Foundation Fieldbus Lifecycle Benefits Survey

Foundation Fieldbus has found mainstream acceptance in the world of automation, but little is known about the real work operational and lifecycle cost benefits that are being realized by end users. The purpose of this survey is to ascertain a more accurate view of the operational, maintenance, and engineering benefits related to Foundation Fieldbus and how they relate to a business value proposition for end users.

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1) Are you an automation end user, systems integrator (SI), OEM, supplier, or other?

End User   Systems Integrator   OEM   Supplier   Other (please specify)

If you selected other, please specify:

2) What is your industry?

Oil & Gas   Chemical   Petrochemical   Refining   Pharmaceuticals   Food & Beverage   Pulp & Paper   Metals & Mining   Power Generation   Water & Waste   Cement & Glass   Other (please specify)

If you selected other, please specify:

3) What is your region?

North of Iran  Mahshar   Assaluye   Tehran    West of Iran  Other (please specify)

If you selected other, please specify:

4) Do you have a fieldbus system installed? Our definition of fieldbus system consists of digital field devices based on Foundation Fieldbus connected to a host system and may or may not include HSE.

Yes   No

Additional comments:

5) If you do have a fieldbus system installed, how long has it been up and running

Less than a year1 year2 years3 years4 years5 yearsMore than 5 years

Additional comments:

6) Do you believe that you achieved or did you achieve a full return on your fieldbus system investment?

Very High Return on Investment   Achieved Return on Investment   Not Sure   Did Not Yet Achieve Return on Investment But Expect To   Did Not Achieve Return on Investment and Do Not Expect To

Additional comments:

7) If you did achieve a full return on your fieldbus investment, how long did it take?

0-3 Months4-6 Months7-9 Months10-12 Months12-18 Months19-24 MonthsOver two years

Additional comments:

8) What were the primary areas of cost savings during the fieldbus system installation, commissioning, and startup?

	Cost was Additional	No Savings	Little Savings	Medium Savings	Significant Savings
Reduced Overall Time to Startup
Commissioning Costs and Checkout
Front End Engineering and Design Costs
FAT or SAT Time to Completion
Device/Instrumentation Costs
Wiring Costs
Operator Training Costs
Maintenance Personnel Training Costs
System Costs
Documentation Costs
Reduced Hardware Footprint
Reduced System Complexity
Easier P&ID Diagrams
Project Management
Project Overheads
Ability to Replicate Common Applications

Additional comments:

9) What were the primary areas of reduced operational costs with fieldbus?

	Cost was Additional	No Savings	Little Savings	Medium Savings	Significant Savings
Enhanced Effectiveness of the Automation System
Improved Response Times
Better Process Visibility
Incident Avoidance or Avoidance of Unplanned Downtime
Prolonged Asset Life
Increased Return on Installed Assets
Increased System Availability
Increased Interoperability and Ability to Choose Devices from Different Suppliers
Increased Accuracy of Devices
Tighter Control of the Process

Additional comments:

10) Did fieldbus cause you to modify your standard work practices and procedures? If so, in which areas did your standard practices change? What was the benefit derived? 1=No Improvement at all, 5=Significant Improvement.

	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Maintenance
Engineering
Purchasing
Operations

Additional comments:

11) How has fieldbus changed the responsibilities and work processes associated with the operators and maintenance personnel?

	Strongly Agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
Fieldbus has improved the productivity of the field operator
Fieldbus has improved the productivity of the board operator
Fieldbus has improved the productivity of the maintenance technician
Fieldbus results in enhanced operator effectiveness
Fieldbus has improved the productivity of the process engineer

Additional comments:

12) What are the primary areas of reduced maintenance costs with fieldbus?

	Cost was Additional	No Savings	Little Savings	Medium Savings	Significant Savings
Enhanced Device Diagnostics
Enhanced Process Diagnostics
Reduced Number of Unnecessary Trips to the Field by a Technician
Reduced Spare Parts Inventory
Identify Problems Before they Happen, Predictive Maintenance Strategy
Easier and Faster Device Replacement, Upgrade
Increased Efficiency and Ease of Change Management
Reduction in Variable Maintenance Costs
Reductions in Fixed Maintenance Costs

Additional comments:

13) Do you currently employ field level control in your fieldbus installation. If so, what do you perceive to be the primary benefits? 1=No Benefit at all, 5=Significant Benefit.

	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Increased System Availability
Single Loop Integrity
Accuracy of Control
Reduced Cost Per Control Point
Increased Plant Safety

Additional comments:

14) Are you using your fieldbus system in a batch application in the regulated industries? If so, what are the benefits you have experienced regarding regulatory compliance, validation, traceability and GMP? 1=No Benefit at all, 5=Significant Benefit.

	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Easier Regulatory Compliance/Faster Time to Compliance
Increased Data Storage Capability for Enhanced Validation
Easier Compliance to FDA 21 CFR Part 11
Easier Compliance to GMP
Reduction of Nuisance Alarms
Improved Percent Yield
Increased Product Quality

Additional comments:

15) Are you willing to share additional information over the telephone? If you are willing, we will thank you for your participation with an honorarium.

Yes   No

Additional comments:

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Thank you for taking the time to complete our survey. You will receive the survey results when all responses are in. If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact Mr. Raeisi at nmraeisi@fieldbus.ir  or Q-A@fieldbus.ir

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