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2014-05-21 16:14:00

Intelligent Device Management Tutorial: NAMUR NE107

The operator immediately needs to be shown a status signal if a critical device in the plant
malfunctions so they can take appropriate action. This may include taking safe action such as
putting the loop in manual or shutting the unit down. An advisory device alarm is instead shown to
the operator in the case of a less critical device or less severe problem. The operator can then decide
to safely continue until maintenance replaces the device, or even wait for the next turnaround.
Device problems not requiring operator action are not annunciated to operators at all, only to
maintenance.

In critical situations operators need information to make decisions. The primary pieces of
information associated with transmitters and valves are the process variables and manipulated
variables. The NAMUR working group 3 together with VDI/VDE and WIB have identified that to
help the plant operators run the plant better the status of the devices themselves is also important.
Simple consistent indication of device status for operators is defined in the NAMUR NE107
recommendation. More detailed device diagnostics is used by the maintenance organization in the
plant for troubleshooting and to plan daily maintenance and turnarounds.

The Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) plays an important role in the configuration
of instrument diagnostic alarm management such as categorization and prioritization to enable
filtering and routing based on NAMUR NE107 status signals, as well as in the display of NAMUR
NE107 status signals in device faceplates.

Operation without Status

Operators make decision and take actions on process changes. Failure or fouling of a device will
within minutes or hours affect the process. Therefore, operators must also be able to act in case of
instrument failure or fouling, before it causes a process upset. That is, to avoid making mistakes that
could result in production losses, operators need information. However, operators on most systems
today are not informed of many device problems.

Process variables are displayed in operator graphics in traditional control systems and the system
may alarm if a transmitter fails completely, provided the transmitters analog output goes to a
defined level above 20 mA or below 4 mA, and that the system triggers alarms at these same levels.
A simple system may have no such device failure alarm at all. Other device issues such as valve
deviation, increased measurement uncertainty, exceeded process or ambient conditions, wear, or
fouling etc. are not flagged to the operator. Invalid process variable values like simulation or hold
set in some devices during device maintenance are also not indicated. Furthermore, Any plant has a
mix of devices from many vendors and of different kinds. The types of self-diagnostics in each one
is different. That is, each device type and vendor is unique with respect to which device problem for
which the analog output is flagged as a failure or not. Moreover, the control system, plant historian,
Intelligent Device Management (IDM) software part of the Asset Management System, and other
applications display device failure with different icons, colors, and messages. Inconsistencies such
as these make the status of the device hard to interpret; it is not easy to determine what each
instrument diagnostic alarm means, how severe, and how urgent it is. In most existing plants,
process switches and on/off valves generally have no diagnostics whatsoever.

In some plants, maintenance technicians are getting benefits from device diagnostics using IDM
software. However, in almost all plants the operators have not been getting any benefit from the
diagnostics in intelligent devices. The NE107 recommendation defines how diagnostics from
intelligent devices with digital communication are summarized before it is communicated,
preferably real-time, from the device to the system to enable operators to take appropriate actions.
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With a view of the process including the status of the instrumentation in a simple and uniform way,
regardless of source device, operators can become more effective.

NE107 Status Signals to Operator

Intelligent devices have self-diagnostics to check their own health which is then communicated to
the system. That is, NE107 status signal relies on digital communication instead of the crude <4 mA
and >20 mA signal. The sensor process variable and valve function is validated by the diagnostics.
By acting on the NE107 status signal, device failure can be prevented from impacting product
quality or even causing a plant shutdown. Diagnostics is also useful as input for daily maintenance
and turnaround planning. For instance, devices may be able to predict remaining life of components
that wear, such as a stem packing, or fouling can be detected early.

It is important that the plant operator is not inundated with cryptic error codes and device
troubleshooting details which could distract and make the operator lose focus, not taking
appropriate action. At any rate, the device troubleshooting is not done by the operator, but will be
done by the maintenance technician. Therefore, the NE107 recommendation defines four simple
status signals into which device-specific detail diagnostics are categorized before it is
communicated to the system. It is important that only the simple NE107 status signals are displayed
in operator graphics.

Table 1 NAMUR NE107 status signal description

Failed Out of Specification Maintenance Check Function

Required

?
High severity: signal Medium severity:
invalid due to permissible ambient or
malfunction in the process conditions
device, sensor, or exceeded or the
actuator measuring uncertainty
of sensors or
deviations from the set
value in actuators is
probably greater than
expected
Low severity Signal temporarily
(advisory): although invalid (e.g. frozen)
the signal is valid, the due to on-going work
remaining life is nearly on the device.
exhausted or a function
will soon be restricted
due to operational
conditions e.g. aging
of a pH-electrode.

Additionally some systems display an icon when the device has no problem; a green box with a
checkmark, to positively confirm the device is good, while other systems display no icon at all
when the device is good, in order to not clutter the display. A gray box icon may be displayed if
status signals have been disabled for the device.

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Table 2 NAMUR NE107 status signals may appear simplified in monochrome device displays
and in software as menu tree icons or alarm summary list entries

Failed Out of Specification Maintenance Check Function

Required

?
?

Failure Out of Specification Maintenance Required Check Function

A plant has many different kinds of intelligent devices, from many different manufacturers, using
different measurement principles etc. This may include transmitters and control valve positioners,
but also gas chromatographs, electric actuators / Motor Operated Valves (MOV), intelligent on/off
valves, and two-wire tank gauging systems etc. Intelligent devices can fail or degrade in many
different ways, resulting in hundreds or thousands of different diagnostic error codes and messages
in the Intelligent Device Management software that should not be displayed to operators. The
operators do not need detail diagnostics because they are not the ones to replace or repair the
device. To tend the process the operators only need simple summary information. The NAMUR
NE107 recommendation harmonizes this summary display of status across all kinds of devices

The operator at the control system operator workstation needs to know as soon as possible if the
measurement of a transmitter is not valid or the valve does not move properly, so they can tend to
the process safely, while the device specialist at the Intelligent Device Management (IDM) software
part of Asset Management System (AMS) needs to know what caused the problem and how to fix it
such that daily maintenance and turnarounds can be scheduled accordingly. Therefore only the
NAMUR NE107 summary status signals are displayed to the operators while the detailed
diagnostics is only displayed to the instrument technicians.

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Table 3 Operations and maintenance have different requirements

Operator User Device Specialist

Control system operator workstation Intelligent Device Management (IDM)
System software part of Asset Management
System (AMS)
Safely operate a plant Responsibility Troubleshoot devices
No details: only essential summary As much detailed information as
NE107 status signals Detail possible: Diagnostics with probable
cause and recommended action
Communicated as soon as possible, real- Accessed at daily maintenance and
Reporting
time alarm turnaround planning

How NE107 works

Devices communicate instrument diagnostic alarms when internal self-diagnostics detect problems.
This includes continuous monitoring of internal variables in a valve positioner by the device itself.
Additionally monitoring for the internal variables in critical transmitters and valves can be enabled
from the system if not supported in the device itself. Problems detected may not yet be an outright
failure, but provides an early warning. Device diagnostics can detect degradation as a result of wear
over time in normal operation, which has an impact on the performance and therefore the process.
This early warning is helpful for planning of both daily maintenance and turnarounds.

Instrument diagnostic alarms must be timely, just like process alarms. When instrument problems
occur the device must detected and communicate it, and it must be annunciated in the system in
time to make a difference. The many kinds of device self-diagnostics are summarize in the device
and then communicate and displayed as one of the four NAMUR NE107 status signals on the
operator workstation. Fast communications is able to report the NE107 status signals in real-time to
the system when the device detects a problem. Acknowledgement of the instrument diagnostic
alarm need not be done at the device in the field, it is acknowledged from the system console.
Instrument diagnostic alarms are not logged in the device; they are logged in IDM software or a
system historian. More detailed device diagnostics with manufacturer guidance such as help text
and illustrations for troubleshooting is provided in the device pages in the IDM software, ideal for a
device specialist to troubleshoot.

How NE107 is used

Systems implementing NE107 notify the operator at the operator workstation about device
deterioration, enabling the operator to tend to the process by determining the appropriate action as
the operator knows how the device problem will influence the operation. The operator must always
analyze the diagnostics in the context of the application since the impact the device fault has on the
plant depends on the process. Operators will first tend their process. Once they have done that, they
contact the instrument technician for device troubleshooting. The operators are in front of their
workstations all the time, while maintenance technicians are not. Instrument technician may not see
an instrument diagnostic alarm until much later. Therefore it is advantageous for operators to notify
device specialists about problems detected. Note that since EDDL is a compressed text file, not an
executable software driver program, EDDL is permitted on the control system itself. That is, in
addition to just displaying NAMUR NE107 status signals on the operator console, it is also possible
to display the detail device diagnostics on the operator console, in the way which the device
manufacturer intended to, and it can therefore be accessed in less than three clicks. Thanks to
EDDL, no proprietary system specific files are required on the system for the devices in order to
display device faceplates.

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NE107 engineering
The device-specific diagnostics results are summarized into the four standard NE107 status signals
in the device itself. Each diagnostic the device is capable of is mapped into one of the four
categories. Since the appropriate action to a problem with a device varies depending on the
application and criticality, the categories can be freely assigned. Individual diagnostics can be
disabled as required. This engineering work is made easier as the device manufacturer has
preconfigured typical default settings. Device diagnostics are detected and commuicated in real
time. For example, performance diagnostics in a valve positioner continuously monitors internal
parameters and issue an alarm when problems are detected. There is no need for periodic manual
checks or tests.

Categorization of each device-specific instrument diagnostic alarm to one of the four standard
NE107 status signals is freely configurable in the device since each device type has different
diagnostics and the criticality and requirements for each measurement or actuation point is
application specific. Individual instrument diagnostic alarms can be suppressed if not needed.
Therefore, just like there is an engineering effort associated with rationalization of process alarms,
there is also an engineering effort for instrument diagnostic alarm management. The recommended
NE107 categorization is included in the default device configuration from the device manufacturer.
At the design phase of the project, the device diagnostics are categorized into NE107 status signals.
Make sure to budget for engineering hours for the instrument diagnostic alarm rationalization
exercise since a full-fledged NE107 deployment is an engineered solution. This rationalization is a
natural extension of risk assessment work already done as part of a project. Refer to the Device
Diagnostics Deployment and Adoption Guide for this work processes.

Device-Specific Diagnostics NE107 Status Signal

Drive current
Drive signal

Output timeout
Default set

Supply pressure
Supply pressure sensor failure
Actuator pressure sensor failure

Travel deviation
?
Travel

Travel sensor failure

Pressure fallback

Cycle counter
Travel accumulator

Temperature limit
Temperature sensor failure

Performance critical
Performance reduced

Figure 1 mapping of device-specific diagnostics to NE107 status signals

NE107 implementation and commissioning

At the implementation phase of the project, when the database for the control system and all the
intelligent devices is built, the NE107 status signal categorization is configured for the device which
can be done from the Intelligent Device Management (IDM) software part of the Asset
Management System (AMS). Configuration software uses the device EDDL file to render the
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configuration screen where the NE107 mapping can be modified. Therefore make sure the EDDL
files for the devices are loaded on the system. By using device templates it is possible to speed up
the configuration of devices, including all the settings related to NAMUR NE107 status signals, by
creating a template and then apply it when devices are commissioned. It is possible to change the
categorization later, but this is rare.

Figure 2 Configuration of device-specific diagnostics to desired NAMUR NE107 status signals

on a device page generated from the device EDDL file, for instance in a pH analyzer
Changes to NE107 status signal mapping is possible, and may be required if the type of device is
changed, but it is not done by operators.

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Figure 3 Individual device diagnostic alarms can be suppressed from the device page
generated from the device EDDL file, for example in a gas chromatograph

Detail Information to Specialist

The operators only need a simple summary of device status to take action on their process. On the
other hand, in order to troubleshoot and fix their device, a device specialist requires as much
diagnostic detail as possible. The device specialist uses the IDM software from the maintenance
workshop to access such detailed diagnostics before going to the field to repair or replace the
device. NE107 status signals are also used in IDM software to give an at-a-glance overview of the
device health from the device faceplate. If there is a problem, the device specialist can drill down
into detail diagnostics to troubleshoot.

Figure 4 Device EDDL faceplate uses NE107 status signals for an at-a-glance overview of
device health
The detailed diagnostics with guidance are presented to the maintenance technician in the form of
help text and images as defined by the device manufacturer in the device EDDL file.

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Figure 5 Actionable diagnostics from an intelligent two-wire on/off valve with guidance in the
form of text and illustrations

Operator Effectiveness
A device problem will within minutes or hours translate into process problems if not acted upon.
Therefore, notifying operators of device problems serves as an early warning. That is, the operator
is able to save the process based on NE107 status signals in operator graphics derived from
device diagnostics. Anywhere from thousands to millions of dollars can depending on the process
be saved by avoiding just one shutdown, slowdown, or processes upset.

Transformation of work processes is required to put NE107 status signals and detailed device
diagnostics to good use. That is, the work processes for operation, daily maintenance, and
turnaround planning have to include NE107 status signals and diagnostics. See the Device
Diagnostics Deployment and Adoption Guide also for this work processes.

NE107 Deployment
Display of harmonized status signals based on NAMUR NE107 to the operators enables improved
operator effectiveness. Therefore, specify NE107 compliance and EDDL as requirements for
devices, control system, and IDM software part of the AMS. Take NAMUR NE107 and IDM
software into account from the very beginning when architecting a new system. Existing plants
should consider upgrading software and firmware in systems, and even devices, as it may be
possible to upgrade to get NE107 support to take advantage of these capabilities.

References
A Complete Turnaround, Jonas Berge, Control Engineering Asia, April 2013, page 26-29
http://www.ceasiamag.com/article/a-complete-turnaround/9529

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