Creation and display of indices within a process plant

Details Creation and display of indices within a process plant Creation and display of indices within a process plant

2002-02-28

2004-11-02

Paladini, Albert W. (Department: 2125)

Data processing: generic control systems or specific application

Specific application, apparatus or process

Product assembly or manufacturing

C700S083000, C702S183000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06813532

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY
The present invention relates generally to process control systems within process plants and, more particularly, to the use of a coordinated expert system to aid asset utilization and optimization in a process plant.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
Process control systems, like those used in chemical, petroleum or other processes, typically include one or more centralized or decentralized process controllers communicatively coupled to at least one host or operator workstation and to one or more process control and instrumentation devices, such as field devices, via analog, digital or combined analog/digital buses. Field devices, which may be, for example valves, valve positioners, switches, transmitters, and sensors (e.g., temperature, pressure and flow rate sensors), perform functions within the process such as opening or closing valves and measuring process parameters. The process controller receives signals indicative of process measurements or process variables made by or associated with the field devices and/or other information pertaining to the field devices, uses this information to implement a control routine and then generates control signals which are sent over one or more of the buses to the field devices to control the operation of the process. Information from the field devices and the controller is typically made available to one or more applications executed by an operator workstation to enable an operator to perform desired functions with respect to the process, such as viewing the current state of the process, modifying the operation of the process, etc.
While a typical process control system has many process control and instrumentation devices, such as valves, transmitters, sensors, etc. connected to one or more process controllers which execute software that controls these devices during the operation of the process, there are many other supporting devices which are also necessary for or related to process operation. These additional devices include, for example, power supply equipment, power generation and distribution equipment, rotating equipment such as turbines, etc., which are located at numerous places in a typical plant. While this additional equipment does not necessarily create or use process variables and, in many instances, is not controlled or even coupled to a process controller for the purpose of affecting the process operation, this equipment is nevertheless important to and ultimately necessary for proper operation of the process. In the past however, process controllers were not necessarily aware of these other devices or the process controllers simply assumed that these devices were operating properly when performing process control.
Still further, many process plants have other computers associated therewith which execute applications related to business functions or maintenance functions. For example, some plants include computers which execute applications associated with ordering raw materials, replacement parts or devices for the plant, applications related to forecasting sales and production needs, etc. Likewise, many process plants, and especially those which use smart field devices, include applications which are used to help monitor and maintain the devices within the plant regardless of whether these devices are process control and instrumentation devices or are other types of devices. For example, the Asset Management Solutions (AMS) application sold by Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. enables communication with and stores data pertaining to field devices to ascertain and track the operating state of the field devices. An example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,214 entitled “Integrated Communication Network for use in a Field Device Management System.” In some instances, the AMS application may be used to communicate with devices to change parameters within the device, to cause the device to run applications on itself, such as self calibration routines or self diagnostic routines, to obtain information about the status or health of the device, etc. This information may be stored and used by a maintenance person to monitor and maintain these devices. Likewise, there are other types of applications which are used to monitor other types of devices, such as rotating equipment and power generation and supply devices. These other applications are typically available to the maintenance persons and are used to monitor and maintain the devices within a process plant.
However, in the typical plant or process, the functions associated with the process control activities, the device and equipment maintenance and monitoring activities, and the business activities are separated, both in the location in which these activities take place and in the personnel who typically perform these activities. Furthermore, the different people involved in these different functions generally use different tools, such as different applications run on different computers to perform the different functions. In many instances, these different tools collect or use different types of data associated with or collected from the different devices within the process and are set up differently to collect the data they need. For example, process control operators who generally oversee the day to day operation of the process and who are primarily responsible for assuring the quality and continuity of the process operation typically affect the process by setting and changing set points within the process, tuning loops of the process, scheduling process operations such as batch operations, etc. These process control operators may use available tools for diagnosing and correcting process control problems within a process control system, including, for example, auto-tuners, loop analyzers, neural network systems, etc. Process control operators also receive process variable information from the process via one or more process controllers which provide information to the operators about the operation of the process, including alarms generated within the process. This information may be provided to the process control operator via a standard user interface.
Still further, it is currently known to provide an expert engine that uses process control variables and limited information about the operating condition of the control routines or function blocks or modules associated with process control routines to detect poorly operating loops and to provide information to an operator about suggested courses of action to correct the problem. Such an expert engine is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/256,585 entitled “Diagnostics in a Process Control System,” which was filed on Feb. 22, 1999 and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/499,445 entitled “Diagnostic Expert in a Process Control System,” which was filed on Feb. 7, 2000, both of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein. Likewise, it is known to run control optimizers, such as real time optimizers, within a plant to optimize the control activities of the process plant. Such optimizers typically use complex models of the plant to predict how inputs may be changed to optimize operation of the plant with respect to some desired optimization variable such as, for example, profit.
On the other hand, maintenance personnel who are primarily responsible for assuring that the actual equipment within the process is operating efficiently and for repairing and replacing malfunctioning equipment, use tools such as maintenance interfaces, the AMS application discussed above, as well and many other diagnostic tools which provide information about operating states of the devices within the process. Maintenance persons also schedule maintenance activities which may require shut down of portions of the plant. For many newer types of process devices and equipment, generally called smart field devices, the devices themselves may include detection and diagnostic tools which automatically sense problems with the operation of the device and automatically report these problems to

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