The Fieldbus Foundation's recent 2011 General Assembly in Mumbai, India turned out to be the largest annual gathering in Fieldbus Foundation history. Nearly 500 attendees, including leading suppliers and end users of FOUNDATION fieldbus, took part in the event, held March 9-10 at the JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai.

India was selected as the site for the gathering because it is the world's fastest growing market for process automation and the area is experiencing an overwhelming demand for FOUNDATION technology. Many of the world's largest FOUNDATION fieldbus installations are located in India, and a considerable amount of application expertise is being developed there.

Based on the theme "Achieving Operational Excellence with FOUNDATION TechnologyCONTROL ENGINEERING China版权所有," the 2011 General Assembly highlighted the advantages of FOUNDATION fieldbus as a world-class solution for improving plant asset management, reliability, and economic performance. FOUNDATION technology continues to advance to meet the needs of the process industries with Foundation fieldbus for Safety Instrumented Functions (FF-SIF), control in the field (CIF), field diagnosticsCONTROL ENGINEERING China版权所有, and wireless solutions.

The Wednesday program included an end-user-oriented agenda of fieldbus project case studies given by prominent automation end users from throughout India, as well as various fieldbus tabletop exhibits. Additional presentations updated the latest FOUNDATION technology developments. A reception for all attendees completed the day. The Fieldbus Foundation conducted then its annual business meeting on Thursday, March 10.

The General Assembly began with welcoming remarks from Thampy Mathew, regional sales director-PA, Pepperl+Fuchs, and chairman, Fieldbus Foundation India Committee (FFIC); and B.R. Mehta, senior vice president, Reliance Industries Ltd, and chairman, Fieldbus Foundation India End User Council (FFIEUC).

Addressing the gathering, Fieldbus Foundation President and CEO Rich Timoney introduced new foundation chairman Dr. Gunther Kegel, CEO of Pepperl+Fuchs. Timoney described the continued growth of FOUNDATION technology in established and developing industrial regions of the world. He also highlighted additions to foundation membership in 2010, with total membership increasing 11.3%. Significant membership gains have been made in China, KoreaCONTROL ENGINEERING China版权所有, and other developing areas.

Fieldbus Foundation Director of Technology Development Dave Glanzer summarized recent technology advancements such as enhanced Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL), High Speed Ethernet Remote I/O (HSE-RIO), FOUNDATION fieldbus for Safety Instrumented Functions (FF-SIF), and wireless.

P. Mahajan, technical director, Engineers India Limited (EIL), delivered the 2011 General Assembly keynote address. Mahajan started his career with India's Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) as a scientific officer. During his tenure in the DAE, he was responsible primarily for the engineering, procurement, construction, and maintenance of instrumentation and control systems for heavy water projects. Mahajan played a significant role in the Indian process industries, introducing the concept of electronic instrumentation and intrinsically safe systems in electrically hazardous plants to India in 1974.

Mahajan called FOUNDATION fieldbus "one of the best things to have happened in our industry." Citing the Fieldbus Foundation's long history of end-user involvement in the development and evolution of the TechnologyCONTROL ENGINEERING China版权所有, he said, "FOUNDATION fieldbus has a definite edge over other fieldbus technologies" and that the onus is on consulting organizations to play a responsible role to suggest the "right usage of the right technology."

Mahajan also said that control CIF with FOUNDATION fieldbus should be the default choice for many process automation applications, and described the technology as an "effective tool" for plant asset management.

Another prominent end user, Patrick Flanders, ESD specialistCONTROL ENGINEERING China版权所有, Saudi Aramco, KSA, delivered a presentation entitled, "FOUNDATION Fieldbus for Safety Instrumented Functions (FF-SIF)." Flanders said, "The use of FF-SIF technology is nothing short of a breakthrough in safety system design. Using this new communications TechnologyCONTROL ENGINEERING China版权所有, advancements will be possible that safety system designers never imagined with conventional technology. The field installation planned at Juaymah Gas Plant will provide an opportunity to demonstrate the benefits offered by the introduction of the new FF-SIF communications in the operating environment."

Other 2011 General Assembly speakers included:

　　●Jonas Berge, director, PlantWeb Consulting, Emerson Process Management–"Asset Management with FOUNDATION Fieldbus";
　　●Michael Kessler, director-R&D, Pepperl+Fuchs–“New Technology for FOUNDATION Fieldbus Physical Layer”;
　　●Dave Glanzer, director-technology development, Fieldbus Foundation–“FOUNDATION Technology Update”;
　　●Travis Hesketh, Fieldbus Foundation Steering Committee, EMEA–"Control in Field (CIF)";
　　●H.S. Gambhir, vice president, Reliance Industries Limited–"Implementing FOUNDATION Fieldbus in KGD–6";
　　●T. Senthil, SGM (Inst), Chemplast–"Operational Excellence Using FOUNDATION Fieldbus";
　　●Ravi Gupta控制工程网版权所有, manager, I&C, HMEL Refinery–"Advantages Using FOUNDATION Fieldbus"; and
　　●A. Rajabahadur, director, ARC India–"CAPEX/OPEX Benefits Using FOUNDATION Fieldbus."
　　●A panel discussion among presenters moderated by B.R. Mehta of Reliance Industries Ltd. concluded the ·General Assembly program. Harsih K. Wadhwa, Fieldbus Foundation India Events Committee chairman, delivered closing remarks.

Presentations from the 2011 General Assembly may be downloaded from the Fieldbus Forums section of the Fieldbus Foundation website.