Siemens has released a significant upgrade to its Simatic PCS 7 process control system featuring 70 technical innovations.
The upgrade enhances the user-friendliness, performance and efficiency of the process control system throughout the entire lifecycle of process engineering plants, from planning to maintenance.
Simatic PCS 7 is considered a solid platform for innovative solutions that meet today’s challenges of the process industry, focusing on the areas of Productivity, Safety, Security, Flexibility, Operational Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and Time to Market.
Simatic PCS 7 boasts a high level of integration of standards and technologies, making it suitable for any industry from oil and gas, hydrocarbon processing and chemicals, through mining and minerals, cement, glass, paper, water and waste water, up to pharmaceuticals and food and beverage.
The software package offers high reliability levels with flexible redundancy, connectivity over standard communication protocols, meshing seamlessly with Ethernet TCP/IP, Profinet, Profibus DP/PA, Foundation Fieldbus, DNP3, IEC61850 and more.
Other highlights of the software package include:
- Integrated safety certified to IEC61508 SIL3
- Integrated Process Historian
- Embedded Advanced Process Control (APC)
- Integrated Plant Asset Management (PAM)
- Batch and Route Control functionality
- Integration of PLCs, third party equipment and packaged plants
Simatic PCS 7 offers the ability to completely and safely automate the entire production process, from goods receipt to goods issue, in both manufacturing and process plants.
Much more than a traditional distributed control system (DCS), the latest version of Simatic PCS 7 combines a unique scalable architecture with powerful engineering tools and a wide variety of additional functions such as alarm management, process safety and asset management, all of which can be integrated seamlessly into any existing environment.
The latest version significantly extends the overall system capacity in terms of controlled process objects (increased 40 per cent) and operator stations (both local and Web-based).