THE HART(R) PROTOCOL AN ENABLER FOR IMPROVED PLANT PERFORMANCE

Easy to use and widely supported, the HART(R) Field Communications Pro tocol has become the standard for digitally enhanced 4-20 mA communica tion with smart field instruments. A wide range of products from an in creasing number of suppliers are available today, and many more are in development. The enhanced two-way communication capability of instrum ents using the HART protocol can significantly improve plant performan ce, and yield substantial cost savings. Initial savings in installatio n/commissioning of $400-500 per instrument and annual savings in ongoi ng maintenance/operations of $100-200 per instrument are commonly repo rted. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.