A Legacy Reborn: 50 Years of Innovation
Yokogawa Electric Corporation is honored to announce the long-awaited release of Version R7.01 of the CENTUM™ VP integrated production control system, a flagship product of their OpreX™ Control and Safety System family. This milestone version is the 10th generation of the widely acclaimed CENTUM series, just in time to commemorate the 50th anniversary of CENTUM's groundbreaking debut on June 19, 1975, as the world's very first distributed control system (DCS). Yes, this latest edition rests on a rich heritage while leading us onward to the future of industrial control.
Operating in Today's Industrial World
In recent years, the industrial world has been faced with a convergence of complex challenges. We've witnessed accelerated evolution in global supply chains, alongside increasingly stringent environmental regulations driven by a heightened sense of sustainability awareness. Further, ubiquitous adoption of digital technologies for complex use cases like renewable energy management and cloud-hosted data analytics has unfortunately introduced new security vulnerabilities. At the same time, there is an urgent necessity to close the knowledge gap by handing over the precious experience of veteran operators to newer generations, while attempting to reduce the heavy workload and mental stress on staff in charge of around-the-clock system operations. Amidst such multifaceted demands, both management and frontline staff are tasked with the delicate balancing act of heightening competitiveness, ensuring the continued production of highest-quality products, and simultaneously maximizing operating efficiency and profitability.
The Vision Behind CENTUM VP Release 7: Embracing Autonomy
Taking such evolving industry needs squarely into its sights, Yokogawa has strived to develop CENTUM VP Release 7 with a clear and ambitious concept in mind: the enablement of autonomous operations. With CENTUM, Yokogawa remains committed to helping customers attain long-term sustainability. This encompasses the development of enhanced energy efficiency, enhanced decarbonization, and the creation of safer, more secure workplaces for all. While never faltering in delivering the flawless reliability, stability, continuity, robust security, and large engineering and service network that have been the CENTUM series' hallmark since day one, Yokogawa is now forging ahead with innovative advances in three areas.
Expanding Boundaries: Control, Monitoring, and Prediction
First, we see a wider sphere of control and monitoring. By integrating safely in one place a tremendous amount of data previously scattered throughout the plant, the condition of the entire facility can now be closely watched as a whole. Therefore, the scope of automated operations can be significantly increased, the door being opened to intrinsically safer and more secure processes. Secondly, predictive monitoring through process condition monitoring becomes feasible. With the expert extraction and detection of process-specific events for operations and accurate prediction of deviation from expected values, operators can anticipate changes and take early action. This useful function results in more stable operations that directly translate to improved energy efficiency.
Easing the Operator's Load: The Path to Smarter Decision-Making
Finally, another precedence is operator workload minimization. By presenting tomorrow's conditions that ingeniously utilize present operator knowledge and know-how learned, the system effectively helps operators to decide rapidly and accurately. Moreover, with the incorporation of autonomous control AI, it can take over from operators for stable operation in the long run. Ultimately, this significant innovation not only reduces the workload of operators but also significantly alleviates mental stress, leading to a more sustainable and productive operating environment.
Release 7.01: Laying the Groundwork for Things to Come
To achieve the full vision of autonomous operations, it is necessary to harness the power of AI while simultaneously not compromising on safety and security. Release 7.01 is designed to explicitly lay this crucial groundwork. Its key features are a testament to this.
Enhanced Security and Connectivity in a Data-Driven World
A priority enhancement in this release is enhanced security. In the data-driven operations world, security of critical infrastructure is the topmost priority. This version rigorously applies industry security standards to improve the cybersecurity of control system component parts to raise the overall security level of the entire system. Furthermore, expansion of scope in control and monitoring with CENTUM is facilitated by the seamless integration of OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) connectivity. OPC UA, being a platform-independent standard, enables seamless data exchange among devices from different manufacturers in the industrial automation world. In this version, OPC UA client functionality has been natively embedded in CENTUM, significantly increasing the range of plant equipment and devices that can be monitored and controlled effectively.
Simplified Engineering for Large-Scale Success
Apart from the aforementioned, enhanced engineering for large-scale projects is also a part of this release. To fully integrate various plant systems and streamline operations, a new high-power feature has been included to unify and run rigorous tests on multiple CENTUM-related engineering databases. This key new feature provides assurance of high-quality and highly efficient engineering processes, which will ultimately result in the rapid startup of new plants and the smooth restart of re-engineered facilities. As Mitsuhiro Yamamoto, Vice President, Executive Officer, and head of the Systems Business Division at Yokogawa, aptly said, "In this VUCA era, the conditions demanded of manufacturing sites and management are increasingly complex. By achieving stable operation and a wider range of autonomy, CENTUM VP Release 7 will contribute to a more sustainable society and sustainable business growth for our customers."
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