NAMUR Task Force
Focus
The „NAMUR APL Task Force” deals with the following topics:
- Raising awareness for Ethernet-APL within the community and synchronizing NAMUR Work Groups
- Definition of business and use-cases for the usage of the Ethernet-APL technology within the process industry.
- Development of a target picture for Ethernet-APL focusing on the full lifecycle and additional application domains, like safety.
- Push the development of migration concepts for existing plants and hybrid architecture using APL and classical instrument technologies.
- Technology and quality monitoring of ongoing APL projects within member companies. Identification of additional improvement needs.
- Additional qualification and service needs for implementation and maintenance.
Goals and benefits
The „NAMUR APL Task Force” was initiated at the end of 2022 to coordinate NAMUR’s activities around the emerging topic of Ethernet-APL to the field. The aim is to catalyze the implementation of APL within the member companies by using a holistic approach and by close synchronization inside NAMUR, but also with leading vendors. The task force has a planned lifetime of two years and a target of ten or more projects associated with APL inside the task force associated companies in this lifetime. The team of the task force consists of representatives from Bayer, BASF, Bilfinger, Covestro, DOW, Evonik, and Lanxess.
Current projects and developments
- Raising awareness in the community by communication of use-cases.
- Tracking and support of ongoing APL projects.
- Driving use-cases and requirement specifications from an operator’s perspective., e.g., for security and safety topics of Ethernet-APL.
- Collaboration with the vendors via the “ZVEI APL Task Force” by tracking device availability and prioritization.
Sub-WG APL-Safety
Joint working group of WG 4.5 and WG 2.6 to formulate the requirements for APL in safety applications.
The physical layer APL offers the option of using safety-oriented Ethernet protocols for field communication. The corresponding user requirements of the process industry for the two communication partners, field device and control system, as well as configuration tools are identified within this Sub-WG.
The NAMUR companies are aiming for a user-friendly implementation in which identical field devices with a standardized communication infrastructure can be used for both process control and safety applications.
Established methods, such as prior use, therefore remain applicable. In addition, the significant reduction in measurement uncertainty through digital communication and new types of diagnostics offer significant benefits (e.g. extension of the operating range).
In order to achieve these benefits across all phases of a system's life cycle, the Sub-WG defines and specifies the user requirements in NE 168 and the position paper "Ethernet-APL for functional safety applications".
Furthermore, these requirements are communicated to the manufacturers and organizations concerned, discussed with them and the development of standards and products is supported.
