54th International Instrumentation Symposium: Enhancing Plant Asset Management In Process Industries With Wireless Retrofits

摘要

Wireless technology has had a significant impact on the way business is done globally. It enables a greater degree of connectivity among devices for enhanced monitoring and utilization of existing assets and has led to the development of new applications that improve productivity, uptime and overall business performance. Yet, industrial automation is one segment of the global economy that to date has seen little impact from wireless technology. Major industries, such as oil and gas, chemical, power, and water and wastewater treatment continue to operate their plants mostly with older, hard-wired control systems. A typical process facility will have well over 1,000 measurement points, none of which currently use wireless technology, and many additional points that go unmeasured because of the cost of running wires to each. This paper discusses the need for standards-compliant, wireless, sensor-based technology in these industries for enhanced plant asset management and the benefits that will result.