New Versatile Device Management Tool

Yokogawa Electric (The Netherlands) has released the FieldMateTM R2.03 versatile device management tool: an upgraded version intended for use in plants and other production-related sites. In response to rapid growth in the Chinese market, Chinese language support has been included as a standard feature. Support for the ISA100.11a field wireless communications standard is also provided.

Digital communications standards play an increasingly important role in communications between plant central control systems and field sensors. With conventional field communications, only measured values from sensors are sent to the central control systems. With digital communication technologies, however, additional data such as sensor settings and maintenance information can be sent, and operators in a central control room are also able to remotely configure and adjust the sensors.

Plants using sensors from multiple vendors that rely on more than one communications standard require versatile software tools for device configuration, adjustment, and management. FieldMate, an open standard software package that supports FDT/DTM as well as all other major field communications standards, is ideally suited for such requirements. Yokogawa has released this upgraded version of FieldMate to capitalise on opportunities for growth in the device maintenance market.

FieldMate is a PC-based device configuration tool with an intuitive, user-friendly interface that is used to perform initial setup, routine maintenance, and device replacement. It supports all major industry-standard communication protocols such as FOUNDATION Fieldbus, PROFIBUS, BRAIN, and HART, as well as the FDT/DTM open framework for setting and adjusting any vendor’s network-capable field device, regardless of which communications protocol is used. In addition, support for the ISA100.11a field wireless communications standard enables configuration, adjustment, and management of a wider variety of field devices in plants.

Field Device Tool (FDT) is a communications interface that links control systems with field sensors such as pressure transmitters and flowmeters. Device Type Manager (DTM) is an FDT-based device application that is provided by a vendor of a device or a control system.

The target markets include facility maintenance divisions in process industries such as oil, petrochemicals, chemicals, pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals, foods and beverages, and iron and steel. Applications include sensor configuration, adjustment, and inspection and device information management in plants and other production facilities.