Enhanced Version of Integrated Production Control System

Yokogawa Electric Corporation (Netherlands) have announced the release of CENTUM VP R5.03, an enhanced version of the company’s flagship integrated production control system.

Yokogawa has been continuously developing and enhancing CENTUM VP as a cornerstone of its Industrial Automation business’s VigilantPlant vision for operational excellence. In accordance with the strategies set out in the company’s Evolution 2015 mid-term business plan, CENTUM VP has been enhanced with a variety of new functions.

New features in CENTUM VP R5.03 include a wide area communication (WAC) router for control via public communications networks, enhanced batch functions, easy integration with intelligent electric devices (IEDs), and an eight-loop operation keyboard.

Yokogawa has developed a WAC router that enables a CENTUM VP system to remotely monitor and control equipment over a wide area network (WAN) established using public communication lines, satellite links, and the like. The WAC router provides the same high reliability and security as the Vnet/IP control network that is used with Yokogawa production control systems. It compensates for limited bandwidth and transmission delays by prioritising communications based on data type and target. For added reliability, the router has dual redundant communication modules. Each of these modules can be linked with the WAN by up to two communications lines. When two lines are employed, they may be of the same type or of different types, e.g. satellite link and fibre-optic cable. The router enables reliable and inexpensive monitoring and control of widely distributed facilities such as the offshore platforms used in oil and gas exploration and production.

The CENTUM VP R5.03 batch package is based on ISA-88 and has enhanced functions that allow greater flexibility when accommodating changes in production procedures. The number of operating procedures has been increased, and the recipe procedure has been provided with additional levels of granularity, simplifying the process of making recipe changes. CENTUM VP R5.03 is thus ideal for companies that employ complex batch production processes and are engaged in such industries as foods, pharmaceuticals, and speciality chemicals.

CENTUM VP R5.03 supports the IEC 61850 communication protocol, which has been widely adopted in the electric power industry and other industries that operate extensive electrical facilities. This latest version of CENTUM VP can integrate data from intelligent electric devices and can be used to monitor the operations at power plants whose electrical facilities have been designed based on the IEC 61850 standard. This allows better integration with power plant operations, and also enables the monitoring of electrical facilities at many other types of plants.

A new keyboard has been released with sets of dedicated function keys that can be used to simultaneously adjust eight control loops. For graphic, alarm, and trending operations, there are also dedicated control keys, operation confirmation keys, window call-up keys, a total of 64 special function keys, and keys for alarm acknowledgment and key locking. This keyboard has been designed to make it easier for plant operators to perform their tasks.