Honeywell's (Phoenix, Ariz.) Hi-Spec Solutions has taken web-based business a step beyond e-commerce into the realm of e-service. By simply pointing a browser to www.hispec.com, control engineers can instantly access a variety of tools and services designed to optimize plant performance. "The web allows us to effectively lower delivery costs while improving customer response time and incr...
Honeywell’s (Phoenix, Ariz.) Hi-Spec Solutions has taken web-based business a step beyond e-commerce into the realm of e-service. By simply pointing a browser to www.hispec.com , control engineers can instantly access a variety of tools and services designed to optimize plant performance.
“The web allows us to effectively lower delivery costs while improving customer response time and increasing customer satisfaction,” says Russel McMeekin, Honeywell’s Hi-Spec Solutions business unit vp. Indeed, making such services available via the web not only cuts out the “middleman,” but also presents the opportunity for customers to cut costs by downloading software and assessment tools from Honeywell’s Hi-Spec web site, thus making them instantly available.
Virtual testing
One of the Hi-Spec tools available is Loop Scout, a performance evaluator for process control loops. Loop Scout gathers data via a free downloadable data collector. The data are then sent to Honeywell via the Hi-Spec web site and used to process a performance report that details performance statistics and highlights loops in need of corrective action. According to Honeywell, these reports help cut down on traditional troubleshooting time and costs by reverting the focus back to actual problems.
Loop Scout is part of Hi-Spec’s EHM (Equipment Health Management) virtual testing suite. Also available in this suite is IntelliScout for process plant heat exchangers, which uses server-side technology to monitor shell-and-tube heat exchanger performance through the use of software applets. These applets are created from a plant’s actual performance data, collected over the web.
In addition to the virtual testing suite, users can download the UserAlert application, designed to complement existing alarm systems by automating low-priority alarm monitoring to allow operators more time to attend to high-priority and emergency alarms. Honeywell is currently offering this operator support tool on a free-trial basis. Additional analysis tools will be available online in the future.
Why online?
According to Honeywell, benefits to offering web-based performance and assessment tools include the following:
-
Immediately implemented software upgrades that eliminate version incompatibility problems;
-
Plant performance benchmarked against a current database of industry-wide standards;
-
Ready global access to Honeywell’s plant performance experts;
-
Elimination of additional hardware purchases; and
-
Maintained security.
The EHM virtual testing suite and UserAlert make up just a small portion of the Hi-Spec web site. They can be found by clicking on the “Solutions NOW!” link on the main welcome page. In addition to these web-based tools, control professionals can also access in-depth information about Hi-Spec Solutions’ other services, stories from companies that have successfully implemented these services, and updates on continuing improvements to the site.
For more information on Honeywell’s Hi-Spec Solutions, visit www.controleng.com/freeinfo .
| Author Information |
| Laura Zurawski, web editor [email protected] |
