NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN ENGINEERING Receives Excellence in Automation Award

Reliabilityweb.com
12 August 2014

The ISA100 Wireless Compliance Institute announced today that it presented NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN ENGINEERING the “ISA100 Wireless Excellence in Automation Award” for a recently completed research project that quantified the reliability of ISA100 Wireless technology in a multi-vendor device configuration at an operational site.

NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN ENGINEERING was recognized for documenting findings and analysis based upon research conducted at an operational manufacturing site. The objective of the research was to quantify the reliability of communication in wireless networks, specifically ISA100 Wireless.

Included below are some key details of the completed research project.

  • Type of manufacturing facility: Waste recycling plant
  • Number of devices included in the research project: 22 devices
  • Number of different suppliers included in the configuration: Three companies
  • Companies represented: Azbil, Fuji Electric and Yokogawa
  • Duration of the research trials: July 2013 - January 2014

The team identified engineering techniques to optimize performance of the wireless network in response to various adverse conditions present at the plant site. It set out to confirm that:

  1. The wireless network successfully supports a multi-vendor device configuration
  2. Field test results are confirmed independently of supplier claims

The team also set out to increase subject matter knowledge through first-hand experience with wireless instruments and confirming:

  1. Interoperability among diverse suppliers of wireless devices
  2. Characteristics for wireless propagation in a multi-vendor device configuration

In general, the team sought first-hand data about the reliability and stability of wireless technology. As part of its study objective, the team recognized that it would be useful to evaluate performance characteristics at an operating plant site to document and quantify factors such as distance, density of obstructions, types of obstructions, and other factors. The team experimented with system and site engineering alternatives to identify methods to ensure reliability and interoperability.

“For example, the team implemented variations on the installation design, publication period of wireless transmissions (configurable in ISA100 Wireless), number of publication retries and other adjustments,” explained K. Minamizato, Manager, Technology Headquarters, NIPPON STEEL& SUMIKIN ENGINEERING.

While detailed results of the study have not yet been made publicly available, the team concluded that ISA100 Wireless network reliability was practical for actual industrial applications.

Looking forward, the team expects that the capability of any ISA100 Wireless certified device to interoperate in the same wireless network will:

  1. Expand the portfolio of wireless devices from a variety of suppliers
  2. Drive down costs/prices of wireless instruments

The team also predicts that with greater availability of wireless instruments and costs trending downward, selecting wireless instrument technology will become easier to justify, and the industry will witness more widespread adoption of wireless technology.

About NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN ENGINEERING

Originally founded in 1974, as the Engineering Division Group for Nippon Steel Corporation, NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN ENGINEERING (NSENGI) was spun off as an independent company in July 2006.
ISA100 Wireless (IEC 62734) is an international, industrial wireless networking standard engineered to serve the needs of process industries. With native IPv6 networking, ISA100 Wireless extends the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) to wireless. End users can select ISA100 Wireless CompliantTM devices from a best-of-breed pool of suppliers with assurances of device interoperability. ISA100 Wireless enables automation engineers to quickly create, modify, optimize, and scale wireless networks that are open, interoperable, and reliable for their most critical applications. ISA100 Wireless is the first standard in the ISA100 family of open standards.
The ISA100 Wireless Compliance Institute (ISA100 WCI) is a non-profit industry organization that provides users and developers with market awareness, educational information, technical support, and compliance testing for the ISA100 family of standards. ISA100 WCI provides real-world feedback from the deployment of ISA100 Wireless devices and systems to ISA Standards Committees, fostering rapid refinement to the standards.

NSENGI is a socially conscious organization with a philosophy to operate for “All for the Good of Society,” guided by the basic principal of an “Essential role to contribute to society.” The company is organized into six practice areas including Plants and Machinery, Environmental Solutions, Energy Facilities, Marine Engineering and Construction, Building Construction and Steel Structures and, Pipeline Engineering. (www.eng.nssmc.com/english/)

About ISA100 Wireless

The ISA100 Wireless standard received ISA committee approval in 2011 and formal ANSI approval in January 2012. Headed toward internationalization, ANSI/ISA-100.11a-2011 successfully completed the CD stage in the IEC standards process with unanimous approval of IEC 62734 CDV in October 2013. ISA100 Wireless is the only IPv6, 6LowPAN industrial protocol designed for industrial automation and meets the requirements of ETSI 300 328 v1.8.1.

About the ISA100 Wireless Compliance Institute

More information about the ISA100 Wireless Compliance Institute can be found online at www.isa100wci.org.