Field device configurator designed to simplify instrumentation management
Handheld device from Honeywell allows operators to manage HART devices made by any manufacturer.
Honeywell has introduced its Field Device Configurator (FDC), a software application for the MCToolkit hand-held configurator device. The company says this new application software allows operators an easier way to configure and assess the health of HART 5, 6, and 7 instrumentation.
FDC and the MCToolkit help streamline device management for manufacturers as they transition their plant instrumentation from previous HART versions to the most recent release. The MCToolkit device simultaneously supports this new FDC software as well as previous Honeywell software for configuring units with DE protocol, making this one tool available for many uses.
“Our customers have the challenging task of managing instruments and devices that come from a variety of manufacturers, which can cause headaches with calibration, configuration, and monitoring device status,” said Anand Krishna, director of marketing, Honeywell Field Solutions. “With the new Field Device Configurator application, technician and engineering activities are made easier, more efficient and more productive.”
Honeywell says that technicians and engineers frequently have to work with and maintain many field instruments from different suppliers. That usually includes keeping track of device description revisions from various manufacturers, which can be a complex and time-consuming chore. FDC simplifies device management by allowing engineers to choose device descriptors and revisions needed based on their unique requirements.
Moreover, operators can customize their hand-held device screen menus to find and execute frequently performed tasks quickly. For example, the screen that reports instrument device health can be accessed from the main menu, which helps technicians and engineers make faster diagnostic assessments and take corrective actions. FDC also supports a unique search feature that uses filters and caching to quickly return the desired item instead of requiring the user to navigate through a menu structure. Users can typically reduce the number of steps needed to reach an item by 40%.
Edited by Peter Welander, pwelander(at)cfemedia.com
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