Yokogawa releases enhanced version of ProSafe-RS Safety Instrumentation System

April 22, 2015
Improved control and safety instrumented system connectivity

Yokogawa's ProSafe-RS R3.02.20 offers improved connectivity with the ProSafe-SLS SIS, enabling the status of both systems to be monitored onscreen by operators of the CENTUM VP integrated production control system. In addition, R3.02.20 offers enhanced support of widely used open communication protocols, improving connectivity with other companies' SCADA 1 software.

Development Background

In the oil, natural gas, petrochemical, iron & steel, and other energy and basic materials industries, plant safety is a growing concern. There is thus a rising demand for SISs that can help to prevent accidents by detecting abnormal conditions and initiating actions such as an emergency plant shutdown. Yokogawa provides two different SISs- the programmable ProSafe-RS and the solid-state 2 ProSafe-SLS- and customers select which systems to utilize based on their facilities' requirements. For customers who use both SISs, there is need for a solution that will enable the status of both of these systems to be monitored in an integrated manner.

Overview of Enhancements

1. Integrated monitoring of systems

With the ProSafe-SLS information gathering capability on ProSafe-RS SIS, operators can now monitor the status of a ProSafe-SLS SIS from CENTUM VP window. If a problem occurs anywhere in a plant, the sequence-of-event (SOE) data from both SISs will be displayed on an integrated screen at the operator terminals. Operators and maintenance engineers can then use this data to quickly identify and analyze the problem cause.

2. Communication protocol support for upstream applications

In oil and gas wellhead and pipeline applications, cost performance and space saving are key considerations. To satisfy these needs, ProSafe-RS is equipped with both safety and process control functions. The SCADA systems at such sites often rely on Distributed Network Protocol 3 (DNP3) for narrowband wireless and satellite upstream communications because this open protocol supports the temporary storage of data when there is a disruption in network communications. Support of DNP3 in the ProSafe-RS R3.02.20 controller enables customers to easily replace and expand their systems in the field while continuing to use their existing SCADA infrastructure. This saves time and reduces costs.