How can system compatibility be achieved between new and old DCS systems, as well as between different DCS systems?

It’s too complicated, bro. For higher-level management software, some solutions can still be found. With OPC, there are numerous interfaces, so it’s somewhat manageable. However, the network structures of different DCS systems vary, and communication represents the biggest issue; these systems are almost incompatible with one another. Yanshan Petrochemical has a research center dedicated to this task, where they conduct compatibility tests between the Yokogawa CS3000, FOXBORO’s I/A systems, and HONEYWELL’s TPS systems. It seems that the results are fairly good. You have the energy to investigate this with them; generally, DCS can be compatible with competitors’ PLCs. DCS is compatible with DCS – in theory it’s possible, but in practice it’s extremely difficult!

The main issue is the communication between various systems. Currently, the overall project management unit for our project is Luoyang Institute, and this problem was raised with them during the overall design review.

How did they reply? In short, it’s extremely difficult; even if technicians from various DCS manufacturers could be brought in, it might not necessarily yield any results.

The people from the design institute said at that time that open protocols such as OPC and DDE based on the Windows system could be used to enable easy communication between various systems, thereby achieving resource sharing.

I still lack enough experience; does that mean a project in which various systems handle different parts of the process? For example, in oil refining, FOX is used for atmospheric and vacuum distillation as well as hydrogenation, while Yokogawa is used for distillation – is that the case? OPC and DDE are definitely usable, and all DCS systems support them. I can’t specify exactly either; just send me your actual questions when you have them, and I’ll think of solutions while learning as well. I agree that there are basically no compatibility issues between the manufacturer’s old and new systems, as each of them comes with its own effective solutions. I won’t say more; I’ll just wait for good news. If it succeeds, they will share their experience.

Okay, I hope more people from Naska will get involved actively. Although I majored in self-control, I’ve only just started working in this field; I’ll need to ask you for advice more often if I have any questions in the future. Thank you!

It’s so complicated just to think about it – why wasn’t a unified DCS chosen back then? The communication protocols of different manufacturers are completely different; even if they all support DP, it’s not necessarily possible to standardize them, and it would be good enough if DAS data acquisition is feasible.

It should be possible. Although each DCS is different, they can all be connected to an OPC server, allowing data to be shared. However, mutual control is not possible, and the speed will be affected. All systems are brought under the control center for unified management, but this does not mean that all control commands have to be issued from there; each control system remains responsible for its own functions. Therefore, there is no need to worry about response speed. The control center simply handles the unified management of equipment information, production data, alerts, historical records, and so on from all factories, so that company leaders can have an overall understanding of the situation. Moreover, since the existing systems can operate normally, there is little value in integrating them together; using OPC for unified data management is a good option. With the newly built system, everything can be controlled from the management center, which makes things much easier. I understood it by reading the books myself... That’s probably how PlantWeb works as well

It depends on which supplier’s system it is; there may be compatibility issues with systems from different manufacturers, so it’s necessary to get in touch with the manufacturer!

OPC has a decent speed; as for DDE, I’d suggest avoiding it as it’s too slow. OPC can be used for data sharing, but enabling mutual control is quite difficult