Caption

Honeywell Users Group Americas 2017The editors of Control bring you the breaking news and best sessions from Honeywell Users Group.

Connect the plant, embrace the future .................................................................... 3

‘Final migration’ virtualizes TDC legacy ................................................................... 5

Big data is only as useful as the smes who give it context ................................. 7

Don’t just report on process alarms, take action! .................................................. 9

Lean principles take it on the road .......................................................................... 10

Honeywell bolsters leadership role in cybersecurity ........................................... 12

The connected plant enables the digital twin .......................................................14

Securing safety systems from cyber attack ...........................................................16

Paper machines make the leap to experion ...........................................................18

Online blend optimization boosts profits for chevron .......................................20

Competency management solves skill shortages ................................................ 22

Exxonmobil continues to make it happen .............................................................24

Orion consoles improve safety by raising visibility .............................................26

Shell chemical revamps batch controls and software ........................................ 28

Scientific prowess leads to process expertise ......................................................30

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Forty years ago, in the 1970s, Industry 3.0 brought us computing power, microproces-sors and software. Digital controllers and PLCs

changed the way manufacturing was done. “Then in 2000, we looked at open systems. It’s still a debate, but we adopted what made sense and embraced the broader community and its innovations,” said Vimal Kapur, president, Honeywell Process Solutions, in his keynote address to some 1,300 company customers, in-tegrators, partners and employees at the Honeywell Us-ers Group (HUG) Americas conference this week in San Antonio, Texas.

“Starting in 2012, the next wave, Industry 4.0, is un-leashing the power of the Internet to help drive indus-try to the next level of excellence,” Kapur said. “Now we have a big process automation community here, at a big inflection point in the process industries. Are we ready to embrace it?”

Honeywell’s efforts to support Internet-empowered capabilities and its product releases over the next 18 months center on five technologies: virtualization, the cloud, connected plant, digitalization and virtual reality.

Leverage virtualization and the cloudVirtualization—running applications on virtual ma-chines instead of separate hardware—streamlines im-plementations and operations. “In 2013, customers had about 6,000 nodes of virtual machines,” Kapur said. Despite a difficult economy, they added more than 9,000 in 2016 and are on track to add another 13,000 in 2017.

The cloud lowers installed costs. But despite its ac-ceptance for corporate applications, it’s relatively new to the industrial space. One way Honeywell is leverag-ing the technology is with Experion Elevate, a cloud-based SCADA application that eliminates need for an on-site data center and backup system. Kapur said, “It takes a few weeks to deploy, instead of 8-10 months.” It moves capital expenditures (CapEx) to operating ex-penses (OpEx), and it’s flexible. You can start small, add and delete as equipment and needs change. “It’s secure, because the software is always updated,” he added. “It’s a fundamentally different way to do this, redefining the paradigm.”

A second cloud-based application is Uniformance

“Connecting people is the most critical leg to make the Connected Plant vision into reality.” Honeywell’s Vimal Kapur addressed attendees and the future at Honeywell Users Group.

CONNECT THE PLANT, EMBRACE THE FUTUREFull speed ahead to the cloud, the digital twin and secure connectivityBy Paul Studebaker

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Connected Historian. Along with the above advan-tages, cloud computing power lets it handle both histo-rian and analytical capabilities.

“Will process control move to the cloud? Maybe, maybe not,” Kapur said, “But Elevate and Historian are here today and are much better. Why not use them?”

Connect processes, assets and peopleA connected plant leverages the power of the Internet. Plants today have many sources of data, such as the process, equipment, sensors and ERP systems, but are isolated. Plants need to be connected securely to ex-perts who can use engineering tools to construct the plant’s digital twin—a plant model based on its pro-cess and equipment assets—and use it to mine data and improve operations in areas including reliability, safety and uptime.

Connected process control lets experts help plants to improve reliability and better leverage process li-censors. Connected assets allow plants to work with equipment OEMs to optimize and improve reliability of equipment such as pumps, heat exchangers, reactors and bearings.

Connected people let companies use the Internet to understand competence, analyze skill gaps and pro-vide training, not just to run existing plants better, but to run the connected process and assets. “We under-stand needs analysis—the competency requirements of an operator or technician,” Kapur said. “How can we know their skill levels, do a gap analysis and provide the most effective training? We can use plant data in real time to determine individual competency and do train-ing intervention, online and customized for different roles rapidly and using virtual reality, to raise skill lev-els. Connecting people is the most critical leg to make the Connected Plant vision into reality.”

Connected processes, assets and people products are now in applications such as heat-exchanger monitor-ing, shift handover and vessel lifecycle, and additional applications will be released in 2017 and 2018.

Digitalization yields productivityDigitalization—bringing the power of apps into the

workplace—enables productivity. “A year ago, we chal-lenged ourselves, and today we have five examples,” Kapur said. The installed base portal analyzes and re-ports hardware, software and versions. There’s also a performance analyzer, management of change (MOC) app, risk manager and online parts portal.

“All are significant, and, done together, they can make a big shift in efficiency and help plants manage the skills gap,” Kapur said. “Today, they allow an inex-perienced worker to be more effective. Tomorrow, we’ll connect the field technician to the cloud.”

These five examples are available today. “Should we move slowly and take our time?” Kapur asked. “There will be adoption barriers—obsolete systems, cyberse-curity concerns, change management and compet-ing innovations, including rip-and-replace. Don’t step back and think about why it can’t be done; think about how it can be done. We have been inherently slow to adopt new technology, and good at supporting the in-stalled base. But for how long?”

Cybersecurity and a native PLCThis whole new world of connectivity and cloud is con-tingent on better cybersecurity. “It’s a new skill, but we have been doing it for years,” Kapur said. “Customers can work with us and do audits, but there has been a low adoption rate. Cybersecurity risks are imminent, and you need to strengthen your systems.”

The products are available. Along with its existing suite, Honeywell recently acquired NextNine, a com-pany with deep capability to secure outgoing data con-nections. “This is fundamental for the new architec-ture,” Kapur said.

A new ControlEdge PLC includes hardware security and is native to Experion. It uses the same development environment as the ELCN controller and a unified sup-port system with Uniformance for reduced engineering cycle time and lower lifecycle cost. Compared to other PLCs, it offers a 90% reduction in engineering cost and is designed to last up to twice as long: 40 years.

“Industry 4.0 offers a new world of better products and operations,” Kapur said. “You can sit back and do nothing or lean forward and embrace the future.”

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“This is how TDC 3000 seamlessly melts into Experion on-process, while letting users retain 100% of their intellectual property.” Honeywell’s Jason Urso on the company’s “final migration” for its groundbreaking TDC control systems.

‘FINAL MIGRATION’ VIRTUALIZES TDC LEGACYEven decades-old applications and operator graphics can be virtualized, continuing Honeywell’s longstanding commitment to its customers’ intellectual property investmentsBy Jim Montague

In what Honeywell Process Solution intends as a fi-nal chapter of sorts in the continuous evolution story of its ground-breaking TDC distributed control sys-

tems, Chief Technology Officer Jason Urso unveiled today an on-process migration path that effectively vir-tualizes—and preserves indefinitely—its customers’ in-vestments in the decades-old DCS platform.

“We’re learning that it’s okay to replace hardware with software, and so this is the last TDC migration you’ll ever need to perform,” said Urso to attendees of the Honeywell Users Group Americas conference in San Antonio, Texas. “In 2013, we presented a vision of TPS and TDC systems merging with Experion, and today, we’re realizing that vision.”

In short, the path forward involves turning the com-pany’s legacy control hardware infrastructure and op-erator displays into virtualized applications that run on the company’s Experion control system platform and fault-tolerant Ethernet (FTE). Importantly, even decades old applications and operator graphics can be virtualized, continuing Honeywell’s longstanding commitment to its customers’ intellectual property investments.

“Our EHPM [Enhanced High-performance Pro-cess Manager] allows users to retain 100% of their I/O and controls, has common electronics for long life-cycles, and can be expanded with advanced controls,” explained Urso. “ELCN [Enhanced Local Control

Network] coverts the physical into software for infi-nite life, retains 100% of AM [Application Module] controls and US [Universal Station] graphics , and eliminates LCN bottlenecks and cables.’

“This is how TDC 3000 seamlessly melts into Ex-perion on-process, while letting users retain 100% of their intellectual property,” Urso said.

“We estimate that ELCN and EHPM are four to 12 times more cost-effective than ripping-and-replacing

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controls, and that they provide two orders of magni-tude better risk profiles as well. So, this is not only the last TDC migration users will have to do, but these so-lutions will also take them far into a brighter future.”

NextNine bolsters cyber offeringTo further enhance its cybersecurity capabilities, Urso added that HPS also just acquired NextNine, a provider of cyber secure connectivity software that’s deployed at 6,200 sites worldwide. NextNine’s solu-tions deliver outbound-only connections to its Man-aged Security Service Center (MSSC), authenticated remote access, automated security software updates, and performance and security monitoring.

Urso also reported that other new and newly en-hanced solutions in the Honeywell Process Solutions stable include: • ControlEdge PLC that is designed to be read-

ily integrated into the company’s Experion dis-tributed control system environment. The new controller reduces engineering cycle times up to 25%, cuts downtime and costs with unified sup-port, achieves 50% longer life than competing

controllers, and reduces cyber risk with embed-ded cyber security;

• Auto Device Configuration for Experion R500 that automates instrument configuration, I/O as-signment, testing and documentation tasks;

• Automated Loop Validation and Commissioning for Experion R500 that performs automated in-strument test and checkout, allowing a 10x im-provement in productivity and elimination of manual errors;

• Experion Elevate real-time supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system that’s de-livered as a secure and scalable service, reducing the need for on-site hardware and support;

• Cyber Risk Manager, which provides cross-plant cyber risk visibility; and,

• ControlEdge RTU that provides improved man-agement of field assets through simplified and ef-ficient remote monitoring, diagnostics, and man-agement. It reduces equipment monitoring and diagnostics from hours to minutes, and integra-tion with Experion SCADA reduces configura-tion time by 80%.

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“We’re seeing a resurgence of that friction between IT and automation with the development of the cloud.” Honeywell’s Paul Bonner explains why operations and engineering need to make their voices heard in the IIoT and analytics planning.

BIG DATA IS ONLY AS USEFUL AS THE SMES WHO GIVE IT CONTEXTThe IIoT and cloud analytics are bringing automation and IT togetherBy Mike Bacidore

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) will change the way you do business—from the way you design and operate the plant to the way

you manage the supply chain. Analytics can leverage existing technologies, as well as inspire new ones that change where and when work is done. Big data trans-forms organizations and processes. But don’t forget to include your subject matter experts (SMEs) in your plans for the future.

“IIoT solves old problems in new and innovative ways,” explained Tathagata Basu, director, Honeywell Connected Plant, North America, at Honeywell Pro-cess Solutions. Basu spoke on demystifying analyt-ics, cloud and IIoT at Honeywell Users Group (HUG) 2017 in San Antonio, Texas. “We can do it much bet-ter, much faster and more efficiently.

“There will be 40 exabytes of unique new informa-tion generated worldwide this year. Getting access to information and putting it in the cloud—closing the gap and using IIoT as the platform and doing predic-tive and prescriptive analytics to drive the action—is the big difference.”

As the IT organization becomes part of the IIoT conversation, the need to involve process engineers and the operations team is important, so that data is properly contextualized. “Subject matter expertise be-comes increasing critical,” said Basu. “If you aren’t able to collaborate with the IT organization, the IT organization is going to drive the agenda. The goal of

analytics is to provide information for improved deci-sions and actions for economic benefit.”

The opportunities for processing industry plants haven’t changed, emphasized Basu. “What has changed is how we apply technologies to solve prob-lems,” he explained. “Maximizing automation and minimizing human input are not always the goals. Analytics should be suited to the use case.”

Four levels of analytics—descriptive, diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive— can be applied to plant

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data, each level requiring a different degree of human interpretation.

“Descriptive analytics give you a view of what hap-pened in the past. It’s not new,” explained Basu. “The diagnostics part tells you why it happened. It marries the real-time information with historical data and gives you some context. Predictive analytics are based on information in the past, so we can predict what will happen.

“What is really going to change your organization is prescriptive analytics. You bring in the causal infor-mation, and you have a recognition tool. It tells you what to do. It gives you decision support and decision automation. And it often involves machine learning and artificial intelligence.”

All four levels of analytics can be done right now, explained Paul Bonner, vice president, consulting & data analytics, Honeywell Connected Plant. Honey-well has partnered already with a variety of companies able to provide those different levels of analytics.

New frontiersA variety of key developing technologies are ripe for leveraging:

• High-bandwidth communication and massive storage in the cloud,

• Low-cost pervasive sensor technology,• Advanced analytics technologies and machine

learning, and• Device interoperability standards.But IIoT and cloud analytics enable additional ef-

forts, such as:• Remote collaboration,• Centers of excellence,• Capture and application of knowledge, and• Routine monitoring done by machines.“If you think back a few years when open systems

first came out, there was a battle going on between the automation people and the IT people,” Bonner reminded the large group of session attendees. “That gradually settled over time. But we’re seeing a resur-gence of that friction between IT and automation with the development of the cloud. You need to have

a say in the outcome, or you’ll have it brought down on you from your IT department.”

Connect people, assets and processesA connected plant means connected people, con-nected assets and connected processes. “What is ‘con-nected process?’” asked Basu. “We use real-time plant data with advanced software, analytics and plant pro-cess models to deliver operational improvements and increase reliability. Connected assets mean making sure you securely get data from edge devices. And to connect people, we equip your workforce with new tools to do their jobs better and more safely, increas-ing their competency and collaboration enterprise-wide.”

The connected plant relies on big data and cloud analytics, but don’t be fooled by the all-too-common misconceptions surrounding IIoT’s actual features and benefits. Bonner debunked many of the myths.

Myth 1: Storing big data in the cloud is cheap or free. “People think they can put unlimited amounts of data in the cloud,” explained Bonner. “The truth is, you pay when you store. And then you pay about five times more than that when you retrieve it. You need to look at where you store the data. Where possible, pull high-frequency data and use it at the edge.”

Myth 2: Big data and analytics replace the need for process knowledge/engineering experience. “You need to be able to combine them with process engi-neering experience and expertise,” said Bonner.

Myth 3: Data analytics is a replacement for funda-mental models.

Myth 4: You don’t need good data as long as you have a lot of data. “Rare events are a good example of this,” explained Bonner. “The only data that will help is that same rare-event data from a previous event.”

Myth 5: You don’t need to change your work pro-cesses to get full value from big data. “It’s going to let you make faster decisions lower in your organiza-tion,” said Bonner. “If you don’t change processes, you won’t get full value.”

Myth 6: All analytics software is about the same; it is all shareware downloaded from the Internet. “The

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productivity you’ll get from that software isn’t effi-cient or scalable,” explained Bonner. “You need com-mercially available software.”

Cybersecurity and the digital twinEvery potential user looks at connectivity and its se-curity risks with the same skeptical eye once used to assess wireless communication. But the advantages of integrated layers of secure, IIoT-ready solutions are too enticing to ignore:

• Data from smart and connected assets and de-vices using OPC-UA and 4G,

• Data management and on-site control—connec-tivity through all levels and process and business operations,

• Predictive analytics for Web-based visualization and remote equipment monitoring, and

• Smart and secure collaboration.“It’s about creating a connected plant with a digital

twin,” said Basu. “The digital twin is a model of your physical assets, and it gives the users a view of your assets that is comprehensive and contextual. That un-derstanding and context comes from using the subject matter experts to apply the technology.”

DON’T JUST REPORT ON PROCESS ALARMS, TAKE ACTION!Latest DynAMo Monitoring & Reporting release facilitates root cause analysis, continuous process improvementBy Keith Larson

Over the past three decades, industry has in-vested a tremendous amount of time and effort into alarm management. Indeed, in-

dustry groups such as the Abnormal Situation Man-agement Consortium have developed a range of stan-dards, best practices and guidelines designed to help users to implement more meaningful alarm strate-gies—and to excise those alarms that are spurious and distracting.

Too often, alarm management is treated as a dis-crete event, a one-time exercise in alarm rationaliza-tion, according to Chris Stearns, product manager for Honeywell Process Solutions’ DynAMo alarm man-agement software. “But plants aren’t static; many things change and alarm management strategies need to adapt,” Stearns said in his presentation “Don’t Just Report on Alarms, Take Action!” this week at the

Honeywell Users Group Americas 2017 conference in San Antonio.

Industry guidelines typically mention the need for alarm management to be viewed as a continuous im-provement process, and with the R200 release of Dy-nAMo Metrics & Reporting (M&R), Honeywell has significantly improved the ability of alarm manage-ment champions to understand and address alarm management issues—many from the comfort of their offices. “We’re working to bring analytics to bear,” Stearns said.

Central to the R200 release of DynAMo M&R are SMART Reports, interactive web pages that allow us-ers to cross reference and drill down on alarm phe-nomena. “These reports combine all the relevant data in one place, and users can expose more tools as they’re needed,” Stearns explained.

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Examples include a “bad actors” report (which is just what it sounds like), as well as reports that single out fleeting, chattering and frequent alarms. A new “sequence of events on steroids” report called Event Investigator allows users to correlate events across some 40 different alarm aspects. And a “repeat of-fenders” report allows users to differentiate continu-ous problems vs. alarms repeated over a short period of time that may have been related to a known process issue that has since been resolved.

“Plants aren’t static; many things change and alarm management strategies need to adapt.” Honeywell’s Chris Stearns discussed how the company’s latest DynAMo release can aid in the continuous improvement of alarm management strategies.

LEAN PRINCIPLES TAKE IT ON THE ROADBy Jim Montague

If a performance is well-received at home, it may be time to go on tour and get it in front of a wider audi-ence. Likewise, when a process optimizing strategy

performs as well as LEAP, Honeywell’s lean project ex-ecution services, has since its 2013 debut, its developers start seeking ways to apply its project-efficiency princi-ples to a wider circle of applications, locations, users and lifecycles beyond its project-based roots. In this case, the result is LEAP for Operations, which extends LEAP’s original methods to simplify, run and optimize ongoing process operations more efficiently.

“We’ve been narrowing in on what LEAP could do after project execution,” said Joe Bastone, director, Ex-perion product management, Honeywell Process Solu-tions, who presented “LEAP for Operations: Increased Efficiency with Lean Principles” this week at the Hon-

eywell Users Group Americas meeting in San Antonio, Texas. “LEAP’s three pillars are Universal I/O, cloud engineering and virtualization, and we wanted to begin applying them to operations and other areas where Hon-eywell Process Solutions could have an impact.” Rein-terpreted for operations, the company’s three main areas of focus are: cloud-enabled execution, edge-device inte-gration, and universal and connected assets.

In particular, Bastone reported that:• Cloud-enabled execution encompasses efficient

engineering and execution with advanced opera-tor solutions (such as embedded advanced process control and alarm management), next-generation visualization, cloud engineering with Smart Test, and automatic documentation and management-of-change tasks.

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• Edge-device integration achieves simplification with automated commissioning of SmartLine in-strumentation, OneWireless using ISA100 and WirelessHART standard protocols, fire and gas in-tegration, and skid integration.

• Assets are made universal and connected by integrat-ing controls and subsystems through universal chan-nel technologies (such as DCS, safety and PLCs) as well as electrical and Ethernet technologies.

“People need LEAP to execute on premise and off prem-ise, but cybersecurity is the key,” added Bastone. “They need this cybersecurity bubble around their applications, especially when Experion is connecting to a third party, which happens often because so many applications are net-working with EtherNet/IP, Modbus and other protocols.”

LEAP for Operations maintains security by imple-menting:

• Control-, third-party and corporate firewalls;• Complying with IEC 62443 standard that details

designed-in security and certified development processes;

• Access control for configuring scopes of responsi-bility; and,

• Risk Manager to continuously monitoring, and de-tect threats.

Bastone added that LEAP for Operations is further assisted by two new Honeywell solutions. The first, Ex-perion Elevate, is a real-time supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) that’s delivered as a secure and scalable service, reducing the need for on-site hard-ware and support. The second, Open Virtual Engineer-ing Platform (OpenVEP), is a secure and reliable cloud engineering service for convenient and instant access to an off-process, fully functional Experion system at any release, accessible from anywhere at the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO).

“Experion Elevate takes the full execution model, and

moves it to the cloud environment, so only a browser or thin-client device is needed onsite,” explained Bastone. “Many users said they wanted their own VEP instance, so we introduced OpenVEP.”

OpenVEP replicates VEP in a public cloud infrastruc-ture that’s encrypted and secure. It also has a library of virtual machine templates for instant deployment at any software release point, and it’s readily available to cus-tomers, EPCs and other users with 24/7 technical sup-port. OpenVEP also allows easy access to the Honeywell services department.

In addition, Bastone added that LEAP for Opera-tions’ Edge-Device Integration provides access to Ex-perion PKS and Universal I/O solutions for quick con-figuration of transmitters and other devices in the cloud in minutes instead of hours, which can reduce project costs by 10%.

“Similarly, our new ControlEdge RTU provides im-proved management of field assets through simplified and efficient remote monitoring, diagnostics, and man-agement,” added Bastone. “It can dramatically improve workflow, and reduce implementation time.”

“We’re just taking LEAP’s lean execution philosophy and applying to all aspects of a running control system.”

“We’re just taking LEAP’s lean execution philosophy and applying to all aspects of a running control system.” Honeywell’s Joe Bastone on extending the company’s lean project execution philosophy.

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“The air gap is no longer an effective defense, but the cloud can be.” Honeywell’s Eric Knapp on the company’s new Advanced Threat Intelligence Exchange (ATIX).

HONEYWELL BOLSTERS LEADERSHIP ROLE IN CYBERSECURITYAdvanced Threat Intelligence Exchange (ATIX), Secure Media Exchange (SMX), and Enterprise Risk Manager among Honeywell solutions designed to help users protect plants from cyber attacksBy Jim Montague

What’s so fortunate about a time when cy-bersecurity intrusions and attacks are multiplying daily in number and sever-

ity? Well, the good news is that many users, system integrators and suppliers in the process control and automation field are shaking off their former fear and paralysis, and ramping up their awareness and re-sponses to cybersecurity threats.

“This is a lucky time because we’re witnessing a pivotal moment in cybersecurity,” said Eric Knapp, global director of cybersecurity solutions and technol-ogy at Honeywell Process Solutions. “Weapons-grade exploits were recently released into the wild, but it’s an encouraging time, too, because we’ve come a long way on cybersecurity,” said Knapp in his keynote address to attendees of the Honeywell Users Group Americas conference this week in San Antonio, Texas.

Cloud and ATIX aid securityAir gaps and other barrier methods between plant-floor equipment/applications and enterprise/business-level systems have long been relied on by process en-gineers in the hopes that they’d prevent cyber probes and potential attacks. However, multiplying ports, network connections and other often-undocumented access points usually render such barriers ineffective,

so network traffic evaluation tools are becoming more crucial for effective security, and Knapp reported this is where that data-processing power of cloud-comput-ing can really lend a hand.

“We must get across the air gap, and we need to embrace the cloud to do it,” says Knapp. “Cyber at-

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tackers already know how to cross air gaps, and if we don’t do it, then we’re limiting our ability to respond to cyber threats and attacks. It just takes a little cour-age from us, and Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) can help.”

To help users with their cybersecurity efforts, HPS recently introduced its Advanced Threat Intelli-gence Exchange (ATIX), which Knapp reported is the world’s first industrial threat intelligence and detec-tion cloud. It consists of securely networked detection engines, master threat registry, reporting functions, machine learning analytics, third-party threat intel-ligence features and other tools.

“ATIX will help users employ heuristics, sandbox technologies and other tools to detect threats, zero-day exploits and other problems, which all bene-fit from the cloud’s computing capabilities,” added Knapp. “The cloud can enhance data centers and Honeywell products. The air gap is no longer an ef-fective defense, but the cloud can be.”

In a cybersecurity media briefing later on June 20, Knapp and Jeff Zindel, vice president and general manager for cybersecurity at HPS, reported on several other Honeywell solutions and initiatives to make cy-bersecurity more effective and easier for users to em-ploy. They include:

• The acquisition of NextNine, provider of secure connectivity solutions, announced on June 12. This almost 20-year-old firm also produces cy-bersecurity monitoring and management soft-ware that is deployed at 6,200 sites worldwide. NextNine’s solutions deliver outbound-only con-nections to its Managed Security Service Center

(MSSC), authenticated remote access, automated security software updates, and performance and security monitoring.

• Singapore Cyber Security Lab and Center of Ex-cellence (SoC), opening by the end of 2017. Fol-lowing the recent openings of similar Honeywell cybersecurity SoCs in Atlanta and Dubai, this fa-cility will enable sharing, testing and deployment of cybersecurity solutions, and offer red/blue team training on managed security services.

• Secure Media Exchange (SMX), which reduces cybersecurity risk and operational disruption by monitoring, protecting and logging use of remov-able media such as USBs.

• Enterprise Risk Manager, which provides cross-plant, cyber-risk visibility across all site-specific implementations of the Honeywell Risk Manager solution.

“We’re the leading cybersecurity services, technol-ogy and support organization focusing on industrial and critical infrastructure protection,” said Zindel. “We have 150 professionals on our team, plus consul-tants and other partners. We offer industrial cyberse-curity solutions in four major areas, including indus-trial security consulting, managed security services, integrated security technology and cybersecurity soft-ware. All of these help users monitor their applica-tions, and identify security vulnerabilities and threats.

“However, the industrial cybersecurity we provide isn’t just for Honeywell technologies,” Zindel added. “We’re helping our customers be more proactive about managing their cybersecurity risk regardless of which PLC or DCS they’re using.”

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“You bring in all of the process domain knowledge to create a digital twin in the cloud.” Honeywell’s Shree Dandekar explains how the connected plant enables the digital twin at Honeywell Users Group 2017.

THE CONNECTED PLANT ENABLES THE DIGITAL TWINBetter data analytics mean better productivity, reliability, safety and securityBy Mike Bacidore

Processing plants deserve maximum productiv-ity, improved reliability, optimized supply and solid safety and security. “The cost of sensors

has gone down. The role of analytics and machine learning is becoming more important. How do you take advantage of these technologies?” asked Shree Dandekar, vice president and general manager, Hon-eywell Connected Plant. “We’ve laid the foundation with advanced software solutions.”

As a former IT guy, Dandekar knows what keeps process plant personnel awake at night. He addressed those issues during his presentation this week at the Honeywell Users Group 2017 conference in San An-tonio, Texas. “Honeywell Connected Plant is all about connected processes, assets and people,” he explained.

“Connected processes is about how you bring in your plant data,” Dandekar continued. ”You bring in all of the process domain knowledge to create a digital twin in the cloud. We’re using all of the industry knowledge we have gained over the past 100 years. If you look at a mid-sized refinery, there’s an average loss of 5% pro-duction because of unplanned downtime and process issues. Improving process reliability for the plant can result in $25-30 million of savings annually.”

Connected assets include equipment such as tur-bomachinery, compressors and pumps. “What if you could improve the overall efficiency of the equipment running in your plant?” asked Dandekar. “A 0.5% im-provement equals $10-15 million in savings, realized through predictive maintenance and improved as-

set utilization.” Honeywell already has worked with its solution partners, companies such as SKF and Flowserve, to create pilot programs and improve asset utilization at customer sites.

“Connected people—that’s all about how you make the operators, plant managers and CIOs more proficient,” explained Dandekar. “It includes cloud-enabled operators and prescriptive analytic tools for maintaining competency and process knowledge.” The UniSim Competency operator training simula-tion suite is deployed in eight of the top 10 refineries,

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said Dandekar, and they’re realizing a 20% improve-ment in operational efficiency.

An extension of connected people is Honeywell’s Connected Worker, designed to improve safety, pro-ductivity and compliance. “Connected Worker is for the worker out in the field,” explained Prabhu Soundarrajan, leader of Connected Worker, Hon-eywell Safety & Productivity Solutions. “One of the benefits is safety. It reduces incidents by 40% through notification. Fewer incidents and fewer fines can mean millions of dollars in savings. Another benefit is worker productivity, with reduced error rates by 40% through less transcription and reduced paperwork. It also ensures workers are assigned and using proper personal protective equipment, protecting workers better when incidents occur. And this means lower compliance costs.”

Solving the problems you knowLeveraging contextual data is key to cloud analytics and to creating the digital twin. “We’ve been collect-ing data for years,” added Jason Urso, chief technol-ogy officer, Honeywell Process Solutions. “We can do a lot more than just regulatory control. We’ve been taking that data and helping you to improve safety, throughput yield and reliability.”

Safety enhancements start at the operator interface. “You should have no more than nine standing alarms on an operator console,” said Urso. “Plants with out-of-control alarms have out-of-control processes. Dy-nAMo alarm suite can help to manage that.”

Benchmarking indicates 70% of reliability issues are operations-related, said Urso. “This isn’t so surpris-ing when you think about advanced process control (APC),” he said. “When you’re operating your con-trol better, you’re eliminating a significant amount of variability. Through the power of our software and data analytics, we can push your process for better throughput.”

Another area for improvement is efficiency. “By

making more data available and by unlocking the value of your data, we can help you to anticipate op-portunities,” explained Urso. “Challenges include multiple inconsistent data sources, heavy dependence on spreadsheets and a lack of methods to share data. Our approach is different. We’re not providing a do-it-yourself toolkit where you figure out outcomes. And we’re not just throwing data scientists at the problem. We’ll help you to solve a problem that you know you have, a real-world problem.”

To accomplish this in the cloud, Honeywell collects data from customer sites and brings it to the cloud environment, to its Uniformance Connected Histo-rian, and then uses analytics against that data. “It’s extremely secure and flexible,” explained Urso. “This gives you the scalability you need and does so in a se-cure manner. We have a set of software applications that can deliver real outcomes today. Significant ben-efits are available by leveraging data analytics.”

A lot of those benefits come from the digital twin in the cloud, and Honeywell’s UniSim Design Suite en-ables that threefold. “There are three types of digital twins in UniSim,” explained Urso. “The experience-based model is a detailed first-principle model for the entire plant or complex. The second model is empiri-cal. The APC model is generated from plant data and control models. And the third is the equipment-based models, which are first-principle and data-driven pre-dictive models.”

The digital twin can investigate and trend perfor-mance between the actual and the expected. “The management dashboard gives a broad view, sup-ports management and enables routine meetings,” said Urso. “It’s a high-level view of performance that can vary in scope, and it can integrate with unit and equipment diagnostic systems. The digital twin can use some of our high-fidelity kinetic models. This is augmented by data from our immense experience. We have this massive knowledge base that we’re start-ing to build into our digital-twin model.”

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“This is how we maintain the reliability of our safety systems. Now the onus is on us.” Phillips 66’s Dave Bennett explains where cybersecurity and safety instrumented systems intersect during his presentation at the Honeywell Users Group Americas 2017.

SECURING SAFETY SYSTEMS FROM CYBER ATTACKSecond edition of ISA TR84.00.09 addresses cyber attacks on safety instrumented systemsBy Mike Bacidore

Thirty years ago, safety didn’t carry quite the same weight it does in process manufacturing plants today. “Communication was really slow

in a refinery,” admitted Dave Bennett, ICS safety and security lead at Phillips 66, “but we knew, when an ambulance came to the refinery, that meant someone had died. We also had a fire about once a month. I thought that was normal. As I matured as an engineer, I realized it shouldn’t be.”

Bennett gave an in-depth presentation on the inter-section of cybersecurity and the functional safety life-cycle, at the Honeywell Users Group Americas 2017 conference this week in San Antonio, Texas. His talk focused on the new edition of ISA TR84.00.09 and explained the IEC 61511 requirements for integrat-ing cybersecurity in the functional safety lifecycle of a safety instrumented system (SIS), as they appear in the technical report. “This standard overlaps a num-ber of other standards,” he explained. For example, IEC 61511, Part 1, Clause 8.2.4, indicates that a se-curity risk assessment shall be carried out to identify the security vulnerabilities of the safety instrumented system.

“The technical report is guidance on how to inte-grate cybersecurity into the functional safety lifecy-cle,” explained Bennett. “The technical report maps on top of IEC 61511, which says the security risk as-sessment can range in focus from a single safety in-strumented function to all the safety instrumented systems in a company.”

ISA TR84.00.09 addresses the integration of cyber-security against internal threats and external threats in all phases of the functional-safety lifecycle. Sec-tion 4 of the technical report specifically addresses management of safety, controls, alarms and inter-locks (SCAIs). It contains guidelines to manage the cybersecurity lifecycle for the organization, person-nel competency, risk management, security planning, cybersecurity assessments, cybersecurity audits, cy-bersecurity configuration and change management, physical security and cybersecurity management ma-

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turity. “Part of planning is to make access to all ICS cybersecurity on a need-to-know basis, even in your own company,” explained Bennett. The fewer people with cybersecurity access, the safer the system.

Section dissectionSections 5 and 6 address cybersecurity risk assessment/hazard and risk analysis. These sections build on tradi-tional process hazard scenario reviews to identify cyber-security hazards that should be considered. “One way to assess risk would be to review system architecture draw-ings to determine any major risks,” said Bennett. When designing firewall protections for the safety instru-mented system, for example, assume that any firewall at the enterprise-network level can be compromised, and set up cybersecurity at the deeper SIS level accordingly.

Security levels are described in Section 7. Each level corresponds to the required effectiveness of countermeasures and inherent security properties of devices and systems for a zone or conduit based on as-sessment of risk.

Level 1 protects against casual or coincidental vio-lation. Security should be capable of delaying or deny-ing an attack for a period of four to eight hours. Level 2 protects against intentional violations using simple means with low resources, generic skills and low mo-tivation, such as a disgruntled employee. “These first two levels are trying to protect against our own prob-lems,” explained Bennett.

Level 3 is intended to protect against intentional violations using sophisticated means with moderate resources, IACS-specific skills and moderate motiva-tion. Security should be capable of delaying or deny-ing an attack for a period of days to weeks.

Sections 9, 10 and 11 provide guidance on cyber-security design, engineering and implementation. “Using risk-assessment results, zone and conduit drawings, a cybersecurity requirements specification

(CSRS) provides a detailed design of cybersecurity concept, procedures for cybersecurity factory and site acceptance tests (CFATs, CSATs), countermeasure design, engineering and security level verification,” explained Bennett. “For the CSRS, quantifying some-thing that moves daily is impossible. It’s very fluid. You can’t do quantitative. Your SRS will be qualita-tive.”

The operation, maintenance, modification and de-commissioning phases are described in sections 12, 13 and 14. Cybersecurity activities after startup include security monitoring and metrics, dealing with imme-diate threats, maintaining countermeasures, periodic assessments, management of change and decommis-sioning activities.

Get your fundingWhen you’re looking for cybersecurity-initiative fund-ing, Annex A and Annex B of the technical report are good sources to take to management, recommended Bennett.

Annex A includes example SCAI interfaces, repre-senting a series of network architectures, comparing SCAI architectures to typical cybersecurity threats and helping the owner/operator to understand the typical cybersecurity risk related to the architecture. “This can help to justify a cybersecurity project re-lated to functional safety,” explained Bennett.

Annex B provides owner/operator examples of a high-level cyber risk assessment to understand the fi-nancial and health/safety/environmental risks, as well as a detailed cyber risk assessment to rigorously evalu-ate the capability of instrument and control systems.

“I really get upset about the people who would do harm and disrespect my comrades who died getting safety systems to the level they’re at,” said Bennett. “This is how we maintain the reliability of our safety systems. Now the onus is on us.”

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“You can’t stop in the middle with half of your systems in one control world and half in the other,” said Matt Johnson, lead technical engineer and project manager, P&G Paper Products Co., about migrating his machines from TDC 3000 to Experion.

PAPER MACHINES MAKE THE LEAP TO EXPERIONBy Jim Montague

P&G Paper Products upgrades and refreshes controls and support technologies on a group of tissue and paper towel machines from

TDC3000 to Experion over 10 years at its plant in Green Bay, Wis., learns useful migration lessons, and achieves performance gains along the way.

You can tear one bandage off slow or fast, but if you have a bunch to remove, it’s going to take awhile no matter how you do it. This was the challenge fac-ing engineers and managers at the P&G Paper Prod-ucts Co. in Green Bay, Wis., who just completed a 10-year project to migrate 90% of the controls on several of their major papermaking machines, boilers, stock prep equipment and support facilities. The machines typically had about five local control networks (LCN), including two process access devices, one high-per-formance process manager (HPM), and one Triconex Safety Manager module each.

“There’s a huge amount of competition in the tis-sue industry, so we needed to justify upgrading the controls on these machines based on a combination of factors for each,” said Matt Johnson, lead techni-cal engineer and project manager, P&G Paper Prod-ucts, who presented “Migration from TDC 3000 to Experion” on the second day of Honeywell Users Group Americas 2017 on June 20 in San Antonio, Texas. “Some had obsolete execution functions, parts of others had expanded and needed new controls, some were involved in safety projects, or they were impacted by staffing changes. We just had to justify these migrations wherever we could.”

In its first Experion installation, Johnson reported that seven cluster application nodes on one machine

were replaced with Experion Server (ESV) TotalPlant Networks (TPN), which were used solely for OPC connections to its site historian, with plans for fu-ture use as real Experion servers. Also, 33 global user stations (GUS) and user stations (US) were replaced with Experion Stations TPS (EST), which were used as single-monitor, native Windows HMIs. TotalPlant Solution (TPS) System is the successor to TDC 3000.

“We installed redundant ESVs from the start, but regretted it and only did it once, because there wasn’t a procedure to go from non-redundant to redundant,” explained Johnson. “The most beneficial capabil-ity we gained from migrating to Experion was Chart View, which shows us in real-time views where our

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processes are at. None of the competing solutions had it, but the availability of this killer feature meant we didn’t have to build it ourselves.”

In its first full Experion migration, Johnson reported that P&G switched to four C200 controllers, four PLCs and 12 Process Manager I/O (PMIO). Communications included ControlNet to the PLCs, and fault-tolerant Ethernet (FTE) to the HMI and Level 2 devices. “Level 3 communication wasn’t on the LCN, so we used OPC to coordinate with the Experion servers, which could then push the value down into the LCN.”

For the plant’s utilities, a new process was imple-mented and C200 was added to control it. “This in-cluded a mixture of native Windows and Experion graphics,” added Johnson. “Training wasn’t too bad, as the new process brought with it the new graphics and alarm summary. However, flex stations can’t ac-knowledge new alarms on the LCN, so LCN alarms would still show up on the stations. It’s best to use them as your main alarm summary displays as they integrate not only with the native Windows, but also do a better job with mixed-system alarms.”

Johnson added that P&G adopted several best prac-tices for managing licenses and prices on its paper machines. These include:

• Keep all current licenses in a common, electronic location;

• Look up all prices to make your own price list;• Utilize OPC guidance on options and licenses;• Remember that a flex station multi-monitor in-

cludes only one flex device plus a multi-monitor;

• Secure available discounts when buying five or 10 flex or console stations; and

• Use software enhancement and support program (SESP) contract to secure points for returning HPMs, and employ C300 enabler license for a C200 processor and enabler license.

On its next paper machine upgrade, Johnson added that a new manufacturing process was used, and C200 was added, but HPM was retained. This required an interface between TDC and C200 via a ProSoft Mod-bus serial card in the PLC and a serial interface (SI) on TDC. He also reported that, after initially putting all its new Experion equipment on only one sub-net-work and suffering with broadcast storms, he and his colleagues implemented nine separate sub-networks.

“This eliminated the storms, and gave us one-way communications that improved security,” he added. “The machine after that was our first, full-Ethernet machine, which let us go from using eight or nine different communication protocols to one plus Hon-eywell’s IO Link protocol. It was a huge benefit for us to eliminate all those other networks and their equip-ment and requirements, and just do Ethernet. We’re also a little more than half done refreshing our boiler house’s boiler management system (BMS) with VM-ware, which also means we won’t have to worry about proprietary networks.

“It hasn’t been hell, but our main advice is don’t stop. You can’t stop in the middle with half of your systems in one control world and half in the other. Also, your skill base isn’t going to stand still, either.”

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“Based on our experience, you have the potential to save 80 cents per barrel. For a 50 million barrel-per-year refinery, that’s $40 million per year.” Paul Singh, blending specialist, Chevron, is a member of the company’s Business Improvement Network, which identifies emerging technologies and opportunities for using them to improve operations.

ONLINE BLEND OPTIMIZATION BOOSTS PROFITS FOR CHEVRONReal-time control increases safety, reduces reblends and prevents giveaway in gasoline blending operationsBy Paul Studebaker

The challenges of implementing a sophisticated online analysis and real-time optimization strat-egy such as Honeywell’s Profit Blending and

Movement (PBM) are not to be taken lightly, and the incentive to keep on using what already seems to work well enough may be strong, but the potential gains can-not be ignored. Especially if your existing system is fac-ing major upgrades due to obsolescence.

“Some of us see lifecycle management as staying in the leading, but not the bleeding, edge,” said Paul Singh, blending specialist, Chevron, to attendees of his session, “Chevron Achieves New Benefits and Sustain-ability from Experion PBM Upgrades” at the Honey-well Users Group 2017 conference this week in San An-tonio, Texas.

As a member of Chevron’s Business Improvement Net-work, which identifies emerging technologies and op-portunities for using them to improve operations, Singh knows what he’s talking about. “I define control system lifecycle management as maximizing service life—oper-ating the system as long as possible with assured support and future migration path—while staying at the leading edge to benefit from the latest technology, without af-fecting continuity of operation.”

A revolution in blendingAt Chevron, blends are planned 15 to 30 days in advance to allow for material usage optimization. Multiple blends

are planned, optimized and scheduled at the ERP level. Instructions are downloaded, and blend property con-trol (BPC) is done on the process control network. Blend ratio control (BRC) takes place at the local level, based on readings from tank gauging, flow controls, knock en-gines, analyzers, etc.

In 2005, the company began a series of blend optimi-zation implementations and upgrades. “We had blend optimization based on cost, but not on individual equip-ment constraints,” Singh said. Those constraints often limit the accuracy of traditional top-down blend optimi-

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zation. “We needed to take into account the restraints on valves, gauges and other equipment,” Singh said.

Honeywell Profit Blend Control (PBC) optimizes us-ing online constraints and downloads to the blending system. “PBC changes are small, since they’re done on top of the line profit optimizer—on the order of 1-2% of recipes,” Singh said. The refinery went from BPC 54.0 to OpenBPC Blending and Movement Automation (BMA) 320.7 in 2005, and to Profit Blend Optimizer (PBO) Profit Blending and Movement (PBM) 431+ in 2015. In parallel, the control side migrated from Blend Ratio Control (BRC) 44.3 to Experion Blend Control (EBC) BMA 320.7 in 2010, then to Profit Blend Control (PBC) PBM 431+ in 2015.

On the analysis side, in about 2008, the refinery shifted from near-infrared (NIR) analysis and knock en-gines to modeling based on off-line Raman analysis. “In 2011, we went to online Raman analyzers that give us oc-tane, Reid vapor pressue—all the same data as the lab,” Singh said. “We just need one ¼-in. hole in the blend pipe, and we have 35 properties available at one-second intervals. In practice, we do some smoothing and aver-aging, take readings every three minutes and optimize every eight minutes.”

Motivation and ROIUpgrading the blend control system was driven by con-cerns about safety, environment, reliability, security, standardization and Tier 3 requirements, as well as eco-nomic benefits. Safety pays off in fewer reblends—fewer starts and stops, less fatigued operators, and fewer safety incidents or near-incidents. “We used to have fairly high off-spec and reblending, about 13%. Now it’s about one reblend per month,” Singh said.

Increased blend accuracy means less giveaway of oc-tane, expensive components and additives. “Based on our experience, you have the potential to save 80 cents per barrel,” Singh said. For a 50 million barrel-per-year refinery, that’s $40 million per year. “It may take a few years to get there—you can expect maybe one-fourth of that the first year—but our giveaway decreased by about 50%.”

Considering the upside profit potential, it’s not sur-

prising that it’s not an inexpensive project. “It’s a highly customized and engineered application. Half the total cost is in PBM engineering,” Singh said. Don’t expect to get the same results from a generic optimization system.

The project execution was done in two phases. In phase 1, BPC was migrated to PBO and involved add-ing a PBO server with a 64-bit Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system and SQL Server 2012, redundant Ex-perion servers with LCNP cards to communicate with the TotalPlant Solution system, and an Experion station.

Phase 2 completed the migration to PBM 431+. It added redundant Movement Automation Control (MAC) servers running 64-bit Windows Server 2008 R2 and SQL Server 2012, redundant C300 controllers with C300 I/O, and additional Experion stations.

PBM 431 features includes support for redundant level and temperature sensors as well as application white listing. “Use wireless to back up the wired system and provide redundancy,” Singh recommended. PBC en-hancements include supplemental pressure control by adjusting target flow rate; supporting the blend from startup to custom interlocks; and supporting up to 40 components and 20 additives.

The upgrade is compatible with Experion PKS 431, and lab data is integrated via PKS. It downloads lab data from LIMS via XML, and makes it available for review, approval and updates. It integrates and distributes ap-proved lab results, online analyzer readings, and BPC model predictions for improved blending and move-ment management. Singh said, “On very large blends that may take more than a day, we can take mid-blend samples to the lab to check and improve the results.”

Singh concluded with a list of recommended best practices for refineries contemplating a similar blending upgrade:

• Perform front-end loading study to accurately de-fine project scope, schedule and cost in the face of fast-changing hardware/software options and lifecy-cles.

• Employ virtualization where appropriate.• Get advanced process control staff involved in the

project execution at the earliest stages of the project. “They ask a lot of questions, and they understand

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what it takes to get 99.9% uptime from the new sys-tem,” Singh said.

• Resolve all instrumentation, electrical, mechanical and analyzer issues before system cutover.

• Avoid cutover during the winter to summer transi-tion. “Operators are already stressed,” Singh said. “Don’t add to it.”

• Provide hands-on training and 24/7 support to oper-ators until new system uptime meets expectations.

• Test all interfaces and blend laws thoroughly, dur-ing both factory acceptance test and site acceptance test.

For justification, note that safety and environmental concerns motivate reliability and security, which leads to blend control optimization, on-spec products and return on investment. “Blending is the cash register,” Singh said. “It’s where custody is transferred and the refinery measures profitability.”

Future plans include multi-site, multiphase imple-mentation of PBM-PKS R500+ Profit Blend Optimizer, Profit Blend Controller, Blending Instructions, Profit In-ventory Monitor, and Profit Movement Management, including Movement Monitor, Movement Control and Tank Quality Integration.

COMPETENCY MANAGEMENT SOLVES SKILL SHORTAGESIt takes more than basic training to keep the skills of engineers, operators and techs up to today’s challengesBy Paul Studebaker

Megatrends in the automation industry point to a greater need to manage the skills and abilities—the competence—of engineers

and maintenance technicians, as well as operators. Mass retirements, young people changing jobs, the need to hire locally around the world, the increas-ing technical complexity of our systems, more rapid obsolescence of those systems, and the availability of new and more effective training technologies all are trends pressuring and guiding how we assess, correct and maintain competence.

“Surveys say 50% of experienced staff plan to re-tire within five years,” said Jack Gregg, senior global director, lifecycle solutions and services, Honeywell Process Solutions, to attendees of his session, “Com-petency Management,” at Honeywell Users Group 2017 this week in San Antonio, Texas.

“Two-thirds of millennials expect to leave their cur-rent job by 2020. Some 20% of new hires are from other nations, and many technologies are being up-dated about once a year,” Gregg said.

Cost of incompetence Inadequate competency management costs plants due to errors, substandard operation and downtime:

• 70% of cyber assessments show critical vulnera-bilities

• 50% of Honeywell’s “illness” calls misrepresent the problem

• 40% of Honeywell Global Technical Assistance Center (GTAC) calls are for “training”

• 30% of system behavior is not well understood• 30% of plants underestimate the skills needed.“When we know what we need an employee to ac-

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complish, ‘competency management’ determines how the employee will achieve those accomplishments,” Gregg said. “To develop a competent workforce, we must identify the needed skills, assess the employee’s skills, and provide appropriate training to fill the gap.”

Ongoing operational analysis and assessments allow Honeywell to continually identify gaps and devise indi-vidualized training to fill them. How well is the opera-tor performing? How quickly and accurately does he re-spond to alarms? “If there’s a problem, is it a product, process or competency issue?” Gregg said. “Forty per-cent of abnormal situations are caused by human error.”

Put competence in control“All the vendors offer training,” Gregg said. “Compe-tency management is a higher level. It’s not just prod-uct training, but also process and skill assessment, gap analysis and targeted training.” Competency maps and metrics for each individual allow competence managers to determine what courses need to be taken, in what order.

Honeywell continues to develop and expand role-based training for board operators, process control en-gineers and maintenance technicians. “We have sim-ulators for all three of these roles, with curricula for the roles and training that can be customized for each individual,” Gregg said.

Operations data is evaluated in the cloud, and in-dividual performance can be analyzed to determine competence issues. “As we determine the necessary

learning and deploy it to the site, we download role-based training simulations,” Gregg said. These can now include sessions using augmented reality and vir-tual reality. Combined with simulation, augmented reality and virtual reality tools also allow off-site and remote training.

An important element of training is practice. “An airline pilot uses a simulator for many hours before he’s allowed to fly a plane,” Gregg said. “We want to take the same approach. For example, we can high-light the cards a technician needs to pull and when you’ve done it on the simulator, you feel like you’ve actually done it. You have the muscle memory.”

Honeywell competency management offerings range from basic training up to a full training man-agement contract. “It’s like Assurance 360 for compe-tency,” Gregg said. “We want to raise skill levels in a very fast and efficient way.”

“An airline pilot uses a simulator for many hours before he’s allowed to fly a plane. We want to take the same approach.” Jack Gregg, senior global director, lifecycle solutions and services, Honeywell Process Solutions, on the role of simulation, virtual reality and augmented reality in closing skills gaps.

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“Although nonstandard physical changes increase costs, the real cause of increased costs and delays are associated with the customization infrastructure.” Sandy Vasser describes ExxonMobil’s journey to cost reduction and process change.

EXXONMOBIL CONTINUES TO MAKE IT HAPPENProcess change and equipment reduction takes work to implement successfullyBy Mike Bacidore

For the past few years, ExxonMobil’s “It Just Happens” initiative has challenged traditional approaches to processes and eliminated equip-

ment that wasn’t required. Although the multina-tional oil & gas giant’s intent was to simplify and let prosperity fall into place, the reality involved a lot of work, said Sandy Vasser, ExxonMobil’s retired IC&E manager, who spoke at Honeywell Users Group 2017 in San Antonio, Texas.

Using field-configurable I/O and standard cabinets allows solutions to be ordered by part numbers with no detail specifications required. “We eliminated 66% of cabinets and termination switches,” said Vasser.

No hardware factory acceptance test (FAT) was re-quired for standard equipment. “We reduced automa-tion hardware costs by 30-40%,” he explained. “We reduced the footprint of rooms by about 40%.”

Large copper cables were replaced with fiberoptic cables, and module weight was reduced. “We simpli-fied designs and reduced customizations,” said Vasser.

Additional activity improvements included:• eliminating design churn and recycle• fewer errors in construction enabling less inspec-

tion time• less vendor data to be reviewed and approved• more than 30% reduction in engineering, con-

struction and commissioning• automation schedules compressed by 25%• reduced number of drawings.

“All of this didn’t just happen,” explained Vasser. “It required a lot of hard work. And Honeywell developed a lot of enabling technologies to help us to do this.”

Challenge acceptedTo chart the automation dependency of traditional project approaches, the ExxonMobil team identified the challenges it faced and resulting impacts.

Historical challenges included discipline dependen-cies that forced sequential execution, design input that occurred unchecked throughout the project cycle, lim-

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ited use of standard solutions and the use of highly en-gineered, frequently changing customized designs.

Larger projects had unique challenges. For exam-ple, larger projects were more complex. They included multiple EPCs, with fabrication yards and equipment sourced from around the globe. Activities ran in par-allel to satisfy project schedules. Mega-projects also typically had higher costs and lower returns.

All of these challenges resulted in recycling of de-signs through startup, extensive hardware changes throughout execution, excessive high-cost field changes, automation on the critical path, execution uncertainty, longer schedules and higher costs.

“We decided we had to adopt a different approach because this just wasn’t working,” explained Vasser.

The early focus was on identifying industry best practices, incorporating lessons learned into adopted practices, developing detailed procedures that were rigorously and consistently followed, auditing for compliance and striving for perfection. But automa-tion remained on critical path, and that was just the beginning.

The level of rework and dependencies between dis-ciplines remained high. Design “freezes” that weren’t freezes were commonplace, and activities were still performed out of sequence. “We were fabricat-ing equipment before the design was complete,” ex-plained Vasser. Even though schedules and costs were being managed, they continued to grow.

Commonly held beliefs from management blamed suppliers and EPCs for poor performance, owners for making changes and engineers for “going rogue and gold-plating” designs. “Management believed the problems were caused because we had engineers on the projects,” said Vasser. “The reality is that, if we had the best participants and fewer changes and nonstandard features, a project would still experi-ence those historical problems. The core sources of the problems were the processes that we’d been using for decades. These processes were developed decades ago when projects were smaller, less complicated, not schedule-constrained, more local and included fewer participants.”

Customization infrastructureAnother difficulty relates to procurement. “Although nonstandard physical changes increase costs, the real cause of increased costs and delays are associated with the customization infrastructure,” said Vasser.

This customization infrastructure included:• creation and approval of project specifications on

every project• preparation and approval of detailed and expan-

sive inquiry packages• review and understanding of the inquiry packages

by suppliers• preparation of proposals by suppliers that include

nonstandard features and specification deviations• review and selection of proposals by owners/EPCs• development of new designs by the suppliers to

comply with nonstandard requirements, requir-ing new drawings

• supplier modification of manufacturing processes• fabrication holds for inspections by owners/EPCs

to verify customization• complete pre-FATs by suppliers before owners/

EPCs witnessed FATs.Customization was at the root of the procurement

woes, so a new approach to projects was developed. “Wherever we could, we eliminated customization,” explained Vasser.

In addition to reduced customization, complexity was reduced by simplifying designs. The component count and number of divergent systems were also re-duced, as were the number of interfaces. Processes were automated, simplified or eliminated, and the ef-fects of dependencies were mitigated. Automatically generated documentation also was reduced.

These changes did not come without hurdles. An unwillingness to accept risk proved challenging, but resistance to change was as cumbersome as ever. There was extensive training, experience and comfort with established technologies and processes, and most of the focus was on perfecting and improving those existing practices.

“Management said the problem was that the engi-neers were technocrats,” explained Vasser. “But the is-

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sue was that the engineers had been trained to do the same process or procedure for decades. And we per-fected those procedures, rather than eliminating them. If you’re looking to make significant change, it takes a combination of your experienced folks and young peo-ple who haven’t already developed their own biases.”

Relationships with suppliers changed, too. In the

past, suppliers developed new technologies indepen-dently and promoted them to clients, or often the clients directed suppliers to develop customized cli-ent-specific solutions. That changed by creating part-nerships between clients and suppliers to solve indus-try problems, which is how universal I/O and universal cabinets were developed.

ORION CONSOLES IMPROVE SAFETY BY RAISING VISIBILITYNew status dashboards expand views of facilities and applications, remote monitoring functions aid workflow, and Command and Control software empowers efficient responseBy Jim Montague

Logically, the more clearly you can see, the safer you’ll be. That’s why developers of Experion Orion, Honeywell Process Solutions’ advanced

unified HMI and workstation solution, haven’t been sit-ting on their laurels since it was introduced three years ago, but have instead been constantly seeking feedback from numerous Orion users about how to improve and increase its already formidable capabilities.

“We now have hundreds of Experion Orion users and installations worldwide, so we’ve been studying them to verify how it’s doing, and if it’s living up to the claims made about it when it was released. So far, it’s exceed-ing our expectations and those of our users,” said Rohan McAdam, chief architect, HPS. “Our research found that Orion not only makes operators more effective, but it also lets them detect problems three times faster, and navigate both routine and abnormal situations thee times faster. This enables them to make process changes much more quickly, especially during upset situations.”

McAdam, Graeme Laycock, director of experience design at HPS, and Peter Davis, software technology di-

rector at HPS, presented “Improve Safety Through Fast and Precise Emergency Response” on the third day of Honeywell Users Group Americas 2017 in San Antonio, Texas.

In general, Experion Orion’s primary advantages since its inception include big, bright displays showing each user’s entire process manufacturing applications and fa-cilities; touchscreens that are faster than traditional key-board/mouse devices; and more intuitive interface con-trols that are particularly useful to younger operators who have grown up with smartphones, tablet PCs and videogame-style interfaces.

“Orion recently scored 92 on the 100-point system usability scale (SUS), where our prior Universal station scored 64,” added McAdam. “This is because Orion makes it easier to identify process parameters, find and respond to process problems, and reduce fatigue and increase comfort for operators. Its sit/stand feature and eye-strain reducing features are especially helpful in this area.”

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New tools and horizonsThough it wasn’t easy to top Orion’s existing capabili-ties, Laycock reported that Honeywell’s team used ex-tensive user input and research to develop several new, major capabilities for its flagship HMI system. These new features include:

• System status dashboard that provides a picture of the overall health of a process, including operator limits, trends of actual limits, and other displays to help users make changes faster. It also lets users bring in data from business-level applications, while still maintaining required system-level separations.

• Streamlined migration tools and enhanced access to experts, which can save 60% on the cost of imple-menting Orion.

• Improved exception-based monitoring and docu-mentation function to further aid operator and ap-plications workflows.

• Remote monitoring functions that enable more se-cure operations, address workforce shortages, and help users run leaner operations. This capability will aid both efficiency and safety efforts; gener-ate sixfold savings compared to typical in-the-field monitoring; and incorporate remote video, fire and gas, and other SCADA data streams.

• Participation in Experion’s new Control Handover Capability for better coordinating operators in dif-ferent locations.

Command and ControlProbably the new function that extends the original vi-sion for Experion Orion the most is its partnering with Honeywell’s Command and Control Suite software, which lets the console’s high-definition screens:

• Show deep maps across entire facilities;

• Allow users to pan and zoom in to particular areas;• Display video windows from those locations; and• Launch instructions, and even carry out some auto-

mated steps from Orion itself.“If we get an alert from a plant in Japan about an ap-

proaching cyclone, for instance, they can hand over con-trol and evacuate, and we can connect and take over the controls from the Honeywell Remote Response Center,” explained Laycock. “The center can use remote control to check cameras, and help bring the plant to a more conservative operating state. Orion can also identify steps that have been taken, while the dashboard shows progress, and the whole user team and HPS can see what’s going on, on their mobile devices.”

McAdam added that, “We’re also creating a web-based environment for the next generation of oper-ators. This includes enhancements to our Pulse so-lution that gets the right data to the right people at the right time wherever they are. Pulse now lets us-ers set their own limits that reflect their interests in a process, create watch lists based on previous bench-marks, and add notifications about the ownership of who owns what data.”

“Orion makes it easier to identify process parameters, find and respond to process problems, and reduce fatigue and increase comfort for operators,” said Rohan McAdam, chief architect, Honeywell Process Solutions, describing how the Experion Orion console enhances safety by facilitating rapid and precise response.

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SHELL CHEMICAL REVAMPS BATCH CONTROLS AND SOFTWAREShell Chemical migrated a six-train batch unit that manufactures ethoxylate at its plant in Geismar, La., to Experion Batch Manager software and C300 controllers from Honeywell Process Solutions.By Jim Montague

Process application upgrades are never easy, but they can be less difficult, easier to justify and more successful with the right controls and

software. Adam Edmonson, P.E., instrument engi-neer, and Michael Nassif, control systems engineer, both at Shell Chemical LP, reported learning this lesson when they recently migrated a six-train batch unit at their plant in Geismar, La., from Honeyell Process Solutions’ (HPS) obsolete TotalPlant Batch (TBP) software running on C200 controllers to Ex-perion Batch Management (EBM) software running on C300 controllers.

Securing project approvalLocated on the Mississippi River about 20 miles south of Baton Rouge, the plant manufactures ethoxylate, which is a primary ingredient in soap products such as laundry detergents and dishwashing liquids. The unit processes batches that average 50,000 pounds, while the trains typically consist of two or three ves-sels, including a main reactor, tanks, pipelines and sub-trains. Edmonson and Nassif reported there were several reasons why they needed to upgrade, though their project was initially difficult to get approved.

“TBP was obsolete, but EBM couldn’t run on C200, so we had to upgrade to C300,” said Edmonson. “We tried obsolescence as a way to justify the migration, but that proposal was rejected by our capital projects committee, so we supplemented it with estimated gains in asset management and smart instrumenta-tion. We determined the upgrade could save 10 sec-onds per batch step or about 300 seconds per batch.

With six to nine batches per day, this could add up to some significant potential production savings.” He added that migrating to EBM would also enable the batch unit to comply more closely with the ISA S88 batch management standard.

Edmonson and Nassif presented “TotalPlant Batch Migration to Experion Batch Manager” at Honeywell Users Group Americas 2017 on June 21 in San An-tonio, Texas. They reported that Shell’s ethoxylation unit had been upgraded from PLCs to Experion R201 with TotalPlant Batch and four C200 controllers in 2005.

Prepare to migrateAfter securing approval to migrate the batch unit to EBM and C300s, Edmonson and Nassif also deter-mined that about 70 graphics needed to be upgraded, and that they could perform cold cutovers of each train during planned shutdown periods. The project also included migrating the unit’s high-level analog inputs (HLAI) and analog outputs (AO) to HPS Pro-cess Manager I/O (PMIO) talking HART communi-cation protocol. These and other new components, as well as EBM and Sequential Control Module (SCM) software in Experion, also allowed the factory accep-tance test (FAT) for the migration top be done on a virtual system using simulated controllers.

“EBM was also put on a live system using a simula-tor before live cutovers,” said Nassif. “Operator train-ing was done on a live system using a simulator, which let operators ‘play’ with batches on EBM before the actual cutovers.”

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In addition, they worked with Precision Engineer-ing Inc. (PEI), a system integrator in Mobile, Ala., to replicate and implement Campaign Manager, which is a customized function in EBM that could also save time. “This is a duplicate function for EBM and a cus-tom solution for TPB that allowed us to run in con-tinuous mode,” explained Edmonson. “This means a new batch of the same recipe could start automati-cally on a train.”

Accomplishing cutoversThe batch unit’s phased migration and loading to EBM, graphics, SCM, Campaign Manager and other components was performed by Shell’s staff on two trains per day over a three-day period, with phone support from HPS as needed. The cutovers were com-pleted in December 2016.

Nassif reported that one anticlimax of upgrading the batch unit was that it only produced time sav-ings of 18 seconds for the catalyst, 23 seconds for the reactor, and 32 seconds for the soak process, which

added up to a lot less than the savings of 300 seconds per batch that was originally expected. “The new sys-tem is running well, and operator acceptance is high, so we’re still happy with how this migration turned out,” he said.

Edmonson added, “Following the simulation train-ing, we did have some problems with the first few ac-tual batches. However, the rest since then have been smooth, and we’ve been home free.”

“The new system is running well and operator acceptance is high.” Adam Edmonson, P.E., instrument engineer, Shell Chemical LP, on the migration of a six-train batch unit that manufactures ethoxylate to Honeywell Experion Batch Manager software and C300 controllers.

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“We can pull in the data from equipment that is critical to our process but is not competitive.” UOP’s Rebecca Liebert discusses where the oil & gas industry is headed at Honeywell Users Group 2017.

SCIENTIFIC PROWESS LEADS TO PROCESS EXPERTISEUOP’s president describes the company’s perspective, built on its 103 years’ experience in oil & gasBy Mike Bacidore

When it was founded in 1914, UOP com-mercialized Jesse Dubbs’ demulsification of oil to yield heavier fuel oil and asphalt.

The byproduct of this was a 30% yield of gasoline, which was significantly greater than refining meth-ods of the time. Originally founded by Chicago meat packer J. Ogden Armour as National Hydrocarbon, UOP entered the oil & gas processing arena on firm footing with Dubbs’ patented process in hand.

Fast forward to 2017. The world population has more than quadrupled from 1.7 billion to 7.5 billion, and UOP has quietly amassed a significant amount of historical data in an industry that has been arguably critical for the growth of civilization itself.

“UOP has been around 103 years,” said Rebecca Li-ebert, president of UOP (www.uop.com), who spoke at Honeywell Users Group 2017 in San Antonio, Texas. “We were formed to start the first real refining tech-nology to turn crude oil to gasoline. Now, we’re talk-ing a lot about connectivity and the convergence of the digital and the physical worlds.”

According to Liebert, we are at the forefront of the seventh energy revolution. “We’ve been through six revolutions that UOP has been part of,” she indicated. “Petrochemical was the third revolution. The fourth was the environmental space with unleaded gasoline and catalytic converters. Fifth was molecule manage-ment and getting the maximum yield from a barrel of crude oil in the 1970s. And the sixth was the natural gas revolution. We’re on the forefront of the seventh,

and we have 103 years of UOP process data because it’s our process license that has generated that data.”

One of the significant trends that Liebert sees in the current refining industry is the convergence of fuel specifications around the Euro 5 standard. “Conver-gence of fuel specifications allows for transportability of fuels across the world. It will require all refineries to follow the Euro 5 standard.”

A second trend is the integration of petrochemicals. “Refiners are moving downstream, and the plastics guys

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are going upstream,” said Liebert. “The plastics industry is having to learn to be petrochemical manufacturers.”

Possibly the biggest trend is with liquid natural gas (LNG) and moving products around the world. Li-ebert cited the widening of the Panama Canal as a sure sign of the times.

Pardon the disruptionOne of the disruptors in the industry is the influx of the entrepreneurial investors who focus on speed and stan-dardization. “They’ll give some majors a run for their money,” said Liebert. “Also, Honeywell Connected Plant will be revolutionary, and those who get on it the fastest will be the winners. It enables outcome-based service solutions to help keep plants running.”

Developments such as the Honeywell Experion solution suite are designed to take plant automation off the critical path. “By using Experion, you can cut your control system implementation down by 30%,” she said. UOP can work with noncompetitors for monitoring with Honeywell Connected Plant. “We can pull in the data from equipment that is critical to our process but is not competitive,” said Liebert. “At UOP, we’re using IIoT in our R&D facility. In greater Chicago, we have two data facilities. We’re pumping millions of data points per minute. We use a lot of mini-reactor types of systems—a reactor smaller than a pen—and we can use it to test catalysts. We got that vision from the pharmaceutical industry. We can

scale up to semi-work-type scales, and then we can go to full-scale.”

Any number of companies can all look at trends, but UOP’s advantages are in its 103 years of histori-cal data and its scientific expertise. “If you can’t get at the science of the why—the fundamental kinetics and models that make it happen—you can’t get at the problem,” said Liebert. “We’ve built fault models into our logic. It’s not just taking data and putting a line through it. It’s looking at what happened and why. People don’t think of UOP as a software company, but we have some of the most advanced modelers in the world.”

And many moreWhen crude oil prices fell from more than $100 to $30, “It dried up cash flows, and projects were put on hold and cancelled,” recalled Liebert. “In 2015, proj-ects really stalled. We’ve seen a nice rebound. I see crude prices staying between $40 and $60, but we won’t see $70 again for a while.”

As for the forthcoming eighth revolution, Liebert sees two potential paths on the horizon. “One could be natural-gas-to-ethylene or natural-gas-to-propyl-ene,” she indicated. “There’s going to be a lot of nat-ural gas available for a long time. Also, the world’s going to have to figure out energy storage. Solar and wind are going to need to be figured out. Large-level, grid-level storage is something we think a lot about.”