Focus on Reliable Assets
Five Strategies to Drive Reliability
with Handheld Communicators
Table of Contents
Fix It When You Find It
Using Field Diagnostics to Work More Efficiently
Do More With a Single Tool
When Technology Delivers Flexibility in the Field and Workshop
Go Anywhere in the Plant
Why a Built For Purpose Tool is Needed for Effective Maintenance
Eliminate Configuration Drift
Take Action to Improve Data Integrity
Maintain Valve Performance
Use Advanced Field Diagnostics to Avoid Unnecessary Repairs
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Fix It When You Find It
Using Field Diagnostics to Work More Efficiently
Monitoring and tracking the status of equipment in the field is an essential part of day-to-day plant operation. Field technicians are
the eyes and ears of the plant, whether they are investigating a known issue or are simply monitoring assets during regular rounds.
From asset management software to field tools, everything should work together seamlessly to ensure maintenance is efficient,
data is accurate, and devices are healthy.
More handheld field devices are available to assist field technicians than ever before. Yet according to a 2016 PdM survey conducted
by Plant Services1, pen and paper data collection is still a significant part of plant practice for 64.9% of respondents . If handheld devices
deliver high value, why aren’t field technicians using them? Perhaps it’s because low-end or non-dedicated handheld data collectors
create more problems than they solve.
Extra hours spent on repairs
could be better spent on other
tasks; not having access
to diagnostic data in the
field is a significant
performance handicap.
The Problems with Paper
Tracking diagnostics in the field using pen and paper leaves the plant vulnerable
to data loss. Notes taken in the field are likely to be hasty, illegible, and unreliable.
Steps may be overlooked, and issues that seem minor at the time of repair might
be forgotten and go unrecorded. The bigger and more serious a problem is, the
less time technicians have to record accurate data about diagnosis and repair.
When the Right Tool Isn’t at Hand
The absence of an effective handheld communicator increases the likelihood of
process disruption. A technician may hear or see something on a piece of equipment
that suggests a problem, but without accurate tools for analysis, the field technician
can’t necessarily diagnose the problem. When sight and sound aren’t enough, the
technician will have to bring the failing device back to the shop for inspection and
analysis. At best, this means a long trip back with a piece of equipment, wasting
a great deal of time. At worst, the removed component may create a gap in the
process requiring that it be shut down until the technician can analyze the problem
back at the shop, get the device repaired, and return it.
When field technicians don’t have access to robust portable diagnostic equipment,
they are forced to jump through hoops that leave them spending extra time
analyzing problems instead of fixing them. Trying to analyze failing equipment
without the right tools means adding additional non-value added work in order to
properly diagnose issues. When those issues are diagnosed, they often take longer
to repair. Extra hours spent on repairs could be better spent on other tasks; not
having access to diagnostic data in the field is a significant performance handicap.
Improving Field Diagnostics
To avoid or minimize process upset, the plant must provide technicians with
powerful and portable diagnostic tools so they can identify and troubleshoot
device issues in the field.
With the AMS Trex™ Device Communicator technicians won’t waste time
transporting failing devices back to the shop for analysis or reconfiguration.
They can diagnose many instrumentation problems with Foundation Fieldbus and
HART devices while the devices continue to run. Simple issues can be addressed
on the spot, avoiding unnecessary, and potentially destructive, invasive physical
investigation of the problem.
Moreover, some issues are much easier to diagnose in the field. While it may not
be possible to tell the difference between a configuration problem and a wiring
problem from the control room, a mobile technician, supported by wiring diagrams
and diagnostic tools on the communicator would have little difficulty diagnosing the
problem at the source.
The Trex communicator speeds diagnosis in the field, automatically presenting
configuration screens when connected to devices it recognizes. The communicator
offers segment and loop diagnostic tools, allowing users to validate loop and fieldbus
segment characteristics no matter where in the plant they may find themselves.
A field technician carrying an AMS Trex Communicator can feel confident in having
the tools at hand to properly diagnose any device issues encountered. Diagnosis in
the field means significant savings in work hours and peace of mind knowing that
problems will be fixed quickly and properly the first time.
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Plant Services. PdM Survey. February 2016.
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Learn more at www.emerson.com/trex
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