Integrated Control and Safety

摘要

The integration of control & safety in process automation is still a controversial topic, but the benefits in terms of reduced capital expenditure and operating costs are increasingly driving process industry end-users down the path toward considering integrated systems. Most mainstream DCS vendors now have an integrated control & safety offering, and acceptance of such technology within the process industry is growing. This is particularly evident in the upstream and midstream oil & gas sector. The refining, petrochemical and chemical industries seem inherently more conservative and here the take-up of an integrated approach is slower, but it is gathering both pace & momentum. This technical paper discusses the benefits that can be realised in the context of typical integration scenarios and looks at the challenges of integrating control & safety systems whilst still complying fully with functional safety standards such as IEC 61508 & IEC 61511.