Leadership in manufacturing standards

Following up on my last post, which started to get too long.

Regarding the wireless networks situation and just so you know, I have no dog in that hunt. I observe, I listen, I try to make sense of the situation. It hasn't been easy. There are lots of opinions, technical evaluations and suspicion. And I'm not knocking all the volunteer leadership on the entire ISA 100 committee. They are certainly dedicated.

But I think that things are at a point where true progress will happen only when those involved quit drawing battle lines and start solving the problem. I wish I could step in and resolve the issue and get a consensus standard done. I don't have that knowledge or skill. I can just write. So--let's get it done.

There were so many examples of past and current leadership on standards at the ARC Forum that it was really heartening to see the progress that we can make. The results of the hard work over years devoted to ISA88, ISA95 and ISA99 with the additional Technical Report documenting PackML were evident everywhere. I'd love to list all the individuals and companies who supported their work, but I'm sure I'd leave out many deserving of honor. The work of MIMOSA in the operations and maintenance space is also beginning to bear fruit on the automation side.

Much great work has been done. Much remains to be done. Kudos to all of you who have participated. That is true industry leadership.

Another Milestone for WirelessHart

The Hart Communication Foundation has announced that the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) has approved the WirelessHart specification as a European National Standard (EN 62591). CEN released the standard to CENELEC, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, whose members are the national electrotechnical committees of 31 European countries. CENELEC approved the WirelessHART European Standard on 01 June 2010.

“In March, the WirelessHart specification was approved by the International Electrotechnical Commission as a full international standard (IEC 62591Ed. 1.0),” says Ron Helson, Executive Director of the Hart Communication Foundation. “Approval as a European National Standard further confirms acceptance of the technology by users and suppliers as a technically sound, reliable and secure solution for wireless communication in process automation.”

The IEC Standard was approved by CENELEC as a European Standard without any modification. According to the announcement of approval issued by CENELEC, “members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration”.

A growing number of WirelessHart compatible products are available today from major global suppliers including ABB, Emerson, Endress+Hauser, MACTek, Nivis, Phoenix Contact, Pepperl+Fuchs, Siemens and others.

Released in September 2007, WirelessHart is an open and interoperable wireless communication standard designed to address the critical needs of industry for reliable, robust and secure wireless communication in real-time industrial process measurement and control applications.

WirelessHart is a backward compatible, evolutionary enhancement to the Hart Communication Protocol, the leading communication technology for intelligent process measurement and control field devices and systems with more than 30 million devices installed and operating in process plant applications around the globe.

The CEN was founded in 1961. Its 30 national members work together to develop European Standards (ENs) in various sectors to build a European internal market for goods and services and to position Europe in the global economy. CENELEC is a non-profit technical organization set up under Belgian law. CENELEC members have been working together in the interests of European harmonization since the 1950s, creating both standards requested by the market and harmonized standards in support of European legislation.

The Hart Communication Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit membership organization that provides global support for the application of Hart technology. The Foundation is the technology owner, standards setting body and central authority on the Hart Communication Protocol, establishing and controlling new technology developments and enhancements that support the needs of the process automation industry. Founded in 1993, Foundation membership includes more than 230 companies worldwide.