Yokogawa Electric Corporation has introduced Release 7.01 of the Yokogawa CENTUM VP integrated production control system, along with the related Release 7 concept. The system is part of the Yokogawa OpreX Control and Safety System portfolio. This is the 10th generation of the CENTUM series, released nearly 50 years after the announcement of CENTUM as the world’s first*1 distributed control system (DCS) on June 19, 1975.
OpreX is Yokogawa’s brand for its industrial automation and control solutions, organized into five categories including OpreX Control. CENTUM VP, part of the OpreX Control and Safety System family, supports efficient, reliable, and safe plant operations.
Development background
In recent years, supply chains have undergone significant shifts, and many countries have introduced stricter environmental regulations. Simultaneously, the adoption of digital technologies for operations such as renewable energy management and cloud-based data analysis has raised concerns about cybersecurity. Organizations must continue using existing physical assets while finding ways to transfer the knowledge of experienced operators, and ease the workload for personnel responsible for systems that operate. As industry challenges become more complex, companies must balance reliable production with efforts to improve efficiency and profitability.
The concept behind CENTUM VP Release 7
In response to these issues, Yokogawa developed CENTUM VP Release 7 with a focus on supporting autonomous operations*2. With CENTUM, Yokogawa aims to support efforts to improve energy efficiency, lower carbon emissions, and maintain safe working conditions. The company continues to emphasize reliability, system stability, and service support—key features of the CENTUM series since its early versions. Yokogawa plans to focus development in the following three areas:
- Expanded scope of control and monitoring
By aggregating data from across the plant, operators can monitor overall system status and expand the scope of automation to support consistent and safe operations. - Predictive monitoring through process condition monitoring
By identifying process-specific operational events and predicting potential deviations, operators can respond proactively to maintain stable operations and support energy efficiency. - Reduction of operator workload
By incorporating future scenarios based on operator expertise, the system supports decision-making processes. Additionally, autonomous control AI*3 can assume certain tasks to help maintain stable operations over time, potentially reduceing operator workload and stress.
Main features of Release 7.01
Achieving autonomous operations requires the use of AI alongside a focus on safety and security. Release 7.01 introduces to establish the necessary foundation for this goal. Key features include:
- Enhanced security
To support data-driven operations, this release incorporates industry security standards to help improve the cybersecurity of control system components and raise the overall system security. - Expansion of control and monitoring scope with CENTUM
The integration of OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) connectivity allows CENTUM to support a broader range of plant equipment and devices. OPC UA is a platform-independent standard used for data exchange between devices from various manufacturers in the industrial automation. This update adds OPC UA client functionality to CENTUM. - Enhanced engineering capabilities for large-scale projects
To support operational efficiency through system integration, a new feature has been added that allows merging and testing of multiple CENTUM related engineering databases. This update is intended to streamline engineering processes and assist in the startup of new or upgraded plants.
Mitsuhiro Yamamoto, vice president, executive officer, and head of the Systems Business Division at Yokogawa Electric stated, “In this VUCA*4 era, the conditions required for manufacturing sites and management are becoming ever more complex. By realizing stable operations and expanding the scope of autonomy, CENTUM VP Release 7 will help our customers achieve a more sustainable society and sustainable business growth.”
*1 CENTUM has been recognized as the world’s first DCS by Japan’s National Museum of Nature and Science, which in 2012 designated CENTUM as such in the document “Important Material for the History of Science and Technology (Heritage of Future Technology)” (Japanese). This status was also confirmed by the Denki no Ishizue (Foundation of Electric Technology) 14th Electric Technology Awards (Japanese).
*2 Yokogawa describes the shift from industrial automation to industrial autonomy (IA2IA) as a progression toward systems that can learn, adapt, and respond with limited human input. In this approach, operators focus on higher-level optimization tasks. Autonomous operations represent the most advanced stage of industrial autonomy, where processes across the value chain operate with minimal human intervention.
*3 Yokogawa uses the Factorial Kernel Dynamic Policy Programming (FKDPP) reinforcement learning algorithm as of its approach to autonomous control. The company describes autonomous control AI as a system that can identify suitable control methods and respond to unfamiliar situations to a limited degree. Yokogawa has integrated this AI technology with its CENTUM VP control system, which is currently being used in the operation of a chemical plant. For this achievement, which has reduced environmental impact, lessened workloads, and improved safety, Yokogawa has received the Prime Minister’s Prize, the highest of the 2023’s Japan Industrial Technology Awards (Nihon Sangyo Gijyutsu Taisho), which was established in 1972.
*4 An acronym that stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
Target industries and applications
CENTUM VP is used across a wide range of process industries, including oil and gas, petrochemicals, chemicals, steel, pulp and paper, electric power, and water treatment. It supports plant and equipment operations through monitoring and automatic control functions.
Edited by Puja Mitra, WTWH Media, for Control Engineering, from a Yokogawa Electric news release.
