Extended automation
System 800xA®'s 'xA' stands for Extended Automation and utilizes the system architecture which was built for application integration in a fully redundant, reliable environment. System 800xA® extends the reach of traditional automation systems - beyond control of the process - to increase energy efficiency, asset utilization, energy savings and operator effectiveness.
The Power of Integration
In order to be competitive, various plant entities, departments and personnel have to work as one flexible, integrated, collaborative team. For this to be accomplished, an automation platform with comprehensive connectivity capabilities is necessary. Integration of systems and applications where all actionable information is available for use in the system can be provided to users in a variety of roles.
System 800xA® is an integration platform with unparalleled connectivity to enterprise and plant systems, applications, and devices that improves operations, engineering, control and maintenance and provides a collaborative environment where real-time decision making is a reality.
Barriers and past attempts to integrate electrical devices
Electrical integration in the past has been hampered with lack of communication standards and architectural design resulting in high project execution and commissioning costs and high life cycle costs. There are too many protocols used in electrical scada systems. Some are proprietary while others are open standards. No one protocol has become dominant. As are sult, the cost to engineer electrical scada systems is high when multiple vendors supply equipment that uses different communications protocols.
The life cycle costs of a system with a hodgepodge set of communication links are also very high. Electrical Integration is not new. It has been done in the past by hard-wiring signals between the electrical equipment and the process control system, having additional power meters to transfer information to the other system, as well as by building complex software gateways. The result is still two separate systems but they are awkwardly tied together. This traditional methodology has high integration costs, high project risks, and high life cycle costs. Organizational barriers among departments within plants and suppliers have also hampered integration efforts. A new approach is needed to overcome these barriers.
What value does System 800xA provide?
With Automation and Power integration, ABB's 800xA provides full plant integration. ABB's Electrical Control System is based on open standards. ABB offers a complete portfolio of DCS, Electrical Control System, process electrification, and substation automation solutions which reduces project costs and risks.
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