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April 21, 2008
(Wire)
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PAS and EPRI Release “EPRI Alarm Management and Annunciator Applications Guidelines” for the Power Industry Houston, Texas, USA – April 21, 2008
PAS, a global leading supplier of software and engineering services to the processing industries, and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a collaborative research organization, today released a new guideline for alarm management for power generators. Report presents alarm management best practices guidelines for improving
safety and reliability in power generation industry.
March 13, 2008
(Wire)
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Emerson enhances Fisher® digital valve controller for smart safety instrumented systems Marshalltown, Iowa, USA – March 13, 2008
Emerson Process Management has announced enhancements to its SIL 3 certified Fisher® FIELDVUE® DVC6000 digital valve controller for Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS). The enhancements help improve reliability, flexibility, and availability of Emergency Shutdown (ESD) valve solutions. The ESD final control system components are integrated with safety-certified sensors and SIL3 rated systems in Emerson's digital smart SIS solutions.
February 28, 2008
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Honeywell - Safety Manager is first safety system in process industries to receive NFPA 72 certification from U.S.-certifying Body Phoenix, Arizona, USA – February 28th, 2008
Honeywell (NYSE:HON) today announced its Safety Manager platform is the process industries’ first safety instrumented system (SIS) to receive the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 72 Standard for Fire Protection from a U.S.-certifying body. With the certification from Factory Mutual (FM), Safety Manager can now be used for applications where local authorities, governments and customers require a U.S.-certified NFPA 72 certificate. Safety Manager previously attained NFPA 72 certification through Germany-based TÜV.
February 27, 2008
(Wire)
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Fieldbus Foundation announces demonstration plans for Safety Instrumented Functions (SIF) Antwerp, Belgium – Feb. 27, 2008
The Fieldbus Foundation, conducting its 2008 General Assembly in Antwerp, Belgium, today announced plans for FOUNDATION for Safety Instrumented Functions (SIF) demonstrations at multiple end user sites around the world. Demonstrations of SIF technology will be conducted at Shell Global Solutions, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; BP, Gelsenkirchen, Germany; and Chevron, Houston, Texas, USA.
February 25, 2008
(Wire)
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exida Purchases Safety Lifecycle Tools Supplier ‘Asset Integrity Management’ Sellersville, PA, USA – Frebruary 25th, 2008
exida.com®, LLC (exida), a privately held leading consulting and certification company to the process safety community, today announced it has completed the purchase of Asset Integrity Management (AIM) of Aberdeen, Scotland, U.K.
February 15, 2008
(Wire)
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Siemens new Sirius 3RK3 modular safety system Nuremberg, Germany – February 15th, 2008
With the Sirius 3RK3 modular safety system, Siemens Division Industry Automation offers a new safety solution, between a simple safety relay and a fail-safe controller.
February 11, 2008
(Wire)
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Cooper announces the acquisition of MTL Instruments Group plc Houston, Texas, USA – February 11th, 2008
Cooper Industries, Ltd. (NYSE:CBE) today announced that its subsidiary, Cooper Controls (U.K.) Limited, has acquired more than 98 percent of the outstanding shares of The MTL Instruments Group plc (“MTL”), a publicly traded company (LSE:MTI) based in the United Kingdom, and will exercise its right under U.K. law to acquire the remaining outstanding shares. The total purchase price is approximately £144.3 million.
January 9, 2008
(Wire)
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HazardEx International 2008 Kent, UK – January 9th, 2008
A two day conference and exhibition, being held at Peterborough UK February 27 & 28, 2008 will concentrate its programme on safe operation of process plant in the hazardous area and the protection of plant personnel.
January 3, 2008
(Business)
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Hima-Sella to upgrade major Norwegian gas treatment plant Stockport, UK – January 3rd, 2008
Hima-Sella has been awarded a £6m contract to renew some of the major safety equipment at the Kårstø gas plant in southern Norway. The contract is awarded by StatoilHydro on behalf of operator, Gassco. StatoilHydro is assisted by MW Kellogg as the EPCA contractor on the project, as it has been on three previous expansions at this facility.
December 26, 2007
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Three LCRA power plants win national accolades for safety, performance Austin, Texas, USA – December 26, 2007
In 2007, three of LCRA’s (Lower Colorado River Authority) power plants received national recognition for accomplishments in technology renovation, safety, and performance. Two natural gas-fired plants, Sim Gideon in Bastrop and Thomas C. Ferguson in Marble Falls, and LCRA’s coal-fired power plant, Fayette Power Project near La Grange, received honors.
December 19, 2007
(Business)
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Cooper announces tender offer for MTL Instruments Group plc Houston, Texas, USA – December 19, 2007
Cooper Industries, Ltd. today announced that its subsidiary, Cooper Controls (U.K.) Limited, made a binding offer for all outstanding shares of MTL Instruments Group plc (“MTL”), a publicly traded company based in the United Kingdom.
Yokogawa receives control systems contract for thermal power plant from Flinders Power in Australia Tokyo, Japan – December 12, 2007
Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that its Yokogawa Australia Pty. Ltd. subsidiary has received a contract for a control systems replacement project at the Northern Power Station, which is owned by Flinders Power Pty. Ltd. This Adelaide-based power utility provides over 40% of South Australia's electricity supply. The contract is estimated to be worth approximately A$26 million.
December 11, 2007
(Wire)
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MTL releases Matrix v.8.2 process control system Hampton, NH, USA – December 11, 2007
MTL Open System Technologies (MOST), a member of the MTL Instruments Group, announced today the release of its Matrix v.8.2 process control system that features integration with the Wonderware System Platform 3.0 software and enhanced security.
November 29, 2007
(Information)
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USW Refinery Survey shows causes of BP explosion prevalent throughout industry A survey done by the United Steelworkers (USW) union reveals that the conditions that led to the March 2005 explosion at BP’s Texas City refinery are widespread throughout the refining sector and that the industry is failing to learn from such explosions and near-misses.
November 27, 2007
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exida purchases AIM SILSuite™ Software Sellersville, PA, USA – November 27, 2007
exida.com, LLC (privately held) today announced the purchase of a license to merge the Asset Integrity Management (AIM) SILSuite™ product line into the exSILentia® Suite. The SILSuite™ product line is a set ofleading software tools that have been widely adopted in Europe and is utilized by many global refining and chemical companies. The strengths of SILSuite™ complement the strengths of exida’s exSILentia® product offering and allow exida to broaden its safety lifecycle software solution.
Integrating Control and Safety – Where to draw the line? Irvine, California, USA – November 5th, 2007
Robin McCrea-Steele, TÜV FSExp
Invensys-Premier Consulting Services
New digital technology now makes it feasible to integrate process control and safety instrumented functions within a common automation infrastructure. While this can provide productivity and asset management benefits, if not done correctly, it can also compromise the safety and security of an industrial operation. Cyber-security and sabotage vulnerability further accentuate the need for securing the Safety Instrumented System (SIS).
In this opinion column we will discuss good engineering practices in integrating control and safety in a secure manner, while maintaining independent layers of protection. Potential benefits and side effects of the different approaches will be highlighted.
October 30, 2007
(Business)
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Honeywell - Experion to Streamline Supply Chain and Enable Production Efficiency at Puguang Gas Field Phoenix, Arizona, USA – October 30, 2007
Honeywell (NYSE:HON) today announced an agreement with China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) to automate and control operations at China’s largest gas field. Honeywell will supply its Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) R300 software, along with SCADA technology to streamline and manage the control data at the Puguang Gas Field in Sichuan Province.
October 29, 2007
(Wire)
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CC-Link Partner Association released a safety Fieldbus designed to enable secure communication October 29, 2007
A safety version of the CC-Link fieldbus has been released to send safety-related data securely over open networks. CC-Link Safety can use the same cables as the standard bus and can communicate at speeds up 10Mb/s with existing CC-Link products such as field devices and remote I/O stations.
October 22, 2007
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Yokogawa – Releases Enhanced version of ProSafe – RS release R1.03 Tokyo, Japan – October 22, 2007
To meet the latest safety instrumentation needs of the oil, petrochemical, and other industries, the remote optical communications capability has been enhanced and a digital output module and a simulation test function have been added to this new version.
Fieldbus Foundation - Successful EMEA End User and Marketing Conference in London, UK London, UK, October 15, 2007
The Fieldbus Foundation held its second combined EMEA User and Industry Association Consultation Meeting and EMEA Annual Marketing conference at the Engineering Employers' Federation headquarters in London, UK, from 17-19 September 2007.
Yokogawa receives SICE Awards for Enemap and ProSafe-RS Solutions Tokyo, Japan – September 20, 2007
On September 19, Yokogawa Electric Corporation received two academic awards from the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers (SICE). The Technology Award was given to Yokogawa for its Enemap Energy Management Package and the Award for New Products was given for its ProSafe-RS Safety Instrumented System.
September 19, 2007
(Information)
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Revision of IEC 61508 standard IEC 61508 is currently being maintained and Mr. Ron Bell describes in this information note the current program schedule for the revision of the standard.
Mr. Ron Bell is Chairman IEC 61508/1-2
Yokogawa Receives Package Order to Supply Control Systems for Petrochemical Complex in Singapore Tokyo, Japan – August 22, 2007
Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that its Yokogawa System Center
Europe and Yokogawa Engineering Asia subsidiaries have received a package
order from Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd (SEPL) to supply control
systems for the Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex (SEPC) in Singapore.
Emerson to digitally automate China's largest integrated refining/petrochemical facility Austin, Texas, USA – August 1, 2007
Company to install its PlantWeb® architecture at $3.5 billion project in Fujian Province.
Emerson Process Management, an Emerson business (NYSE:EMR), today announced that the company has been selected to digitally automate the Fujian Refining and Ethylene Joint Venture Project in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, China. It is the largest integrated refining and petrochemicals project ever undertaken in China. Project startup is expected by 2009.
July 29, 2007
(Business)
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Tyco wins contract renewal at ChevronTexaco Pembroke refinery July 29th, 2007
An agreement between Tyco Valves & Controls and Chevron Texaco to manage the performance of pressure relief valves at ChevronTexaco’s Pembrokeshire oil refinery has improved valve reliability on site, increased the intervals between valve servicing by two-thirds, and produced cost savings on plant availability and production.
July 24, 2007
(Wire)
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Det-Tronics. SIL-2 Safety Certified Fire and Gas Detection System Minneapolis, Minnesota , USA – July 24, 2007
Detector Electronics Corporation (Det-Tronics) today announced the release of a fire and gas detection system certified for applications to Safety Integrity Level 2 (SIL-2) by the globally-recognized certification agencies Exida and TüV Nord.
July 24, 2007
(Business)
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Emerson selected as main instrumentation provider for automation of Lucite International chemical plant in Singapore Austin, Texas, USA – July 24, 2007
Lucite International and Emerson Process Management, a business of Emerson (NYSE:EMR), today announced that Emerson has been selected as the main instrumentation vendor for Lucite's methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant in Singapore, which is currently under construction and is scheduled to begin operation in 2008. MMA is a chemical used in consumer products including plastics, paints and adhesives.
Rockwell Automation Acquires ICS Triplex Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA – Jul 02, 2007
Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) announced today that it has acquired Industrial Control Services Group Limited which does business as ICS Triplex. As first announced on May 25, 2007, the deal is valued at GBP 110 million (British pounds) in cash. The process of delivering cash to ICS shareholders will continue through August, 2007.
Rockwell Automation to acquire ICS Triplex, a leading process control safety solutions provider Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA – May 24, 2007
Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK) announced today that it has reached an agreement by which it will acquire Industrial Control Services Group Limited ("ICS") for £110 million (British pounds) in cash. ICS trades and does business as ICS Triplex, a leading global supplier of critical control and safety solutions to process industries. With 40 years of experience, ICS Triplex develops, delivers and maintains advanced products and solutions for high availability, fault-tolerant applications in process industry segments worldwide.
May 14, 2007
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HIMA – Safety specialist establishes a subsidiary in Italy Brühl, Germany – 14, May 2007
In April 2007 HIMA Paul Hildebrandt GmbH + Co KG established its own subsidiary, HIMA Italia S. r. l. The Italian market is a significant international platform for the company. Logitec Automazione S. r. l. has been actively representing HIMA in the southern European country since 1987, and there it has achieved the position of market leader in the area of safety-related controllers, an area which will now be further expanded.
May 4, 2007
(Wire)
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New Triconex Program enables users to upgrade to the latest SIS Technology while minimizing both cost and process downtime Irvine, California, USA – May 4, 2007
The Triconex unit of Invensys Process Systems today announced an important new upgrade program designed to allow users of the industry-leading Tricon TMR (triple modular redundant) safety instrumented system (SIS) to upgrade to the latest Triconex technology at minimum cost, minimum risk, and with minimum production downtime. The new Triconex "Advantage Upgrade" program combines significant commercial incentives with a unique Automated Logic Translation service that converts, tests, and validates the existing control logic for re-use in the new hardware modules. Costs are reduced and changes are minimized because the system footprint, chassis format, field wiring, control logic, and documentation are retained. Thus, there's no need to re-commission field loops or perform time-consuming safety system recertification.
Yokogawa Obtains FSM Certification for Its Safety Instrumented System Engineering Operations Tokyo, Japan – April 9, 2007
Yokogawa Electric Corporation and its subsidiary Yokogawa India Ltd. announce that their safety instrumented system engineering operations have obtained Functional Safety Management (FSM) certification from TÜV Rheinland, a German certification body.
February 27, 2007
(Wire)
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Siemens - Ultrasonic flow meter with ATEX certification Nuremberg, Germany – February 27, 2007
Siemens Automation and Drives (A&D) has introduced Sitrans FUS060, a new high-performance flow meter for industrial plants. The device is designed for applications that involve robust requirements and rely on fault-resistant measuring components, for example in the oil-refining industry, petrochemicals, power station systems or waste water purification plants.
December 20, 2006
(Wire)
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RTP - Safety System Report Florida, USA – December 20, 2006
The RTP 2500 SIS System has a hybrid architecture that uses a set of advanced design techniques to provide SIL 3 safety integrity and high availability. Safety integrity and high availability are achieved on a system that also provides an unusual level of architecture flexibility and computing speed (25 msec. scan rates). This combination of safety integrity, high availability, flexibility and performance sets new levels of expectation among safety PLC users.
Honeywell to install production control center at Norsk Hydro to improve operational efficiency Brussels, Belgium – Dec. 06, 2006 Honeywell today announced it has won a contract with leading oil and gas company Norsk Hydro to supply Honeywell’s Production Control Center (PCC) to their central onshore support centre that remotely monitors its production in the North Sea. The order also includes offshore installation on the Njord platform.
December 5, 2006
(Business)
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Honeywell wins two successive projects at National Grid Grain LNG Ltd. LONDON, UK, 05th December, 2006
Honeywell (NYSE:HON) announced today that it will provide National Grid Grain LNG Ltd with automation solutions for increasing efficiency and production outputs as well as enhancing performance. The two projects are valued at a collective $2.8 million with Grain LNG, a subsidiary of National Grid plc.
November 30, 2006
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Yokogawa announces cooperative efforts with Dräger Safety Tokyo, Japan - November 29, 2006
Yokogawa Electric Corporation announced today that it had entered into negotiations with Dräger Safety AG & Co. KGaA in Germany for future business collaboration.
The collaboration between the two companies includes the development of the world's first FOUNDATION fieldbus™ Fire and Gas Alarm System.
November 27, 2006
(Wire)
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CLPA's CC-Link Safety Specification Is Now Available November 17, 2006
CLPA (CC-Link Partners Association) announces its formal release of CC-Link Safety Specification, which describes technological details of this open field network conforming to the international safety standard. CC-Link Safety incorporates capabilities for communication abnormality detection on top of the CC- Link to enable transmission of safety information on machine safety devices (such as emergency stop requests), thus conforming to IEC61508 SIL3 and EN954-1 Category 4.
Rockwell Automation's SmartGuard safety controller offers complex logic in a smaller footprint Milwaukee, USA – November 13, 2006
Rockwell Automation announces the Allen¬Bradley SmartGuard 600 safety controller, which measures a compact 4 inches by 3.5 inches by 5 inches and is designed for those applications that have traditionally fallen between safety relays and safety PLCs.
Simsci-Esscor and DNV Software Provide a Link for Flare Modeling Analysis for Plant Safety Design Lake Forest, CA, USA – November 6, 2006
The SimSci-Esscor unit of Invensys and DNV Software have developed a link between SimSci-Esscor's VISUAL FLOW safety system design software and DNV Software's PHASTFX flammable effects software module. The link reportedly allows engineers in process plants to quickly and easily estimate a wide range of flammable effects during design work.
October 31, 2006
(Business)
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Hima – New joint venture in China Brühl, Germany – 31, October 2006
HIMA Paul Hildebrandt GmbH + Co KG has founded a new joint venture in China. The products and services offered by HIMA (Shanghai) Safety Systems Co. Ltd. include the sales and delivery of complete safety-related automation solutions for the process industry. The provided local services include project management, hardware and software engineering, training as well as setup, testing and acceptance procedures for the automation systems.
October 24, 2006
(Wire)
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Siemens, Safety relay bundles functions in one unit Nuremberg, Germany – October 24, 2006
Siemens Automation and Drives (A&D) has added the 3TK2826 safety relay to its portfolio for applications in the area of functional safety. The device monitors the functioning of sensors and actuators, as well as safe shutdown of the outputs.
October 3, 2006
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RTP announces the introduction of the 2500 TÜV approved safety system Florida, USA
RTP announces the introduction of the 2500 TÜV approved safety system. The 2500 is approved for SIL-1 to SIL-3 applications and achieves a new level of availability and integrity. It can be used as a stand-alone safety controller, as a distributed control system for critical applications, or both functions can be combined in a 2500 controller.
September 27, 2006
(Wire)
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Pressure transducer for SIL2 safety functions via Profibus PA Germany, 27th September 2006
The Sitrans P DSIII digital pressure transducer is the first Profibus-PA device available on the market that is suitable for SIL2 safety shutdown in accordance with IEC 61508/IEC 61511-1. To this purpose, Siemens Automation and Drives (A&D) has added a Profisafe driver to the standard device for measuring pressure, absolute pressure, differential pressure, flow and level.
Rockwell Automation's new safety relays feature modularity, space saving design & wiring complexity reduction Milwaukee, August 28, 2006
Rockwell Automation announced two new Allen-Bradley safety relays that deliver high-performance safety protection, while reportedly helping OEMs reduce installation time and costs. Offering broad application versatility and a modular, expandable design, the new MSR142RTP and MSR144RTP relays are the latest additions to the Allen-Bradley GuardMaster family of safety relays from Rockwell Automation.
August 22, 2006
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Yokogawa's YTA Series Temperature Transmitters Certified to be Compliant IEC 61508 standard Tokyo, Japan, August 22, 2006
Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that its YTA series temperature transmitters have been certified by TÜV NORD, a product quality certification organization based in Germany, as being compliant with the requirements of the IEC61508 international safety standard for Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 2. Yokogawa has released the YTA series to the market, and from this date onward all products in the YTA series will be SIL2 compliant.
August 10, 2006
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Bureau Veritas participated in China Safety Development Summit Forum Bureau Veritas participated in 2006 China Safe Development Summit Forum. The event took place in Beijing on June 24, 2006. This forum proves that China is planning to reinforce its efforts in HSE management.
Handbooks for reliability prediction of safety instrumented systems Norway
SINTEF has developed a reliability prediction method (PDS Method Handbook) and reliability data (PDS Data Handbook) for quantifying the safety and loss of production related to Safety Instrumented System (SIS).
June 9, 2006
(Wire)
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PROFIsafe Reaches 190,000 Nodes The number of PROFIsafe-enabled systems in operation around the world has passed 20,000, reportedly making PROFIsafe the leading Safety fieldbus technology.
HIMA Introduces New CPUs and Communication Modules Bruehl, Germany
HIMA Paul Hildebrandt GmbH +Co KG introduces new CPUs (SIL 3/Cat. 4) as well as new communication modules, thus expanding its product portfolio of H41q/H51q safety controllers.
May 3, 2006
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ABB and Metso Announce Neles ValvGuard Has Been Industrial IT Enabled Wickliffe, OH, USA, May 3, 2006
ABB Inc. and Metso Automation Inc. announced that Metso's Neles ValvGuard product has been Industrial IT Enabled. Neles ValvGuardTM partial stroke testing and monitoring system for emergency valve applications helps ensure that emergency shutdown (ESD) and emergency venting (ESV) valves will operate as required despite long periods of idle service.
May 2, 2006
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PLCopen TC5 – Safety Specification Version 1.0 Approved by BGIA PLCopen's TC5 Safety Specification provides guidelines, style guides, and basic specifications of function blocks for implementation and use in safety-related environments. For users this means an easier commissioning of their equipment. By using the specified function blocks together with the general aspects, the certification procedure of the application itself becomes much easier and faster.
April 24, 2006
(Wire)
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SafetyBUS p Club International e.V. is now Safety Network International e.V. Hanover, Germany, April 24th, 2006
The member companies of the SafetyBUS p Club International e.V. have decided a change of statutes and a renaming of the SafetyBUS p Club International e.V. into Safety Network International e.V.
April 20, 2006
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3rd Focus Group Italia - IEC 61508 & IEC 61511 meeting Milano, Italy, April 20th, 2006
Following the success of the past Focus Group Italia (FGI) Workshops and Round Tables whose main objectives were to develop IEC 61508 & 61511 standard comprehension, the Steering Committee is pleased to announce the 3rd Focus Group Italia – IEC 61508 & 61511 meeting which will be held in Milan, Italy at the FAST conference center on May 10th, 2006.
April 10, 2006
(Wire)
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Emerson's Micro Motion SIS Coriolis Flow Meters Safety-Certified Boulder, Colorado, USA
The smart Safety Instrumented System (SIS) from Emerson Process Management, an extension of PlantWeb digital plant architecture, is now further enhanced with TÜV certification of Micro Motion SIS Coriolis meters.
Emerson SIS Engineers are First to be Certified By TÜV to IEC 61511 Austin,Texas, USA
After rounds of audits in all world areas, the TÜV organization has certified that all of the engineering work done by safety instrumented systems engineers from Emerson Process Management consistently meets the requirements of the IEC 61511 global standard for functional safety in the process industries. The certificates were presented to Phill Turner, SIS project operations manager of Emerson by Josef Neuman of TÜV on September 25th, 2005.
January 3, 2006
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OSHA Endorses ISA-84 Standards for Use in Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has officially notified ISA that a three-part ISA series of standards may be used in achieving compliance with OSHA regulations pertaining to the prevention and mitigation of accidents involving hazardous chemicals.
December 15, 2005
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Massive blaze rages at fuel depot in England Hertfordshire's Chief Fire Officer Roy Wilsher in charge of investigating the massive fires at a Hertfordshire oil depot on Sunday says the flames may have destroyed all clues to the cause. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has visited the scene of the blasts which injured 43 people, two seriously.
