Many plants still run with a significant portion of hand-operated, mechanical, analog, and proprietary automation, and some new plants are still being designed the same way. In a recent LinkedIn article, “Smart Plant and Automation Modernization,” Emerson’s Jonas Berge, ISA Fellow and digital transformation advisor, lays out what a modern smart plant automation ecosystem should include, from field sensors and valves to the distributed control system (DCS), safety instrumented system (SIS), and device management software.

Why It Matters

Jonas notes that plants built or last upgraded as long as 30 years ago used the best automation of their time but now underperform new plants coming online with modern automation. Hand-operated valves require field operator intervention, mechanical moving parts cause downtime, inaccurate analog instruments push operators to run loops in manual or with wide comfort margins, and proprietary interfaces force people to move data between systems by hand.

The result is higher energy cost, emissions, maintenance cost, and downtime, plus lost production revenue. For instrumentation and automation engineers, today’s specifications determine which of these problems a plant carries forward.

Key Takeaways

• Modernization covers four shifts: hand-operated to motorized valves, mechanical to electronic gauges and meters, analog to smart instruments, and proprietary to open standard interfaces.
• Smart sensors pair new sensing technology with smart connectivity, and migration is easier because they mostly use the same wiring and often the same mechanical fitting.
• A smart DCS with HART pass-through I/O and OPC UA connectivity opens access to device diagnostics and status while avoiding the technical debt of proprietary interfaces.
• Control valve performance underpins advanced process control and real-time optimization, which cannot make up for poor valve performance.
• Intelligent Device Management (IDM) software makes it practical to manage hundreds or thousands of smart sensors and valves from a central location.

Smart Sensors Replace Mechanical and Analog Measurement

Jonas recommends replacing low-price, non-smart transmitters, many with mechanical moving parts, with smart sensors. His examples include top-mounted radar using frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) technology for level, electronic remote sensors in place of remote seal capillaries for pressure, guided wave radar for interface level, vibrating forks for point level, density, and viscosity, and Coriolis, magnetic, vortex, or ultrasonic meters for flow.

Smart meter verification can determine whether calibration is actually required, and most of these sensors offer safety integrity level (SIL) rated options for safety-instrumented functions. He also cautions that some applications are still best served by traditional sensing technologies, so engineers should consult their instrumentation and controls team and vendor.

A Smart DCS and SIS Built on Open Connectivity

Over the years, many plants added process units and skids with standalone programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Jonas recommends migrating the main plant and offsites to a single integrated DCS with advanced control, native batch control, native cybersecurity, modern operator displays, simulation, enterprise integration, and virtualization. Migration can be staged, preserving controllers, I/O, or termination panels for later replacement, although I/O that does not support HART should also be replaced.

Connectivity is the thread through his recommendations. HART in every 4-20 mA I/O channel, with pass-through to IDM software, gives the DCS access to device and variable status and auxiliary variables. OPC UA delivers data with contextual metadata to historians, data lakes, and industrial AI applications. The same approach applies to the SIS, where smart connectivity allows proof testing from IDM software and partial stroke testing on safety valves extends the time between full proof tests.

Smart Valves and Centralized Device Management

For valves, Jonas recommends smart positioners with non-contact Hall-effect position feedback, motorizing hand-operated valves for remote control, and electric actuators with HART and absolute position sensing instead of proprietary motor-operated valve protocols. Isolation valves move to smart switchboxes, and shutdown valves move to smart safety valve controllers.

Managing all these devices with portable communicators is impractical. Configuration drifts, calibration and proof testing fall behind, and surprise failures cause downtime. IDM software using HART and Field Device Integration (FDI) centralizes configuration audit trails, calibration scheduling, diagnostics, alert management, and proof testing without sending personnel to the field. HART-IP extends this to package units running third-party automation systems.

Where to Start

For new projects, Jonas advises updating specifications before procurement, ideally at the pre-FEED or front-end engineering design (FEED) stage. For existing plants, he suggests a workshop with the instrumentation and controls team to identify legacy technology in sensors, the DCS, the SIS, valves, and configuration tools, then modernizing component by component or in campaigns while updating company technical standards. He also recommends checking vendor data sheets and software screen captures to confirm capabilities work without expensive customization.

Read the Full Article

For the complete recommendations, read Smart Plant and Automation Modernization by Jonas on LinkedIn.