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Summary
As process industry manufacturers continue to struggle with the labor shortage challenge, they are looking for ways to simplify installation and maintenance operations. Representatives from Honeywell Process Solutions recently briefed ARC Advisory Group on its SmartLine platform-based approach for field instruments that can help manufacturers and other industrial organizations address this challenge. According to the company, the key features of the SmartLine series are its modular design and common design language, which greatly reduce engineering effort and simplify installation and maintenance. Various other capabilities of the SmartLine series also help manufacturers save on maintenance costs, reduce unplanned downtime, improve asset performance, lower operating costs, and enhance safety.
Modular Design Simplifies Maintenance
In a process manufacturing plant, there are hundreds (or even thousands) of field devices. Correspondingly, installing and maintaining these hundreds of devices requires hundreds of man-hours. At a time when industrial plants struggle with issues such as a talent gap and labor shortage, properly maintaining these field devices can be a daunting task. Honeywell Process Solutions has done much to address this challenge. The company's SmartLine transmitter series is a major offering designed to make it easier for manufacturers to install and maintain measurement devices in the field.
SmartLine Temperature Transmitter Showing Various Modules
Source: Honeywell Process Solutions
Modular Design: A Key Feature of SmartLine Range
Honeywell has made significant technology investments to offer efficient and user-friendly commonality within its measurement instrumentation family. The company's SmartLine transmitter range, which includes pressure, temperature, and level transmitters for process applications, share the same modular design, standardized look, common functionality, and diagnostics.
The modular design offers many benefits and cost savings. Maintenance personnel can repair the transmitter quickly and easily just by replacing the broken hardware module, eliminating the need to stock large quantities of spare transmitters as before. Electronics can be replaced or upgraded under power right in the field, without taking the transmitter out of line or shutting down the process and losing valuable production time.
As some modules can be shared with SmartLine Pressure Transmitters and SmartLine Temperature Transmitters, this further allow manufacturers to reduce inventory stock and cost. The company plans to bring similar interchangeability to SmartLine Level Transmitter modules in the coming months.
Advanced Display and Diagnostics
SmartLine offers an advanced graphic LCD display that, along with basic process information, can share diagnostic and other information. The display features multiple screens that rotate at regular user-selectable intervals. The display supports multiple languages and can also display bar and trend charts.
To improve flexibility, the SmartLine range offers multiple options for configuration. Plant personnel can configure the transmitters using handheld devices, asset management DTMs, or even external buttons located right at the unit.
Smart Connections
SmartLine transmitters can be integrated with Honeywell's Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) as well as other control systems.
According to the company, when integrated with Experion PKS, the SmartLine transmitters offer additional benefits such as extended diagnostics, maintenance status display, and transmitter messaging.
Polarity protection prevents damage to the device should the connection be accidentally reversed. Furthermore, the SmartLine range is polarity insensitive, which means that the device will not only be protected against damage but will also perform properly and to specification with incorrect polarity connections. The company believes that this feature can provide users with tremendous time and cost savings.
Smart Services
Honeywell Process Solutions is working to improve the user experience, both for products and services. For example, the company offers users an online, cloud-based level application and validation tool that allows users to input technical data about their specific level application, collaborate with other stakeholders, and determine the optimal setup for the SmartLine Level Transmitter. The tool preserves the engineering effort by documenting the unique session and making the configuration available to Honeywell's manufacturing system. The ordered level transmitter is delivered preconfigured, ready to be installed in the field, further saving installation time.
Conclusion
Honeywell Process Solutions has done much to increase its value proposition for customers. With its user-friendly SmartLine range, Honeywell Process Solutions is in an excellent position to help its clients improve asset availability, reduce unplanned shutdowns, reduce costs, and improve safety. The modular concept of SmartLine can help manufacturers reduce the total ownership cost for transmitters. ARC believes investing in modular, easy-to-maintain solutions such as SmartLine can be an excellent economical strategy for manufacturers, in terms of inventory costs as well as man-hour expenditures for installation, commissioning, and maintenance over the life of their plant instrumentation.
SmartLine and Experion are registered trademarks of Honeywell Inc. All other trademarks mentions are the property of their respective owners.
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Keywords: SmartLine Transmitter Series, Pressure, Temperature, Level, Honeywell Process Solutions, Field Devices, Process Industry, Maintenance Efficiency, Labor Shortage, ARC Advisory Group.