A human-centered design (HCD) approach means taking a close look at a task or set of tasks and seeing how the design can simplify and streamline it. As this HCD approach continues to unfold through the Emerson Process Management organization, products and technologies continue to take time out of tasks for process manufacturers and producers.

A good example is the v13 release of the AMS Device Manager. A major improvement added was the ability to configure HART devices in bulk in order to save time and reduce errors. Device commissioning time can be reduced by up to 80% with device configuration templates and bulk transfer.

In this quick 2:39 video, AMS Device Manager Bulk Device Configuration, Emerson’s Scott Hokeness describes the process of bulk configuration and its impact on overall engineering efficiency and consistency.

Scott notes that for some complex devices such as digital valve controllers, the configuration, validation and commissioning time can be reduced from around an hour to a few minutes. Simpler devices such as pressure and temperature transmitters can be configured in around a minute instead of the typical half hour.

He shows a screen how devices can be configured by connecting them and letting them configure themselves through pre-defined templates that the user sets up in advance. Mapping files are developed in an Excel spreadsheet where the user configuration is mapped to the tag name of the device.

Reports are available to check the configurations and verify that everything has been completed properly. A whitepaper, Streamline Device Commissioning—Introducing AMS Device Manager Bulk Transfer explains the efficiency and consistency gains in more detail.

Scott and the team have also developed an Excel-based calculator to help you estimate your configuration and commissioning savings based on the total number of simple and complex devices, unique templates, and typical times to perform the configuration process.

Beyond configuration and commissioning, the AMS Device Manager is an important component in an overall predictive maintenance strategy.

You can connect and interact with other instrumentation and maintenance professionals in the Reliability & Maintenance group in the Emerson Exchange 365 community.