Honeywell releases field device configurator
March 2011
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Software will save operators time by allowing them to manage HART devices from any manufacturer using Honeywell’s handheld device.
Honeywell has introduced field device configurator (FDC), a software application for the MCToolkit handheld configurator device. This new software allows operators to configure and assess the health of HART 5, 6 and 7 instrumentation more easily.
FDC and the MCToolkit help streamline device management for manufacturers as they transition their plant instrumentation from previous HART versions to the most recent versions. The MCToolkit device simultaneously supports this new FDC software as well as previous Honeywell software for configuring units with DE protocol, making this one tool available for many uses.
“Our customers have the challenging task of managing instruments and devices that come from a variety of manufacturers, which can cause headaches with calibration, configuration and monitoring device status,” said Anand Krishna, director of marketing, Honeywell field solutions. “With the new field device configurator application, technician and engineering activities are made easier, more efficient and more productive.”
Technicians and engineers are frequently tasked with operating and maintaining many field instruments from different suppliers and they must also keep track of device description revisions from various manufacturers, which can sometimes be a complex and time consuming chore. FDC simplifies device management by allowing engineers to choose device descriptors and revisions needed, based on the unique requirements.
The FDC further simplifies device management by letting operators customise their handheld device screen menus to find and execute frequently performed tasks. For example, the screen that reports instrument device health can be quickly accessed from the main menu, which helps technicians and engineers make faster diagnostic assessments and take corrective actions. FDC also supports a unique search feature that uses filters and caching to return the desired item instead of requiring the user to navigate through a menu structure. Users can typically reduce the number of steps needed to reach an item by 40%.
For more information contact Debbie Rae, Honeywell Southern Africa, +27 (0)11 695 8000, [email protected], www.honeywell.co.za
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