The
launch of ABB's Symphony Plus distributed control system (DCS) is a
continuation of its tradition of power generation software, and a significant
step in the evolution of this technology. Key customer benefits of the new system
are focusing on improving plant productivity and energy efficiency, as well as
enhanced operational security, plant safety and lower total cost of ownership.
"One thing that comes with power of integration is the
absolutely essential topic of preserving the value of intellectual assets, the
control algorithms and engineering that has gone into a system," says Peter
Terwiesch, chief technology officer for ABB. "Continuing the Harmony tradition for power
generation software, we are using the flexibility that comes with the power of
integration to continue a path where it can evolve."
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At the recent ABB Power & Automation Conference in
Orlando, Terwiesch said that in 2006, ABB made a lifecycle commitment for the
Harmony platform until 2015. "But now in
the middle of that time period and with good inputs, we are extending the
development life of Harmony and launch it now as the newest Symphony platform
to continue that line," Terwiesch says.
Symphony Plus is the
latest generation of ABB's Symphony family of control systems and represents
one of the largest installed bases of distributed control systems (DCS) in the
world. Many are operating in the power generation and water sectors.
"With the launch of Symphony Plus,
we take the Symphony success story to the next level, ushering in a new era of
total plant automation that is simple, scalable, seamless and secure," says
Franz-Josef Mengede, head of ABB's power generation business. "It helps balance
performance objectives like asset availability, operational reliability and
production efficiency with business goals like asset life extension, carbon reduction
and regulatory compliance, thereby providing plant owners with an essential
tool for achieving sustainable and profitable growth."
Symphony Plus meets a broad spectrum
of plant configurations and applications, especially in the power and water industries.
It is flexible and scalable, designed to serve the needs of small and
server-less applications as well as large multi-system, multi-server
architectures. It supports the seamless integration of field devices, process
and turbine automation systems, electrical and SCADA (Supervisory Control and
Data Acquisition) solutions as well as business and maintenance systems.
Symphony Plus provides users with a secure, reliable control environment and
built-in security features that prevent unauthorized system access.
The extension of its life cycle
commitment to the Symphony Harmony and Symphony Melody range of control systems
is part of the company's "evolution without obsolescence" approach. This is
based on introducing new technology while protecting the long-term investment
of customers by ensuring that each new generation not only offers enhanced
benefits, but is also fully compatible with its predecessor. ABB's commitment
to continue investing in the development of the Symphony product range enables
customers to effectively manage life cycle requirements and at the same time,
lower their total cost of ownership.
Symphony is specifically designed to meet the needs of power
generation applications and complete automation of power generation units. Its scalable
architecture that can be server-less for small applications, but scale up to
meet a broad range of application and process requirements for control and I/O,
electrical and device integration. By adopting IEC 61850, ABB enables easy
interface of electrical equipment for substation automation and process plants.
Symphony includes IEC 61850 and Modbus TCP control modules that integrate
electrical equipment with the automation system and its applications.
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