At the 2024 Ovation Users Group Conference, Emerson’s Steven Hutchinson presented What’s Coming in Ovation 4.0: Object Builder. Here is his presentation abstract.
Ovation Object Builder is an alternative way to build and manage Ovation control sheets, points, and graphics. The object builder is a suite of three applications, Object Factory, Object Studio, and Object Explorer, that organizes Ovation primitives into a functional device hierarchy. Ovation primitives are points, control functions and graphics. This includes both control and graphic macros. The Object Builder stands beside the developer studio. All previous functionality is still available. This session will discuss the new features and explain some of the advantages of using Object Builder. Join this breakout to learn more about the components and tools that will help you with your next project!
Steven opened by highlighting the goals for the Ovation Object Builder. These included increasing quality by providing consistency across the entire system, simplifying redundant tasks to decrease costs, and improving system visualization to reduce time.
He described objects as being more than pumps and motors. These objects are a collection of Ovation primitives organized into a hierarchy. These primitives are points, control sheets, and graphics. This hierarchy adds context to the primitives. It organizes standard engineering and run-time data where the value is in the visualization.
Generics define what attributes are available to customize for each device and are searchable and editable. Classes are a collection of generics necessary to implement a discrete system component. Devices represent specific instances of classes. For example, a low-voltage motor represents a class, and a lube oil pump for the boiler feed pump is a device. A typical control sheet is a generic.
The Object Builder Database is a single file that contains all the graphics sources, control sheets, and points defined as generics. The database is portable across Ovation systems. Subject matter experts have created application-specific classes such as renewable battery storage systems, combustion turbine systems, balance of plant devices, soot blower implementation, and boiler control strategies. Customer and site-specific classes can be added.
In the Engineering Studio, the hierarchy adds context to the primitives. The hierarchy can be added at any time in the system lifecycle. When sheets are added to the object, the associated points can be selected to be included in the object. Primitives are not segregated by type, and data sheet editors with Excel-friendly cut-and-paste interoperability can help to modify points.
The Explorer provides real-time process values in the same hierarchical context. It enables access to existing operator station programs from the hierarchy. The dashboard displays each object in the hierarchy.
The Emerson project teams use the Object Builder to implement iconic alarming, analyze operator intervention, construct renewable systems, construct the balance of plant devices for traditional power plants, and alarm rationalization.
End users with installed systems can use Object Builder to organize sheets, points, and graphics into a hierarchy; for alarm tuning and rationalization, to generate a hierarchy for the Ovation Intelligence Framework or Ovation Data Hub; to replace existing graphics with Ovation View HMI available in Ovation 4.0 release; and to upgrade existing control sheets.
The development team envisions advancements, including new support for graphics builder, trend group, and SCADA configuration.
