Yokogawa receives Frost & Sullivan 2014 Global Enabling Technology Leadership Award in wireless solutions category

Yokogawa Electric Corporation has received the Frost & Sullivan 2014 Global Enabling Technology Leadership Award in the wireless solutions category. The Enabling Technology Leadership Award is presented to companies around the world that are best-in-class in a specific category. 

Field wireless systems enable a plant’s field devices and host-level monitoring and control systems to communicate wirelessly with each other. This has numerous advantages such as allowing the placement of field instruments or analytical sensors in difficult-to-wire locations, which eliminates the need for cables to connect devices and reduces installation costs.

Yokogawa released the world’s first ISA100.11a compliant wireless system devices and wireless pressure and temperature transmitters in July 2010, and the company continues to enhance its lineup of wireless solutions. In accordance with the “Wireless Anywhere” concept, which was announced in April 2013, Yokogawa is seeking to promote the plant-wide use of field wireless systems by developing new ISA100 Wireless™ devices. In December 2013, the company started providing a wireless communications module with a built-in antenna that can help field device manufacturers significantly shorten the time needed for developing wireless solutions. Later this year, the company also plans to release a multi-protocol wireless adaptor that will enable wired field instruments or analytical sensors to be used as ISA100 Wireless devices.

Frost & Sullivan selected Yokogawa for this award because of the company's efforts to develop ISA100 Wireless solutions that enable high-reliability, openness, and interoperability. In selecting the award recipient, Frost & Sullivan evaluated companies based on whether they enabled the creation of new products, enhanced current products, enabled new applications, had potential for market acceptance, and had a breadth of access to technology. Yokogawa was recognised for making a superior contribution in developing innovative field wireless solutions.

In line with the “Wireless Anywhere” concept, Yokogawa will continue to expand its lineup of ISA100 Wireless solutions and promote the use of field wireless technologies. The company is working on the application of wireless technologies that can be suitable for both monitoring and control purposes throughout plants.

Yokogawa develops multi-protocol wireless adaptor that enables wired field instruments to function as ISA100 WirelessTM devices

-  HART® and Modbus models to be released -

Yokogawa has developed a multi-protocol wireless adaptor that enables wired field instruments or analytical sensors to be used as ISA100 WirelessTM devices, and will release models in May and July that support communications based on the HART® and RS485 Modbus standards. To facilitate the introduction of field wireless systems in plants, Yokogawa plans to release additional models that will cover other standards.

Development background
Field wireless systems enable the field devices and the host-level monitoring, control, and other systems in a plant to communicate wirelessly with each other. They have numerous advantages such as allowing the placement of field instruments or analytical sensors in difficult-to-wire locations, eliminating the need for cables to connect devices, and costing less to install. In accordance with its “Wireless Anywhere” concept, Yokogawa is seeking to promote the plant-wide use of field wireless systems by developing ISA100 Wireless devices such as this multi-protocol wireless adaptor.

Product features
When the multi-protocol wireless adaptor is mounted on a wired field instrument or analytical sensor, the instrument or sensor is able to function as an ISA100 Wireless device. It may be used with any type of wired field instrument or analytical sensor commonly used in plants, including those used to monitor temperature, pressure, liquid level, or vibration, or to detect gas, and is compatible with both Yokogawa devices and devices from other vendors. By giving customers a greater range of field instruments and analytical sensors to choose from, Yokogawa expects that this multi-protocol wireless adaptor will greatly facilitate the introduction of field wireless systems.

The first two models are intended for wired HART and RS485 Modbus communications, both of which are widely used in plants. Yokogawa plans to release models that are compliant with other wired field communications standards such as FOUNDATIONTM fieldbus and PROFIBUS.

The battery in the multi-protocol wireless adaptor can also power the field instrument or analytical sensor, eliminating the need for wiring. As with other Yokogawa field wireless devices, the multi-protocol wireless adaptor uses a large-capacity lithium-ion battery, and this is able to power both the multi-protocol wireless adaptor and the field instrument or analytical sensor for a long time. An indicator on the host system shows the estimated remaining days of battery life.

An all-weather model type that is waterproof and dustproof and an explosion-protection type that can be used in the presence of inflammable gases are scheduled to be released.

Major target markets include industries such as oil & gas, LNG, refining, petrochemicals, chemicals, power, pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals, foods, and iron and steel.

Yokogawa will demonstrate this multi-protocol wireless adaptor at the ARC Industry Forum to be held from the 10th to 13th February in Orlando, Florida, USA.

Yokogawa’s approach to field wireless communications
Yokogawa released the world’s first ISA100 Wireless system devices and wireless pressure and temperature transmitters in July 2010. In addition to enabling sophisticated control techniques in continuous processes, this gave customers a wider range of devices to choose from. In July 2012, Yokogawa released a reliable, large-scale field wireless system for use in plants, and is now expanding the range of suitable monitoring and control applications for wireless technologies and devices.

In addition to being highly reliable, suited for a wide range of applications, and expandable, ISA100.11a is compatible with wired communications standards such as FOUNDATION fieldbus, HART, and PROFIBUS. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is currently considering the adoption of the IEC62734 standard, which is based on ISA100.11a.

In line with the “Wireless Anywhere” concept, Yokogawa will continue to expand its lineup of ISA100 Wireless solutions and promote the use of field wireless technologies.

ISA100 WirelessTM is a technology that is based on the ISA100.11a standard. It includes ISA100.11a-2011 communications, an application layer with process control industry standard objects, device descriptions and capabilities, a gateway interface, infrared provisioning, and a backbone router.

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Yokogawa obtains ISASecure® EDSA certification for ProSafe®-RS safety instrumented system

Yokogawa’s ProSafe®-RS safety instrumented system has obtained the ISASecure® Embedded Device Security Assurance (EDSA) certification. 

Cyber crime and cyber warfare are on the rise worldwide, and are growing ever more sophisticated. Recent prominent cases of industrial sabotage and espionage have escalated these concerns. Companies in the oil, petrochemical, power, and other industries are increasingly vigilant about such intrusions, and are being careful to check a product’s cyber security features before purchasing it. Yokogawa has obtained the ISASecure EDSA certification for the ProSafe-RS safety instrumented system to assure customers of its high reliability.

The ISASecure program has been developed by the ISA Security Compliance Institute (ISCI) with the goal of accelerating the industry-wide improvement of cyber security for industrial automation and control systems (IACS). It achieves this goal by offering a common industry-recognised set of device and process requirements that drive device security, simplifying procurement for asset owners and device assurance for equipment vendors. The ISASecure EDSA certification has three elements: communication robustness testing (CRT), functional security assessment (FSA), and software development security assessment (SDSA), and is based on the IEC 62443-4 standard.

Nobuaki Konishi, vice president of the Systems Business Division in Yokogawa’s Industrial Automation Platform Business Headquarters, comments: “Yokogawa is continually striving to provide its customers with optimum security solutions for their control systems by developing highly secure systems and instruments and providing operational support services. Yokogawa aims to strengthen its relationships with customers by demonstrating the reliability of its security solutions.