New Honeywell System Unifies Plant Automation, Information Systems Via Windows Nt Operating System

Business Wire, April 30, 1996

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- April 30, 1996-- Honeywell Industrial Automation and Control today introduced the TotalPlant(R) Solution (TPS(TM)) System, the first industrial automation system designed to unify business and control information throughout a plant or mill. The new system, which takes full advantage of the power of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system, will enable users to improve productivity and profitability and more easily meet or exceed government regulations.

Honeywell Industrial Automation and Control President Markos Tambakeras hailed the system as the most technologically advanced system available for meeting the full range of process manufacturers' needs.

"With the challenges that process manufacturers around the world face today, what's needed is a system that allows them unified control of virtually every aspect of their business. TPS and its underlying architecture will allow them to do just that," Tambakeras said.

As part of the announcement, Honeywell introduced the Global User Station (GUS), the new system's Windows NT station and the first available component of TPS. Because GUS was designed as a native Windows NT unit, it is able to take full advantage of Microsoft's open technologies, such as enabling users to directly tie displays to spreadsheets, databases, word processors and other Windows NT-compliant applications.

GUS also features vivid three-dimensional displays, intuitive, simple navigation and the unique SafeView(TM) window manager, which enables the configuration of custom displays, so operators don't lose their view of vital systems, no matter how many windows are open.

Honeywell also announced the availability this summer of two additional TPS nodes: Windows-NT versions of TotalPlant History, a high-performance, plant-wide historian that automatically collects and stores data from the new system and other plant automation and information systems; and TotalPlant Desktop, which consists of software tools and enablers that make history data available for use on Windows NT stations anywhere in the business enterprise.

In addition, the company introduced the Honeywell Point Builder, a Windows-based off-line graphical tool for easy building of points for TPS and for the TDC 3000X systems. The tool also incorporates functions for simulation of logic points and device control points.

Additional components of TPS will be announced in coming months. "In the Honeywell tradition of inventiveness, we're breaking ground again today by redefining the nature of control and providing the system architecture to enable users to take full advantage of the wealth of data their businesses generate," Tambakeras said. "In much the same way that the Internet has become an easily accessible source of data for users -- regardless of where its server is located -- Honeywell's new system will carry the right information to the right people at the right time, no matter where on a plant network the data resides. In essence, this is the system that allows us to deliver TotalPlant open solutions to our customers," he said.

"Because this system is based on industry standard software and hardware, we will be able to deliver a highly flexible, high-performance system for an extremely reasonable price," Tambakeras added.

While the TPS architecture is built on leading-edge technology, the system is in keeping with the company's philosophy of Consistent Evolution, which provides a migration path from earlier Honeywell systems.

"Customers who invested in Honeywell products and systems two years ago or two decades ago will find that they can tie these products into the new system, and they'll function seamlessly. I know of no other company in our business that protects automation and intellectual property investments to this degree," said Tambakeras.

The Benefits of TotalPlant Open Solutions

"The typical plant, refinery or mill has an enormous number of applications residing on a diversity of systems, such as distributed control systems, maintenance database systems and financial systems," Tambakeras said, adding that it has been extremely difficult to move data among those systems so that its value can be shared.

"That data must be shared so that manufacturers can meet increasingly stringent government regulations for environmental protection, worker safety and process documentation. Couple with those requirements the need to maximize profits in that environment, and it's easy to see that manufacturers face difficult challenges.

"In this type of environment, users don't need systems that allow them merely to control processes. They need systems that can meld process control with scheduling systems, with maintenance systems customer order systems and even the information systems of key suppliers. TPS will help them control, not just their processes, but their products."

Establishing TPS on the open Windows NT operating system will make it easier for users to build their own applications using functionality inherent in the operating system.