Improving maintenance efficiency by using device management systems!

Yokogawa has released Plant Resource Manager (PRM) R3.12, a software package that is capable of centrally managing large amounts of data from plant monitoring and control devices and manufacturing equipment, thereby allowing their status to be monitored and diagnosed online. With PRM R3.12, self-diagnostic information is now displayed in a more intuitive, easy-to-understand format based on the NAMUR NE107 recommendations, and network functions have been enhanced for upstream oil and gas applications. With this new release of its PRM package, Yokogawa aims to expand its share of the maintenance market.

Development background

Plant Resource Manager (PRM) is a software package that centrally manages field device information. With PRM, users can monitor the status of their devices and perform online diagnosis via a network. In addition, PRM centrally manages database ledgers for individual devices as well as device maintenance information that can be accessed by maintenance staff.

Manufacturers in the process industry are constantly working to improve maintenance efficiency by using device management systems such as PRM that can centrally manage large amounts of data from plant monitoring and control devices and manufacturing equipment in order to monitor their status and identify maintenance needs.

When a device management system detects multiple problems in more than one device, maintenance personnel must quickly assess the severity of each problem and prioritise their actions. Equipment failures in plants must be dealt with quickly, and so appropriate responses are required when it appears likely that a failure will soon occur. To satisfy these needs, this information is now displayed in an easier-to-understand format with PRM R3.12, allowing maintenance personnel to quickly judge which actions will receive top priority.

This new version of PRM also offers enhanced network functionality, including improved support of wireless and satellite communications for upstream oil and gas applications.

This new PRM version uses easy-to-understand NAMUR NE107-compliant symbols for the four primary device diagnostic categories: namely, failure, check function, out of specification, and maintenance required. While previous PRM versions were capable of indicating the severity of a device malfunction based on the self-diagnostic data, R3.12 makes clear at a glance what kind of response is required. NAMUR NE107 is a series of device diagnostics recommendations defined by NAMUR, a process automation user group based in Germany.

The network function has been expanded to incorporate support for narrow-band wireless and satellite communications. Consequently, both PRM and Yokogawa’s SCADA software (FAST/TOOLS) installed at a central control facility enjoy improved connectivity with the ProSafe(R)-RS safety instrumented systems that perform monitoring and control functions at widely distributed remote sites such as wellheads and pipeline pump stations. The centralised monitoring of device status at such remote locations meets customers’ need for improved maintenance efficiency. With this new functionality, Yokogawa anticipates that it will be able to expand its maintenance business in the oil and gas industries.