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Engineering Guidelines
00809-0100-6129, Rev AB
Section 2: Project Concepts
February 2016
Project Concepts
2.3 WirelessHART approach: technology assessment
WirelessHART technology may provide an opportunity to execute and build a more efficient
plant compared to the traditional approach.
The project technical authority can decide whether to use wireless based on the following
criteria:
Economic advantages
Application capability
Operational savings
Benefits of additional process insight from new measurements previously out of reach
economically or physically - example: monitored safety showers
Benefits of flexibility in project execution – example: ease of moving or adding I/O
points during construction to cost effectively manage onsite changes
The high cost of traditional field wiring limits the number of points that are able to be connected
in a project for process monitoring, control and safety applications. However, as the project
proceeds and over the lifecycle of the plant, additional points may need to be added to resolve
critical problems. Since WirelessHART does not require wires for communication or power, the
lower costs enable inclusion of more process points during the project. The financial
impediment in determining whether a point is automated or not is redefined,
Special consideration should be given to automation needs of new process plants. WirelessHART
may provide significant advantages in enabling automation to ensure they meet stricter safety,
environmental, reliability and performance criteria. Below are a few examples:
Many new plants are designed to operate with fewer personnel. Upgrading simple
gauges to wireless field devices can automate the manual collection of data from the
field in order to increase worker productivity and reduce field trip exposure to
hazardous environments.
Many existing facilities have been modified in order to meet emerging environmental
regulation. Real time monitoring of volatile organic compound release (VOC) from
wireless monitoring of pressure safety valves and of conductivity and temperature of
effluent waters can ensure environmental compliance.
Wireless remote monitoring of safety showers and gas detectors during construction
and operation can provide new levels of safety response.
New environmental regulation often requires redundant monitoring systems on assets
like tanks that were not required in the past. WirelessHART can provide a cost effective,
reliable secondary communication and monitoring method.
Wireless monitoring of steam traps and heat exchangers can provide real time
information for minimizing plant energy consumption.
Cost effective field information accessible via WirelessHART field devices enables non-traditional
end use of automation to be considered in the FEED and design phases. A designer should be
aware of initiatives for safety, environmental protection, energy consumption, and reliability in
addition to the traditional considerations for process automation. The WirelessHART
architecture extends the benefits of automation to multiple plant initiatives without the need
for multiple forms of I/O infrastructure.