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Kei Inoue
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Tokyo, Japan (temporarily Dallas, TX, US)
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What is the Difference Among DCSs from Various Vendors??

02/03/2015 4:47 PM

Hi, all.

I research automation systems for power generation industry now. So far I know there are 7 major vendors who provide DCS:

Siemens:T3000

Rockwell:PlantPAx

Emerson:DeltaV

Yokogawa:Centum

Honeywell:Experion

Shneider:PlantStruxure

But I am not sure for each strength and weakness of them. I would like to ask your impression on these or others.

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lyn
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#1

Re: What is the difference among DCSs from various vendors??

02/03/2015 5:31 PM
  • You should go to a different source.
  • When I was in the machine building industry, every controls engineer had their favorite system. We switched from relay logic to PLC/DCS during my time there. That's how long ago it was.

We have members who are instrumentation gurus, who will have opinions, but other forums may have more users of PLC/DCS systems.
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Kei Inoue
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#4
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Re: What is the difference among DCSs from various vendors??

02/04/2015 11:54 AM

Thank you for introducing some useful forums, lyn. I will ask the same question there right now.

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JRaef
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United States - Member - New Member Engineering Fields - Power Engineering - New Member

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#2

Re: What is the difference among DCSs from various vendors??

02/03/2015 5:38 PM

Ultimately, there is only one valid criteria for evaluation, because from a hardware and software standpoint, nobody can afford to be in that business if their hardware and software does not perform well. So that only remaining valid issue is local support. If you chose a vendor that has nobody within 1,000 miles of your facility that can drop what they are doing to come and help you out when something happens, then whatever other features and benefits they sold you on become utterly meaningless.

Of those choices then, I would say that Emerson, Rockwell and since you are in Japan, Yokogawa are going to be the top 3 for you. Of those, I would prefer Rockwell because the hardware they use for the I/O interface is the same that they use for the Logix PAC systems, so there is always lots of local availability. Yokogawa might be OK along those lines for you as well, but over here in the US, that is a problem for them, everything has to come from Japan.

Siemens I know has issues, because they have totally separate DCS systems for PowerGen vs other industrial systems (such as PCS7), so their support staff is split and sparse unless they already have a large installed base in your country. I know from previous experience that Siemens struggles in Japan.

Honeywell used to be strong, but have been shrinking all over the world and have pulled back on the PowerGen industry from what I have heard.

Schneider is brand new into the DCS business so they will not have a strong support infrastructure anywhere yet and in Japan, likely almost non-existent.

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Ali18
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#3

Re: What is the difference among DCSs from various vendors??

02/03/2015 6:03 PM

All DCS brands mentioned have the same working principles, but they differ in their programming styles.

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RG2
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Re: What is the Difference Among DCSs from Various Vendors??

02/04/2015 6:21 PM

We recently installed a new Emerson DCS. As an operator, I can tell you that operators running the equipment are not very happy with the stability of the "modules". I have heard that Emerson used to manufacture their modules, but in an effort to increase profit margins they farmed out the manufacture of these modules to a Taiwan based company and now they have a high failure rate. In the process of installing and tuning the new DCS, they had to replace quite a few modules. Emerson is unperturbed and continues to purchase the modules as it is still making quite a profit.

Even though the Emerson system has some nice bells and whistles, it has some issues of incompatibility with existing hardware communications also. One very important valve (very large & expensive) has issues with control feedback. We cannot rely on its valve position with the new DCS. Instead, we have to monitor our feed pump RPM reading.

Our old system (Bailey Infi90) which you did not mention was a lot more stable. Had Bailey continued manufacturing replacement parts, we would probably still have their system. It worked well at nearly 20 years old except for the occasional failed module.

As for the other systems, I cannot help you.
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