Honeywell, Schneider Electric, Saudi Aramco, and Shell Global Solutions join FDT Group

By Staff -- Control Engineering, 11/1/2005

Chicago, IL—In recent weeks, Honeywell Process Solutions, Schneider Electric, Saudi Aramco, and Shell Global Solutions have joined 35 other automation vendors, end-user companies, and global engineering organizations supporting Field Device Tool (FDT) technology through active membership in the recently formalized FDT Group. This follows on Yokogawa's April announcement that it also supports FDT. FDT technology standardizes the communication interface between field devices and systems, allowing any compliant device to be accessed from any host through any protocol.

"With the addition of Honeywell, Schneider Electric, and Yokogawa to the list of companies that support the FDT open interoperability initiative, the great majority of large global automation companies now belong to the FDT Group. We now have the critical mass required to bring this important interoperability standard into the mainstream," said Scott Bump, a member of the FDT Group executive committee and Invensys Process Systems' director of Fieldbus Technology.

"Of equal importance, leading global end-user companies and engineering organizations, such as Saudi Aramco and Shell Global Solutions have also joined the FDT Group. This will help ensure that—as FDT emerges as a formal international standard—it will continue to meet the needs of the user and engineering communities," said Bump.

The recently formalized FDT Group held its first general assembly in Amsterdam, on Oct. 11, with the first FDT group user forum on Oct. 12. Among the companies participating were: ABB, Endress+Hauser, Honeywell Process Solutions, Invensys, Metso Automation, Omron, Pepperl + Fuchs, Schneider Electric, and Yokogawa.

Additional user forums are planned in 2006.

FDT Group member companies also demonstrated the latest FDT-enabled interoperability solutions for FOUNDATION fieldbus, HART, Profibus, DeviceNet and other devices and control systems at ISA Expo 2005 in Chicago in late October.

The FDT Group aims to achieve international standardization status for the FDT specification; promote specification use; preserve existing FDT investments; ensure stability, interoperability and compatibility of FDT-based products; maintain the FDT standard consistent with leading-edge technology; and ensure that all FDT products are certified.

For more information, visit www.fdtgroup.org.