Profibus Validation

Commissioning, Qualification and Change Management of PROFIBUS Installations

For process technology plants, the importance of commissioning of PROFIBUS installations as well as documentation throughout the entire life cycle is increasing permanently. Additional to a simple physical bus test, it is especially important to test not only for correct installations, but for consistent configuration between control system and field device, and to document this automatically. Faultless PROFIBUS communication, however, is no sufficient precondition for correct configuration of intelligent field devices. Since extent and content of diagnoses in case of device failures or wrong configurations depend on the respective implementation in the control system and the respective realization in the project, this would require complex tests in practical applications. By using the respective tools, however, such extensive tests can be avoided. The PROFIBUS Scope tool, which is integrated into PROFIBUS networks as a non-interacting station, enables safe and reliable identification and documentation of all modifications effected by the control system (MCL1) and/or by a configuration software (MCL 2 | e.g. FDT, AMS). This allows recording of the actual state, as well as automatic network re-qualifcation and electronic documentation and change control support where required. Critical network parameters (such as cycle times or device diagnoses) can be monitored and documented permanently during operation.