Ease control transition to fieldbus systems

A Profibus user conference covers developments in PROFIBUS, PROFINET and PROFIsafe technology for factory and process automation to ease companies' transition from conventional to fieldbus systems.

The Profibus International User Group Conference is scheduled for June 26/27, 2007.

It will present several papers from system designers and engineering contractors who have been responsible for completing Profibus based projects.

The opening address for the conference is from Alaister Gemmill, engineering manager for Enpure (previously Purac).

Enpure is a design and construction contractor operating in the municipal water sector.

He is presently responsible for all aspects concerning the delivery of process, mechanical, electrical and control systems engineering within the company.

Gemmill will review the development of Profibus, and how Enpure manages the proliferation of drivers, firmware versions, GSDs and EDDL files, over the complete lifecycle of a project.

He reports on some of the challenges facing a contractor in the water industry.

These include the constant need for training for staff and customers, and matching the capability of the equipment with the competence of the staff tasked to look after it.

An important factor in some projects is this proportionality: the systems design and construction should be appropriate to the application being controlled, and by implication not become too complicated.

The presentation will also include background on the type of applications, for which Enpure typically construct systems, and why they have actively supported the use of PROFIBUS: this will outline the perceived benefits and some of the practical changes that it has made to the way Enpure works as an organisation.

Later that day, Mark Cargill, principal Electrical Engineer at Enpure, and a regular contributor at Profibus training events, will outline the steps needed to achieve a successful PROFIBUS project first time.

This practical approach from real experiences has been popular in previous events, and has sketched how project timescales and purchasing/specification decision points are typically modified when working with a Profibus installation.

Cargill will also describe a holistic approach to the design process that can lever even greater efficiencies out of the typical project.

With many years experience with various fieldbus systems, Mark has seen the direction that the water industry is moving and recently qualified as a Certified Profibus Engineer.

With a significant and growing use of Profibus systems within the water industry, the Profibus International conference is pleased to have these presentations from Enpure, describing their experiences on such projects.

The User group itself presents a Forum that enables engineers from different industries, and separate companies within the same industry, to meet and discuss common concerns, and share experience.

From a previous conference, a comment from John Williamson and John Davis at United Utilities summarize the benefit for them: "As a user in the Water Industry we were very pleased that a conference was available on this subject.

It provided us with the necessary stimulus to adopt Profibus.

The whole two-day Conference features application-oriented technical sessions in parallel with hands-on workshops presented by technology experts and experienced users and systems builders drawn from a wide variety of application areas.

The comprehensive, two stream educational programme leads users through PROFIBUS from the basic technology through to its use in real world industrial and process applications, and is complemented by the exhibition of Profibus compatible products, systems, tools and services from leading suppliers in the industry.

The carefully organised schedule means that you can attend the hands-on sessions or consult the Exhibitors without having to miss an important presentation.

Covering the latest developments in PROFIBUS, PROFINET and PROFIsafe technology for factory and process automation, the programme places great emphasis on serving the needs of the user community, i.e companies that own, operate, design, build or maintain manufacturing facilities and process plant.

The aim is to assist companies making the transition from conventional to fieldbus systems as easy (and jargon free) as possible.

Back to top