Controlling interest

Process automation suppliers around the world have confirmed the trend for integrated safety instrument systems where a single system is part of a distributed control network.

This trend recently received another boost with the launch of Yokogawa’s VigilantPlant ProSafe-RS, a safety hardware system for monitoring process status and ensuring safety by shutting down a plant in emergencies. The system can be integrated into Yokogawa’s Centrum series of process control systems, eliminating the need to build separate process control and safety systems. As a result, plant information can be managed centrally, and the integrated information means there is greater operational efficiency and safety.

Yokogawa entered the safety instrumentation system business in 1997 with its first IEC 61508-compliant safety controllers. But because their roles and functions are different, process control systems and safety systems have traditionally been constructed separately.

However, there has been a growing need to integrate the two systems to centralise the management of plant information. There is also an increased requirement to enhance the safety and reliability of safety systems, and to adopt safety systems that can flexibly handle plants of all sizes.