The launch of Yokogawa Electric's VigilantPlant asset excellence initiative is aimed to apply the Yokogawa VigilantPlant vision to plant asset management in order to achieve operational excellence and create an environment where plant personnel can 'see clearly, know in advance, and act with agility'. Through this initiative, Yokogawa is introducing a suite of new solutions that work together to help customers achieve plant-wide collaboration for maximum asset availability and utilisation. In so doing, Yokogawa is helping sustain the profitable business growth of the process industries.
The asset excellence initiative
The basis for this initiative is the VigilantPlant operational excellence model, which is comprised of three key initiatives that aim to achieve production excellence by driving forward operational agility and adaptability; bring asset excellence by ensuring asset availability and utilisation; and foster safety excellence through the protection of health, safety, and the environment (HSE). The common centrepiece of this model, lifecycle excellence, seeks to improve and sustain these three initiatives for long-term business success.
The Yokogawa approach to asset excellence combines four success factors that are essential for customers to get the most out of their plant assets over the long term: asset reliability, asset availability, asset predictability, and asset performance. Through the VigilantPlant Asset Excellence Initiative, Yokogawa is delivering innovative solutions to its customers that helps them secure these key success factors.
Asset reliability - setting the foundation
The first key success factor, asset reliability, is an often overlooked yet fundamental prerequisite for non-stop production. Customers that put asset reliability firmly in place can sustain the daily use of their plant assets for safe and agile production.
The Yokogawa Centum CS 3000 R3 control system secures asset reliability for mission critical applications by using reliable technology such as Pair & Spare CPUs and the Vnet/IP open and secure control network to maintain a believed unmatched 99,99999% (seven 9s) availability track record. Yokogawa field devices such as the DPharp EJA and EJX digital pressure transmitters provide the system with stable and accurate process measurement under the severe conditions.
In a plant instrumented with the Yokogawa control system and field devices, operators can focus on true process concerns, trusting in the reliability of key automation assets.
Asset availability - enhancing maintainability
The second key success factor, asset availability, is achieved by securing maintainability in addition to the inherent reliability of Yokogawa products and systems. Customers can enhance asset availability through quick engineering and efficient maintenance of their field assets.
The Yokogawa FieldMate versatile device management wizard is a new field device tool (FDT) compliant PC-based integrated software tool that handles parameter setting for intelligent field devices, regardless of their make or field communication protocol. FieldMate speeds up device configuration and problem solving, and automatically stores a work log for a traceable field maintenance database that consolidates the maintenance work flow and facilitates the sharing of maintenance know-how.
With its versatility and integrated features, this new Yokogawa PC-based field maintenance solution is a tool that field technicians can count on to save time and reduce the complexity of their engineering and maintenance tasks.
Asset predictability - adding foresight
The third factor, asset predictability, relies on recent advances in online monitoring and predictive diagnosis technologies. Customers that are early adopters of emerging asset predictability solutions report both quick returns and ongoing advantages in optimising maintenance and maximising plant uptime.
Yokogawa's PRM plant resource manager is an integrated asset management solution that enables centralised online monitoring of automation assets. An upcoming new version, PRM R3, will take a step forward with its capability to create and integrate innovative diagnostics applications. Its new PRM Advanced Diagnostics Application (PAA) environment will facilitate diagnostics application development at the control loop and process unit levels, going beyond device health and device/process interface diagnostics. PRM R3 will support the FDT open standard, integrating diagnostics applications designed by the best-in-class fellow field device suppliers in the FDT Group.
In a plant where assets are centrally monitored by Yokogawa's integrated asset management solution, maintenance personnel can easily diagnose asset conditions, ensuring asset availability while optimising maintenance.
Asset performance - ensuring sustainability
The fourth and final factor, asset performance, is an ongoing achievement. It is more of a journey than a destination, demanding continuous performance improvement over the life cycle of a plant.
Yokogawa's InsightSuiteAE Asset Excellence Services is a suite of consultancy, diagnosis, and optimisation services delivered over the plant life cycle to maximise asset performance.
When customers have established a long-term relationship with Yokogawa, their plant managers can tap Yokogawa's diagnosis know-how and use its performance improvement solutions to ensure continuous improvement and asset excellence over the plant life cycle.
Open and best-in-class collaboration
Beyond the Yokogawa in-house solutions for the four key success factors, the VigilantPlant Asset Excellence initiative encompasses open and best-in-class collaboration with leading automation and enterprise solution suppliers.
The new Vigilant Integration Partners (VIP) Initiative is an open, non-exclusive, standard and inter-operability driven partnership that enables Yokogawa customers to leverage best-in-class solutions for plant-wide asset excellence.
For more information contact Rob Oliaro, Yokogawa, 011 831 6300, [email protected], www.yokogawa.com/za
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