Device management software

Yokogawa has released the R3.05 upgrade to Plant Resource Manager (PRM®), an integrated device management software package that can be used to centrally manage, monitor, and diagnose plant field devices. With the R3.05 upgrade, PRM now supports PROFIBUS DP/PA and Wired HART 7 devices, has a new maintenance mark function, and can run under Windows Server® 2008. Through these and other enhancements, PRM can now be used to manage a much wider range of devices online and the efficiency of maintenance activities has been significantly enhanced.

Development background
To strengthen competitiveness, manufacturers need to improve the efficiency of their existing production lines by introducing the latest technologies. They need standardised communication protocols that will allow them to construct optimum systems by freely selecting instruments from a variety of manufacturers. In response to this need, open protocols have been developed in various regions (Europe and the US) and industries. For these multivendor systems, users now need these enhancements to PRM to centrally control and monitor information from devices that are compatible with these standardised protocols.

PRM already supports the FOUNDATION™ fieldbus and HART protocols. With the added support of PROFIBUS DP/PA and Wired HART 7, the ability to manage and monitor a wide variety of plant field devices has been significantly enhanced.

Product Features
PROFIBUS DP/PA device support
With its support of the PROFIBUS DP/PA protocol relied on by more than 1200 device manufacturers worldwide, the scope of devices that can be managed and monitored online by PRM R3.05 has been significantly enhanced.

Support for the Wired HART 7 standard
The added support of the Wired HART 7 protocol means that PRM R3.05 can now be used to access, manage, and monitor information from a much wider range of HART devices.

Maintenance mark function
It is now possible to add a maintenance mark to the information that is provided for individual devices. Maintenance marks indicate the device maintenance status. When a maintenance worker sets a maintenance mark, operators in the central control room can check it at a glance. PRM maintenance marks can also be linked with the function block operation marks used by the CENTUM production control system so that both maintenance staff and operators can have access to this information.

Windows Server 2008 support
PRM R3.05 can now run under the 32-bit version of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2, the latest in Microsoft's line of server operating systems. This enhances the efficiency of device status monitoring and online diagnosis.

CommunicationDTM and GatewayDTM support
PRM R3.05 now supports CommunicationDTM and GatewayDTM, functions of FDT/DTM, an open interface technology. PRM can now be used together with CommunicationDTM/GatewayDTM compatible communications equipment to set and adjust the parameters for PROFIBUS DP/PA devices.