The next-generation Release 7 concept and Release 7.01 of the CENTUM VP integrated production control system, a key component of the OpreX Control and Safety System portfolio, have been unveiled by Yokogawa Electric Corporation. The release of the tenth generation of the CENTUM series marks the 50th anniversary of the June 19, 1975, announcement of CENTUM as the first distributed control system (DCS) in history.
Development Background
Along with the dynamic changes in supply chains in recent years, countries have been tightening rules as environmental protection has become more and more important. At the same time, security issues have grown in importance due to the growing use of digital technologies for sophisticated applications like managing the use of renewable energy and analyzing data in cloud-based systems.
Additionally, as tangible assets are being used, there is an increasing need to transfer the expertise of seasoned operators to others and lessen the workload and mental strain on personnel who are in charge of systems that need to be maintained running continuously.
Management and frontline personnel must boost competitiveness and find a compromise between the requirement to boost efficiency and profitability and the steady production of high-quality products in the face of these industrial difficulties’ increasing complexity.
The Concept behind CENTUM VP Release 7
Yokogawa developed CENTUM VP Release 7 with the idea of enabling autonomous operations in response to these problems. By increasing energy efficiency, speeding up decarbonization, and offering a safe and secure working environment, Yokogawa is assisting its clients in achieving sustainability through CENTUM.
Yokogawa will spearhead future improvements in the following three areas while upholding the CENTUM series’ enduring qualities of dependability, stability, continuity, strong security, and extensive engineering and service network:
- Expanded scope of control and monitoring
The plant’s overall condition may be tracked and the extent of automated operation can be increased by safely combining a variety of data that are dispersed across the facility, allowing for safer and more secure operations. - Predictive monitoring through process condition monitoring
Operators can anticipate changes and take action to create more stable operations and enhance energy efficiency by extracting and detecting process-specific events connected to operations and forecasting deviations from expected values. - Reduction of operator workload
By presenting future scenarios that leverage operator knowledge and know-how, it supports the operator in making accurate decisions. In addition, autonomous control AI can take over from operators to achieve long-term stable operation. This reduces operator workload and mental stress.
Main Features of Release 7.01
To achieve autonomous operations, it is essential to leverage AI while ensuring safety and security. Release 7.01 helps to establish the necessary foundation for this goal. The key features are as follows.
- Enhanced security
To achieve data-driven operations, it is crucial to ensure the security of critical infrastructure. This release adopts industry security benchmarks to strengthen the cybersecurity of the components that make up control systems and enhance the overall security level of the system. - Expansion of control and monitoring scope with CENTUM
By integrating OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) connectivity, the range of plant equipment and devices that can be controlled and monitored by CENTUM is expanded. OPC UA is a platform-independent standard that enables data exchange between devices from different manufacturers in the industrial automation field. In this update, OPC UA client functionality has been added to CENTUM. - Enhanced engineering capabilities for large-scale projects
To promote operational optimization by integrating various systems within the plant, a feature has been added that allows the merging and testing of multiple engineering databases related to CENTUM. This enhancement will enable high-quality and efficient engineering, contributing to the rapid startup of new plants and restart of upgraded plants.
Leadership Comments
Mitsuhiro Yamamoto, Vice President, Executive Officer, and head of the Systems Business Division at Yokogawa Electric stated, “In this VUCA era, the conditions required for manufacturing sites and management are becoming ever more complex. By realizing stable operations and expanding the scope of autonomy, CENTUM VP Release 7 will help our customers achieve a more sustainable society and sustainable business growth.”
Major Target Markets
Various process industries, including oil and gas, petrochemicals, chemicals, steel, pulp and paper, electric power, and water treatment
Applications
Operation monitoring and automatic control of plants and manufacturing equipment.
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