Yokogawa opens technology collaboration centre

The opening of the centre follows the announcement in July 2019 of Yokogawa's selection as ExxonMobil's OPA Test Bed system integrator.

The technology centre will house the Test Bed being used to evaluate candidate components and standards which will provide the basis for moving OPA technology into initial industrial field trials.

Today, end users in the energy and chemical industries must work with and integrate multiple proprietary systems in almost every process plant or facility. These systems include manufacturing execution systems (MES), distributed control systems (DCS), human-machine interfaces (HMI), programmable logic controllers (PLC) and inputs/outputs (I/O). These multiple proprietary systems, and the integration thereof, result in elevated capital costs on new projects and high total cost of ownership, especially in the operation and maintenance of such systems.

The Open Process Automation™ Forum (OPAF) is an international forum of end users, system integrators, suppliers, academia, and standards organisations who are working together to develop the specifications for open process control systems. OPAF's goal is to enable more open and modular systems that support integration of best-in-class components. This architecture will provide both configuration and application portability across components from different suppliers, thereby reducing system capital cost and total cost of ownership.

Yokogawa is currently working on Stage 1 and 2 of the OPA Test Bed at the new centre, which will result in an operational Test Bed ready for use by ExxonMobil and their collaboration partners in Stage 3.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/05022020/yokogawa-opens-technology-collaboration-centre/