of changes, and comparison is handled by the device management software ensuring all devices work consistently regardless of manufacturer, type, or protocol.

Update: I updated the link to a PDF version of the article.

I had the opportunity to visit with Emerson's Tom Wallace who was here in Austin recently. I like to joke with Tom that a post I had done with him comparing and contrasting HART and Foundation fieldbus caused such a stir, that it produced one of this blog's highest monthly visitor totals to date.

So let's see what we can do this month! Tom takes a comparative look at some of the swirl that surrounds EDDL and FDT/DTM in a new paper, FDT/DTM, and Enhanced EDDL, what's best for the user. These are both technology enablers for field devices, automation systems and asset management applications.

If this is all acronym soup to you, here's Tom's brief description of these technology enablers:

Device functionality is invoked using Electronic Device Description Language, EDDL or DTM's [Device Type Manager]. The DD or DTM tells the host what functionality the device has, and how the functionality is invoked. It also tells the host how to do common maintenance functions such as calibration, trims, tests, and other device activities.

I'll start with Tom's conclusion and then highlight some of his supporting points. He concludes:

In my opinion, there is a better technical implementation based primarily on ease of implementation and support. That solution is to use EDDL for all devices where EDDL is technically capable of delivering complete device functionality, and to use a DTM or a snap-on application to handle only the exceptions. I make this recommendation because it is simpler to implement a single solution than a combined solution. EDDL is a single solution that will work for the vast majority (95%) of HART, Foundation fieldbus, and Profibus PA devices.

Tom's point for commissioning Foundation fieldbus devices contrasts installable programs versus data files:

Commissioning Foundation fieldbus devices on most control hosts require DD's [device descriptions]. Most control hosts have a set list of applications that are considered safe to install on the host engineering or operator station. Each DTM is an application, and the testing required to ensure hundreds, or potentially thousands of DTM's are compatible with a control host user interface is not practical. EDD's are files, not application programs. Therefore there is no program installation risk loading EDD's on a control host.

On data availability, Tom writes:

...EDDL is the path for data availability that originates from a device, or is going to a device. The OPC Foundation support for the enhanced EDDL will broaden the use of EDDL for applications such as ERP, maintenance management, and other applications.

For the display of data in field devices, Tom notes:

EDDL is supported in the host by DD services. DTM is supported in the host by a frame or FDT. For many applications and hosts either EDDL or DTM can be used for data display. For hosts that are not based on a windows operating system, EDDL will be used as DTM requires a windows operating system. EDDL has defined display objects such as charts, graphs, etc. DTM is more of a free form environment using a variety of programming languages.

The choice for the enabler technology to use is EDDL or a combination of EDDL and DTM. Tom lists some considerations for your discussion based on operating systems, operating system version management, functionality and complexity of the device and if a custom display needs to be created.

Tom sums all this up with the following recommendation:

The final recommendation is to use EDDL as the required standard since each device must have a DD. Allow the use of DTM's on an exception basis where the functionality is required, and EDDL cannot provide it. Make sure that all the functionality to replace a failed device, or place a new device in service is available in EDDL. This will simplify implementation and maintenance, mitigate operating system migration issues, and provide a lower risk more error free working environment.

Update: Welcome readers of Gary Mintchell's Feed Forward blog! Join the conversation and add your comments below or on Gary's post.

Emerson's Jonas Berge is an active member in the ISA SP104 committee, responsible for advancing the Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) standard (also known as IEC 61804-3.) You may recall Jonas from earlier EDDL posts. This standard creates interoperability between digital field devices from simple sensors to complex devices (drives, analyzers, etc.) with control and asset management systems. Interoperable communications include device diagnostics, asset management and user interface displays.

Jonas has written a short piece, OPC Made Easy, in the April issue of Control Engineering Asia magazine. In this article, he describes how EDDL can save many hours of OPC server configuration, which can help speed up a project's completion. For background, he begins by reminding readers how this important standard makes sharing data between OPC servers and OPC clients easy:

...external software in HMI clients and other users can easily access the wealth of detailed diagnostics and information in hundreds or thousands of intelligent devices around the plant.

Configuring OPC clients is easy: just point and click on data in the OPC server.

The challenge is in the configuration of the OPC server:

Configuring the OPC server includes entering device addresses and communication settings as well as creating the "namespace" which entails entering tag or descriptor for each and every piece of information along with the memory register address for the parameter as well as its data type, and range where applicable. This parameter "mapping" is the most time consuming and error prone part of OPC integration, but once done the rest is easy.

Jonas explains how EDDL can automate the creation of the OPC server configuration for devices digitally communicating via HART, Foundation fieldbus and Profibus. He writes:

Automatic OPC server configuration is made possible because EDDL is a descriptive technology similar to XML or HTML, declaring the properties of the data in the device for use by the auto-configuration mechanism. EDDL is the only device integration solution that is declarative.

Although not in the article, Jonas relayed an example to me where an AMS OPC Server was used to pass a slug flow alert from a Micro Motion HART device to an older distributed control system (DCS) that did not support HART communications pass-through. Before the solution was implemented to send this alert to the DCS via OPC, slug flow would cause over-charging of materials added to a batch. Now, the operators are alerted to slug flow conditions and can pay special attention to the surrounding process equipment.

The EDDL.org website remains the best source for information about this standard. You can also join the EDDL email list hosted by ISA to keep up and participate in the conversation around this standard.

There's a great article on The Institution of Engineering and Technology's website, Industry Unplugged, by Emerson's Mike Ferris. Mike is with the Smart Wireless team in the Rosemount Measurement business of Emerson Process Management.

Mike's conclusion describes why process manufacturers might consider wireless field networks (a.k.a. wireless sensor networks.) He writes:

Wireless offers the ability to add additional measurement points to previously unreachable or unaffordable places throughout the process plant. This means greater access to information about the process and also the health of devices. Wireless mesh networking solves the problem of reliability within tough non wireless-friendly areas. Security issues have been addressed and in WirelessHART the process industry has an open standard to work with. By adding plant wide wireless networks it is now possible to improve the availability of this extra data to those that need it most.

Mike notes the adoption of wireless networks in our homes and offices and how it has become a part of our daily lives. This has not been the case in process manufacturing plant applications. A number of reasons he cites include a limited range of sensors and transmitters for acquiring data, security concerns, power concerns, and a lack of industry standards. Most wireless solutions were point-to-point, which prevented the ability to scale if the application required it.

These concerns led to the WirelessHART standard that I discussed in an earlier post. The architecture scales, installs in a straightforward way, and has well thought through security. For more on the underlying IEEE standards and protocols, this data sheet provides a good summary.

The main objective of WirelessHART is to be fully complementary to the wired HART standard. As such, it extends standard functionality like electronic device description language (EDDL) and provides process manufacturers a similar user experience whether the HART device connects wirelessly or via wires.

In the article, Mike offers application examples as opportunities where process manufacturers might give wireless field networks a try. I'll summarize his ideas in a bulleted list:

• Applications not justifiable when wiring installation costs included
• Remote devices in hard-to-reach areas
• Uninstrumented operational blind spots
• Existing HART devices with no way to deliver diagnostic information
• Manual readings done in hazardous locations
• Automating operator rounds
• Incremental measurement points
• Measurements on rotating or moving plant equipment (ex. lime kilns, rail cars, portable skids, etc.)
• Safety relief valve emissions monitoring
• Safety shower flow

Of course, many of these examples are possible. It's more the case that they are not practical once you factor in the wiring installation. It's kind of like your home. Some things are more trouble than their worth to do when wiring is involved. With a wireless option, things get a whole lot simpler and more doable.

I recently joined the Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) mailing list to follow the work of this important standard. For those not familiar with this standard, EDDL.org describes it:

Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) technology is used by major manufacturers to describe the information that is accessible in digital devices. Electronic device descriptions are available for over 15 million devices that are currently installed in the process industry. The technology is used by the major process control systems and maintenance tool suppliers to support device diagnostics and calibration.

In prior posts, I've discussed how this text-based standard makes the exchange of information from smart field devices and maintenance software and/or automation systems easy so that information from different suppliers field devices can be presented to you in a common way. These smart field devices are based on the popular digital communications protocols HART, Foundation fieldbus and Profibus. EDDL can theoretically be used with any protocol. The standard declares device parameters and their dependencies, visual representations, user interactions, and how systems access information.

Emerson's Jonas Berge is an active participant in EDDL and the ISA104 Committee and recently posted a summary of activities that I thought I'd share:

BIS test find EDDL meets NAMUR NE 105

EDDL Workshop, Frankfurt Germany, 8 April 2008

ISA Electronic Device Description Interoperability Guideline Gains ANSI Approval

ISA Electronic Device Description Gains ANSI Approval

Recent Articles
EDDL makes Foundation fieldbus easier

EDDL: Unlocking Device Information

EDDL allows interoperability for devices to constantly gather information

News/Events Archive
EDDL demo and presentation at CIA2007 in Singapore 27-30 November

ISA104 explains EDDL at ISA EXPO 2007

EDDL demo and presentation in Japan in November 2007

EDDL demo and presentation in Singapore in November 2007

Forum
Make sure your colleagues involved with bus technology and intelligent device management also join this EDDL forum. There will be more important announcements shortly.

Jonas noted to me that the first link to the BIS test (BIS Prozesstechnik--subsidiary of Bilfinger Berger Industrial Services) used devices and control systems from different suppliers to see if the EDDL meets the requirements in NAMUR recommendation 105 for field device integration in engineering tools. This tested the IEC 61804-3 standard and how it is used by device and control system manufacturers, and the advantages the new EDDL standard has for plants in the commissioning, operation, and maintenance phases of the lifecycle.

The test is described:

A wide range of device types were tested including everything from the simple temperature and pressure transmitters to sophisticated radar level transmitters, valve positioners, and frequency converters (variable speed drive) connected via HART, FOUNDATION fieldbus, PROFIBUS DP and PROFIBUS PA bus systems.

Findings include:

The study found that EDDL meet the requirements also for complex devices, further software tools are not required. EDDL wizards, images, and trend charts enable good usability and intuitive operation also for complex use cases (e.g. Partial Stroke Tests).

Jonas and those involved in the EDDL standards effort have been quite busy in communicating their activities. I hope this post helps bring some additional visibility to these efforts.

Recently my Emerson RSS news Feed alerted me to a wireless application on a North Sea oil and gas platform. I sent a note to the team involved with this project asking about their perspectives.

I received great notes back from Jeremy Fearn, a Smart Wireless Specialist based in the United Kingdom and Rolf Jenssen, a manager in our Norwegian Asset Optimization organization.

The overall challenge this oil and gas producer faced was the desire to measure annular pressure of the wells remotely by replacing the local pressure gauges. These measurements monitor the integrity of the tubing and annulus in the area between the production tubing and well casing.

Now, from my days on oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, I recall that adding pressure measurement around the wellheads can be difficult and cost prohibitive. As Jeremy points out, this requires cable tray, cables, installation, drawings, man-hours, transportation and accommodation of the team to do all this. Also, the areas around the wellheads are classified as hazardous areas.

The team found the easiest and least disruptive way to replace the existing local pressure gauges was to use a gauge adapter with the Rosemount wireless pressure transmitters. This provided a direct replacement of the manual gauges with the wireless devices.

Another challenge was the distance between the wireless gateway and the room with the automation systems and AMS Device Manager software. Jeremy described their solution to use the fiber optic option for an Ethernet connection to the gateway. A short length of fiber optic cable was used to connect from the wireless gateway to a nearby cabinet room. This room contained spare optical fibers, which allowed the team to connect through to the process Ethernet backbone.

The platform already had AMS Device Manager software used for on-line diagnostics of 125 valves equipped with HART DVC controllers. AMS Device Manager also included an AMS OPC server. This software pulled in all the wireless pressure readings from the wireless gateway. From here, the data was passed to an OPC client on the host automation system. The AMS software also tagged all the parameters in the wireless HART transmitters, making it easy to select a parameter showing the overall quality of the measurement. This meant the quality of the measurement also could be transferred to the operators on the automation system. For detailed information about the status, configuration and health of the wireless transmitters, AMS Device Manager with EDDL files is used, clearly showing any failures.

Rolf also noted that the automation system's OPC client during the set up uploaded all of the values and parameters available from the AMS OPC Server, taken from all the platform HART devices including the wireless devices. After the selection of the pressure, temperature and the overall quality value, the team deleted the whole upload, but the selected values for the OPC links were now updated continuously to the operators, included the annular pressure measurements.

Initially, the staff engineers thought that two wireless gateways would be required, due to the density of the platform and production equipment. It turned out that only one gateway was required. All devices were able to communicate with the gateway. In fact, the device mounted furthest from the gateway still found a direct path! As more devices are added in the future, the strength the self-organizing network will be increased from additional wireless signal pathways.

The team took two days less than expected to complete the installation, and the oil and gas producer's staff has performed similar installations on other platforms without help from Jeremy or the other wireless consultants.

The real benefit is that the annular pressured is monitored continuously by the operations staff rather than twice a day through manual readings. Pressure drop in the annulus might indicate a problem with the well. These continuous measurements provide operators an opportunity to take corrective action much earlier to help avoid well rework and lost production.

Automation World magazine's editor in chief, Gary Mintchell, wrote a post yesterday on his Feed Forward blog. The post, The Saga Continues - FDT v EDDL describes some of his discussions with people involved in both groups about the relative merits of their respective approaches to smart device communications. Lest I be accused of tossing around acronyms too casually, EDDL stands for Electronic Device Description Language and FDT stands for Field Device Tool.

Because I subscribe to Gary's RSS feed with Outlook 2007, I was able to forward his post much like an email message to Emerson's Terry Blevins and Tom Wallace for their views. Here is the text of their comments posted on the Feed Forward site.

From Terry:

Gary, It is good to see your interest in EDDL. As you may be aware, EDDL is the international electronic device description language standard for the process industry (IEC 61804).

Through the work of the ISA SP104 committee the IEC61804 standard was officially adopted last year as an ISA/ANSI standard. The SP104 committee worked with ISA to establish the www.eddl.org web site. At this web site you will find information on the benefits of EDDL and the advantages that EDDL has over other technologies.

In particular, you may find the paper and the tutorial that the SP104 committee presented at ISA2007 EXPO to be of help in examining this topic in more detail - please see www.eddl.org/files/ISA2007_EDDLTutorial_Presentation.pdf and www.eddl.org/files/ISA2007_EDDLTutorial_Paper.pdf.

Best regards,

Terry Blevins
Chair, SP104

From Tom:

Gary,

First, some good comments from you, thanks. I have a few thoughts to add to yours. First is a technical clarification. EDDL is the language used to write DD's. The DD is not in the device, it's in the host. Next, FDT/DTM is not used by any control host to my knowledge. It's used for asset management, therefore it's not in the DCS, the DCS usually is the path for information from the field to the FDT application. Regarding differences, because EDDL is operating system agnostic, DD's written using EDDL can reside in a handheld. FDT/DTM requires a PC level Windows operating system. As such, it won't work on devices that use an embedded operating systems such as linex, or Windows CE. Also, control hosts frequently use DD's. For example, Yokogawa CENTUM CS3000 uses EDD's to understand and use the capability of FF field devices. To my knowledge, DTM's are not used in this way. The net result is that the user will need DD's for intrinsically safe handhelds, and will in many cases also need DD's for the control host to correctly function with FF devices.

DD's will provide the functionality to perform maintenance functions on just about any HART, FF, or Profibus PA device in existence. Adding FDT/DTM where it's not needed adds to end user maintenance cost and time. Both EDD's and DTM's must be installed and maintained. Why add maintenance work if it's not needed? In addition, EDD's have been forward compatible for many years. What this means is that if a user installs a newer version of device to their plant, an older DD will work with the newer device. It may not know about enhanced functionality in the newer device, but it will perform the basics of configuration and maintenance. When it's 2AM and you're trying to avoid a shutdown, or get the plant back up, the last thing you want is to find you don't have the latest configuration file you need to configure your device. Although DTM's could be written to be forward compatible, to date most are not. I recommend users of FDT/DTM have a complete set of DD's available and on tools they use regularly so they can avoid this potential problem. There are some cases where EDDL is not sufficient, and a supplementary technology is needed. Some devices require calculation capability beyond that provided by EDDL for initial device setup. These devices usually have a separate Windows based configuration program already available to provide the added capability. DTM's have potential use here, but alternate solutions already exist. At this point I think that DD's will always be in the plant, and DD's will continue to be needed to perform functions and in environments that FDT/DTM cannot serve. One other issue I'm seeing with FDT/DTM is that it is not being used as a complementary technology to EDDL, it's being used as a replacement for EDDL to perform functions that have been and will continue to be completely supported with EDDL. These functions include device configuration and maintenance for devices that have been completely supported by DD's in the past, and continue to be completely supportable by EDDL or enhanced EDDL today. Since EDDL is an IEC standard, I am concerned about FDT/DTM, or any technology that is being used to move users away from standards, especially since the standard, EDDL will provide all the functionality needed for the vast majority of devices in all plants worldwide today. Another concern is that FDT/DTM may be slowing the implementation of the full functionality of EDDL in host systems. As such, it's not a complementary technology, but a competing one. Finally, I'd like to make a recommendation for the end user community. It strongly aligns with your recommendations, but has some additional points. The first is that the end user community encourage their host vendors to fully implement all the features supported by EDDL in their hosts. The second is that the end user community encourage their host vendors to move with speed and dedication toward the solution being worked by the EDDL / FDT/DTM working group. When this solution is available it should provide the best of both EDDL and FDT/DTM. The third is that I recommend the end user community use EDDL as their standard solution and add FDT/DTM on an exception basis. Since FDT/DTM is being positioned as a complementary technology to EDDL, I encourage the end user community to use it that way. Use FDT/DTM only if and where it provides needed functionality that is not available through EDDL.

Although I am strongly pro-EDDL, and cautious about FDT/DTM, I hope these comments have some merit, and you will consider posting them.

Thanks and regards,

Tom Wallace

If you have thoughts to share, join the conversation on the Feed Forward site or here.

Advancing industry standards remains a vibrant activity in the process automation business. These standards foster faster market acceptance of new technologies by providing interoperability among many suppliers' devices compliant to the particular standard.

InTech magazine has a nice update on one of these standards efforts, Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) which is an extension of the International Standard IEC 61804-2. The article, EDDL allows interoperability for devices to constantly gather information, was written by ISA104 committee members, Christian Diedrich, Ludwig Winkel, and Emerson's Jonas Berge and Terry Blevins.

The authors succinctly summarize the benefit of the EDDL standard for process manufacturers:

Using this technology, it is possible to provide an interoperable environment where distributed process control systems or handheld communicator can gather information available in modern automation sensors and actuators to configure, calibrate a device, diagnose problems, and provide data and alarms for user-interface displays.

They also note that the technology is pervasive in smart field devices:

For a user to garner Foundation Fieldbus (FF) certification, EDDL is a requirement, and it is the only device description language supported by the HART Communication Foundation. Because of that, virtually every Process Control Systems vendor worldwide supports EDDL. On top of that, Electronic Device Descriptions' (EDD) are available for any FOUNDATION, HART, and some Profibus based field devices.

EDDL's text-based data structure allows it to be platform independent:

EDDL provides a well-defined structure for supporting the most simple to the very complex field device. Since EDD's are text-based interpreted by the host system, these files are independent of operating systems and control platforms. This structure allows the same EDD to have a common look and feel across applications, which reduces the learning curve and supports multiple host applications. Also, this enables field device additions to come into play without affecting the runtime stability of the control system.

The biggest benefit for users is that a consistent graphical user interface can be used to display the EDD information in smart devices, even when these devices come from different automation suppliers. The article states:

Graphical visualization supported by EDDL such as graphs and charts take full advantage of the capabilities of the host automation system. These capabilities can benefit engineers and maintenance personnel by providing a consistent look and feel during device configuration and maintenance.

Applications like Emerson's AMS Device Manager and 375 Field Communicator provide graphical views of graphs, charts and calculations into devices supporting EDDL. These views also include complex instruments such as digital valve controllers, radar level gauges and multivariable meters.

I wrote this post while on a flight back from a meeting in Rome. As an engineer, one can't help but be inspired by the buildings and architectural wonders created by the engineers in the Roman Empire. Talk about built to last!

I think about engineers today who worked on this mobile smartphone I used to compose this post while on the plane. These phones have a life span of a couple of years at best. I saw a colleague with a newer version of my model. It includes a global positioning system (GPS). He downloaded Google Maps and it automatically connected with his GPS. This is not only cool, but also very useful as it gave real-time positioning information as we walked the streets of Rome.

Imagine the contrast of old and new as we used it to find historic monuments like the Pantheon. Here is something with a life span of a few years to find something that has lasted thousands of years.

Thankfully, in our world of process automation our work may live on a decade or two. These systems are not without change as the hardware and software continues to advance. These systems take advantage of the work of really smart engineers who keep advancing the technology.

I tie this all back to a press announcement of four really smart Emerson engineers, Terry Blevins, Deji Chen, Mark Nixon, and Willy Wojsznis receiving an excellence in documentation award from the ISA. The award was for their ISA EXPO 2006 technical paper, Improving PID Control with Unreliable Communications.

As part of the DeltaV technology team, they have played a major role in some of the innovations automation engineers around the world use every day to improve their process operations and their business results.

A sample of the innovations include Foundation fieldbus, OPC, on-the-fly process modeling for real-time control performance, EDDL, embedded MPC, fuzzy logic, neural network with the other common control block.

Congratulations to Terry, Deji, Mark, and Willy on their award and helping to advance the craft automations engineers apply.

While at the recent ISA Expo 2007, I had the chance to listen to Emerson's Jonas Berge's presentation on software for automation. Jonas is an active member in the ISA SP104 committee. This committee is responsible for advancing the Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) standard.

A few years back he wrote a book, Software for Automation: Architecture, Integration, and Security. His presentation covered some of the ideas from the book. Specifically, he discussed these key points:

• Select technologies for software architecture
• Justify investment to management
• Where and how to deploy DCOM vs. Web
• Where each OPC flavor is used and how
• Integrate with business and coexist with legacy
• Troubleshoot DCOM and OPC
• Apply software and make the PC rugged
• Engineer and document software
• Backup, administer, and optimize
• Make it robust, safe, secure, and 21 CFR Part 11 compliant

The body of knowledge that an automation professional must understand to perform their job effectively continues to expand. As Jonas describes, the software architecture is as important to design as the hardware architecture. Information flows from devices connected from digital busses all the way through the automation systems to enterprise-level software applications.

Security concerns must be addressed and be part of this design. Cyber-security is an area of specialization unto itself and you can follow many of the issues and advancements at the Digital Bond and Unfettered blogs.

Jonas describes setup of networks and OPC, ODBC, and web services communications across networks and tips for troubleshooting these. One everything is functioning properly, methods of management and administration including backup and restore procedures are covered.

Jonas highlights the fact that this is a lot to plan and get right. If you find yourself overwhelmed and too busy to become an expert in this area, you are not alone. Many process manufacturers are working with their automation suppliers versed in this level of expertise to help on the project front-end and to help maintain these software packages and integration methods through their useful lifecycle. One example is Emerson's SureService support services.

For those attending the ISA Expo 2007 this week in Houston, Texas, there is quite a number of Emerson experts presenting papers. Topics being presented include: safety, analyzer integration, statistical analysis, EDDL, wireless, applied Foundation fieldbus, project justification, building automation, mesh networks, and predictive maintenance.

I'll be coming in to listen in on some of these and meet with some members from our automation blogging community.

I had a chance to catch up with ModelingAndControl.com's Terry Blevins who will be co-presenting, Keeping Systems and Communicators Up-to-date using EDDL. Here's a quick preview if this standard is something you want to learn more about. Terry also chairs the ISA104 committee that is working to advance this standard.

This tutorial explores the history of the Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) developments, how the technology works, the benefits of the approach taken, recent advancements, how systems and communicators are changing because of these advancements, and demonstrations. EDDL, or IEC 61804-3, is an international standard and is endorsed by four major interoperability foundations: Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communications Foundation, Profibus Nutzerorganisation e.V (PNO), and the OPC Foundation.

EDDL is a text-based language that is used to describe the characteristics of field devices. Following the EDDL standard, device suppliers create Electronic Device Description (EDD) files for their smart field devices. These files provide a standardized form and structure for automation systems and handheld communicators to access and display information, independent of communication protocol or operating system.

The goal of this technology is to provide an interoperable environment where automation systems and handheld communicators for the purpose of configuration, calibration, diagnostics, and operating data and alarms for display can access information available in smart field sensors and actuators. There are more than twenty million smart devices installed in the world that have EDDs. These first began to appear in the early 1990s in HART devices, and was adopted into the Foundation fieldbus and Profibus standards in 1994. The EDDL.org site provides much more on the history and activities in the advancement of this standard.

Recent enhancements to the standard include better parameter organization, support for charts, graphs help better visualize the information in the smart field devices, and persistent data storage to convey historical information. These enhancements were approved in 2006 as a part of the IEC 61804-3 maintenance cycle.

The next phase of enhancements includes additional support for devices connect to the process including the ability to pass procedures like device setup and maintenance. Other enhancements include increase data access to databases and lookup tables, extended product information access, OPC UA information model, and support for modular devices.

The common threads through the demonstration of EDDL in action is the versatility in support from simple to very complex field devices, the independences of operating systems and control platforms, the common look and feel from an information visualization standpoint, and the ability to add devices on the fly without affecting the running automation system.

The ISA104 committee is meeting at the ISA Expo, so stop by to speak with Terry and the committee members at booth 1356 to find out more first hand.

I caught up with Emerson's Terry Blevins who has been leading the standards efforts around Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) with his work as chair of the ISA SP104 committee. From the EDDL.ORG website:

The Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) standard advances interoperability of devices in control systems. Integration of simple sensors through complex drives is facilitated. Device diagnostics, asset management, and user interface displays enhance reliability and performance.

Terry will be presenting a paper at this year's ISA Expo (Oct 2-4 in Houston, Texas USA) along with Emerson's Jonas Berge and other committee members from Siemens and the Institut für Automation und Kommunikation Magdeburg (ifak). This two-hour tutorial is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

In the exhibition area of the ISA Expo, they will be demonstrating the benefits process manufacturers derive from sensors, actuators, control systems, and handheld communicators that support the EDDL standard. These benefits come from the ability to configure, calibrate, diagnose, and provide data and alarms back to operators. Terry extends an invitation to those of you going to the Expo to stop by the ISA Booth to visit with him and some of the SP104 members. Terry also mentioned that he'd be doing a talk on EDDL at the ISA booth on Thursday afternoon.

As the paper notes, EDDL is required for Foundation fieldbus, HART, and some Profibus devices, which means that virtually every automation system supplier supports it. Some of the key advantages cited by this paper include:

• A well-defined structure for supporting simple to very complex field devices
• EDD files are text-based (not code-based) and thus independent of operating systems and control platforms
• EDD files being text based also makes switching versions, revisions, and supplier brands simpler

If you want to follow the progress of this standards effort, you can visit the EDDL.ORG website, or subscribe to their mailing list.

I also encourage you to take Terry up on his offer to visit with him and see the presentation of this paper.

As reported in the Sound OFF! Editors' Blog, the ISA issued a press release announced that the ISA-SP104 committee has completed adoption of EDDL as an ANSI standard specified by IEC 61804. It is now: ANSI/ISA-61804-3 (1004.00.01)-2007, Function Blocks (FB) for Process Control - Part 3: Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL).

So if you are an automation engineer you might ask... so what? I have attempted to address this "so what?" question in prior posts, but it is something I will try again in my quest to simplify in my mind--if not yours.

The best way I can think of it is a text-based file that is associated with your smart Foundation fieldbus, HART, or some of your PROFIBUS devices in your plant. This text-based file presents its operation, diagnostic, performance analysis, operating statistics, calibration and other information in a standard, globally agreed upon way. Applications like your control system, asset management software and handheld devices that support this standard can present the information to you in a standard, intuitive way.

The analogy I have used in the past is the Really Simple Syndication (RSS) standard for publishing and consuming information across the web. Like the smart field devices, web news feeds, blogs, and other RSS-enabled content provide their information in this agreed upon global data standard. You can use RSS readers like my favorite, Google Reader, to read the information to which you choose to subscribe.

Continuing the analogy, your RSS reader presents this information to you in a common way--the look, the fonts, the shortcut keys, etc. The content can come from different suppliers' web servers, be on different operating systems, and even run with different software applications that create these standards-based RSS files.

Likewise, your application that understands the global EDDL standard (like Emerson's AMS Device Manager and 375 Field Communicator) can present the information from various smart field devices, from different suppliers, and even running different digital communications protocols. As ISA-SP104 Committee Chair (and fellow blogger), Terry Blevins said in the release:

Using tools based on EDDL can mean faster device commissioning and loop checkout, as well as reduced field trips and the elimination of unnecessary maintenance.

In an earlier post, I had mentioned the ISA-SP104 committee had established an EDDL.ORG site as an educational site. The committee has been hard at work creating educational information including basic information, participating organizations in this standard, and other news, events, and technical resources.

And, as reported this past April, the EDDL team and another smart device-based standard, FDT Group, agreed to combine efforts and work toward a unified solution for device integration that is compatible with both technologies. ARC Advisory Group sums up this collaborative effort well:

ARC applauds the collaboration efforts of the parties involved. The actions of this group will be remembered as the tipping point where practical common standards for field device integration were founded. Working toward the singular goal of easy equipment configuration and management will provide more value than anyone could have imagined.

Emerson's Terry Blevins has been a driving force in much of the advancements in process automation. In the early days of the DeltaV system developments, he was at the heart of the Foundation Fieldbus standards development. As technologies advanced and it became possible to put advanced control algorithms in controllers rather than host level computers, Terry was again at the forefront working to add model predictive control, neural networks, fuzzy logic, and most recently continuous control performance monitoring into the DeltaV system.

Over at ModelingAndControl.com Terry shares his wisdom gained over many years for the next generation of automation and control engineers.

So why am I telling you all this? It's because today the ISA announces, ISA Standards Committee Launches EDDL Website. Terry, as the chairman of the SP104 committee, was integral in making this happen. Earlier this year, he summarized the goals of the SP104 committee well in this blog post.

He even enlisted me to seek out the EDDL.org domain, secure it, and donate it to the ISA organization. I was more than happy to help.

The EDDL.org site clearly states what EDDL is all about:

Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) technology is used by major manufacturers to describe the information that is accessible in digital devices. Electronic device descriptions are available for over 15 million devices that are currently installed in the process industry. The technology is used by the major process control systems and maintenance tool suppliers to support device diagnostics and calibration.

Terry was concerned that information about EDDL was scattered around a number of sites including the HART Communication Foundation, Fieldbus Foundation, and Profibus International. This made it difficult for automation professionals to learn about this important standard. The goal of EDDL.org as described in the press release:

The website is a good way for interested parties to learn how to ensure long-term viability of device management solutions, protect their investment in these systems and easily keep it current, ensure security and robustness... The site also features links to training, technical articles about EDDL, online tutorials, and other related standards efforts.

Standards have played and will continue to play a key role in process automation as process manufacturers increasingly rely on the technologies to get their process operations running efficiently and being able to serve their customers better.

Automation World magazine recently had a great primer article on electronic device description language (EDDL) entitled, Device Descriptors Prove Merit. Application manager, Jim Gray, in Emerson's Rosemount Analytical Liquid division best summarized this important standard by saying:

...the most important thing about electronic device description language (EDDL) is that it makes managing process instrumentation easier.

If you're unfamiliar with EDDL, here's a short summary from an earlier news release:

An international standard -- IEC 1804-3 -- Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) is a universal interface to diagnostic, real-time and asset management information contained in what is currently a growing installed base of more than 20 million field instruments from a host of manufacturers. With EDDL, a user can calibrate instruments, diagnose problems, provide data for user interface displays, identify process alarms, and obtain information needed for high-level software, such as MES, UI/SCADA, plant historians, asset management and ERP.

Virtually every vendor of process control systems worldwide supports the standard language and the information it describes is available in any HART Communication, Foundation fieldbus, or Profibus based instrument made since 1990.

ModelingAndControl.com's Terry Blevins is heading up the ISA-SP104 standards committee to continue to advance the EDDL standard.

I asked Jim for some examples of how this standard makes thing easier for automation engineers, operators, and maintenance technicians. As Jim sees it, the biggest advantage is that the presentation of the diagnostic and other information in smart field devices is separated from the actual data. This allows software applications to present information from a host of different device suppliers in a common, intuitive way.

The best analogy I can think of is RSS where the data resides in XML files on various websites across the internet. RSS Readers like Google Reader, Internet Explorer 7, Firefox, etc. handle the presentation of this information each in their own unique way. As a consumer of RSS feeds, it's much faster and easier to read the feeds in a common location in a common way with one of these RSS readers.

In the case of Rosemount liquid analytical smart devices like pH, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen transmitters provide EDDL files with their diagnostic, configuration and operating data and make this data available to software packages like AMS Device Manager to present the information. Like the RSS readers, AMS Device Manager presents this data in a standard way including device status, trends, gauges, and advanced device help to name a few. This is true for any suppliers' devices which support the EDDL standard. Also, other application software which supports the EDDL standard can present this information from Emerson devices which support this standard.

Jim sums it up rather nicely in the article:

The whole idea is to let the user know what is going on with the device and any actions that need to be taken, quickly and clearly, and to make configuration commissioning easier.

For those like me who were college educated in the pre-internet, pre-Google days you can really appreciate how access to information required for learning has gotten easier. With a Google search bar and some quiet time, you can become conversational on nearly any topic in a few minutes and on the road to being an expert with some more time. There is no way we could learn this quickly in the days of libraries and books.

I bring this up because Terry Blevins, co-author of the Modeling and Control blog, and Emerson's Marcos Peluso have made their "best of" Foundation Fieldbus tutorial presentations available over on the EasyDeltaV.com website. This tutorial is covered in 12 parts from a very basic Fieldbus Overview to Advanced Functionality. The presentation series includes:

• Fieldbus Overview
• Justifying Fieldbus
• Example Applications
• Installation of Fieldbus
• Devices Available
• Fieldbus Standard
• Fieldbus Communication
• Fieldbus Function Blocks
• Fieldbus Diagnostics
• Fieldbus EDDL
• HSE Fieldbus
• Advanced Fieldbus

As technologists, Terry and Marcos have created a presentation series which more deeply explores the workings of Foundation fieldbus. This series complements the modules in PlantWeb University in the Foundation fieldbus section in the way an advanced class complements the introductory class.

If you happen to be searching around for information on Foundation Fieldbus and happen upon this blog post, enjoy the fact how quickly you can get conversational or become a true expert based on the time you spend following some of the links.

It's always a pleasure to highlight the work of our technologists around Emerson Process Management. It's even better when their work is recognized by ISA, a premier organization for automation professionals. Congratulations to Martin Zielinski and Carl R. Jones on their recent awards for outstanding achievement.

Martin, the Director of HART and Fieldbus technology in Emerson's Asset Optimization division, was elected to the distinguished grade of ISA Fellow for his significant contributions in the development, standardization, and deployment of digital communications technology. Through his career he has worked in the forefront of some of the automation world's leading open, interoperable communications standards including the HART Field Communications Protocol, the FOUNDATION fieldbus communications standard, and the Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL). In fact, for two years while the Fieldbus Foundation was getting started, Martin served as its Chief Operating Officer. If your automation system or asset management software is receiving diagnostic information from intelligent field devices, you can bet that Martin's leadership and expertise went into it somewhere along the line from his work on these consortia and standards bodies.

Carl, retired from and now consulting with Emerson's Rosemount Analytical division, received the UOP Technology Award for the development of process analyzer applications, particularly those used in spectrophotometry. This award recognizes an outstanding achievement in the conception, design, or implementation of instrumentation and/or process control in an area of activity covered by the scope of the ISA's Automation & Technology Department. Carl developed numerous process analyzer applications, using a full range of liquid and gas process analyzers and holds a patent for a unique electrochemical oxygen sensor and technology that speeds response time. He has contributed numerous publications and presentations serving to advance process instrumentation technologies.

We're honored to have Martin and Carl recognized for their contributions to the advancement of automation technologies which help make process manufacturers more efficient.

As I mentioned in many earlier posts, Emerson has a long tradition for supporting open, interoperable standards. A recent example is the international standard, IEC 61804-3, Function blocks (FB) for process control - Part 3: Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) which:

...fills the gap between the conceptual FB specification of IEC 61804-2 and a product implementation. It allows the manufacturers to use the same description method for devices based on different technologies and platforms.

The ISA's new SP104 committee is working to adopt this generic device description language specified by IEC 61804. The committee recently issued a press release, ISA SP104 Committee Releases EDDL Draft for Ballot. The key benefit to process manufacturers cited in the release:

Ultimately, tools based on EDDL enable faster device commissioning and loop checkout, as well as reducing field trips and eliminate unnecessary maintenance. Benefits from EDDL-based tools match corporate strategies such as reduced maintenance cost, quality improvement, increased throughput, and reduced downtime.

From a user perspective, applications which support EDDL can display information from these smart devices using familiar dialog boxes to present graphs, charts, and trending of dynamic variables in addition to text, and archived data in a consistent, familiar format.

One of the really great aspects of the EDDL effort was the cooperation among the leading digital communications standards consortia including: Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communications Foundation, PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation, and OPC Foundation. This cooperation will continue to simplify the dissemination of information from the devices touching the process to those who need it to improve the performance of the process and the business. Emerson continues to incorporate this standard into its technology developments, like this recent announcement for EDDL enhancements for rotating machinery monitoring.

ISA SP104 is chaired by Emerson's Terry Blevins (a fellow blogger who you can see at ModelingAndControl.com.) Terry gave me a quick update that the SP104 committee is making good progress in advancing the adoption of the IEC 61804 standard as an ISA/ANSI standard.