How Safe Is Your System From These 56 Dangers (That Your Infi 90 Tools May Never Warn You About)?

Why 56?  That is the current number of types of serious configuration errors that DBDOC routinely detects and reports.  An example of one of these issues is explained in detail later in this article.  Your system almost certainly harbors a few of these significant errors.

Read on for a review of DBDOC's ever expanding integrity management capabilities.

Since the beginning, DBDOC has been helping users find and fix system configuration issues. However, understanding and navigating the somewhat arcane log files involved was always something of an ordeal for most DBDOC users. The more intrepid among you might recognize this sort of log content, and breathe a sigh of relief that there is now an easier way. And if you've never worried about these issues before, you will see that it's now far easier than it used to be.

Dealing with errors DBDOC found (the "old" way):

Viewing issues these days, inside the interactive Error Browser:

It has taken us a dozen years, but we have finally created a system to manage these "issues". We called it Error Browser, but you can think of it as Integrity Browser, because some people take exception to using bad words. We could run a poll or survey on a new name, but the spectrum of perspectives ranges from clear to rose-tinted:

• some people that say DBDOC found an issue, and they fixed it and saved a lot of grief,
• some people that say DBDOC found an issue, but they did not fix it, and it hurt them,
• some people that say they do not have any issues,
• some people that say if their INFI 90 tools say there is no problem, there is no problem.

We run into all the above and more.

The Error Browser makes it extremely easy to view and manage errors.

Anyhow, the Error Browser was invented to give you the ability to view issues very easily, access integrated documentation to explain them, study them and mark them as "starred," "reviewed," or "hidden" (and combinations).

You can the share the work of reviewing errors among a group of users.

The next enhancement was to allow sharing of the "starred" and "reviewed" status among members of your DCS team. This also happened to solve the problem of working on more than one computer as yourself, or working on the data on your laptop. It synchronizes nicely if you connect and have new error data information.

However, I have been told that people do not have time to study the "issues" we raise, even once. So now we have made it even easier:

New in 10.6: Error Markers right on documents alert you to the presence of errors.

DBDOC Version 10.6 has "Error Markers" that show, as well as we have managed so far, where
issues exist. This means that, when you get to a configuration CLD or CAD sheet with issues, you will see the error markers.  Simply mousing over an error marker will immediately tell you something about the problem it is flagging.

A fabulous client asked: "I want to know if it is possible to turn on and off the error markers. Some areas may get quite cluttered if there are multiple error markers for a block."

Yes, indeed, on the View menu. But we suggest letting people see them, because the idea is to add our diagnostics to your trouble-shooting approach.

Some examples may be helpful.   Below are examples (from actual systems) of two of the 56 types of serious errors DBDOC detects.  DBDOC also detects on hundreds of other less serious sorts of issues, some of which are cosmetic, and some of which are generally not serious, but should be evaluated on a case by case basis.

Error Example: The Case of The Broken Timer

So here you are. You expect a timer to be working (Block 3103 in the image), but it is not. What do you see (ignore my orange oval for a moment)?



There are two warning triangles on the sheet! What could they be telling you? Click on the first one to see what it is telling you.




What? Didn't Composer flag that sort of thing? I dunno, maybe it did. Click on the second one (because it is trivial and might add some context to the issue).



Now, to get more information, you can right-click on the text [FC86] above the ETIMER Block 3102, or on the ETIMER Block itself (new in 10.6) and get access both to our "thumbnail sketch" and also to the Function Code PDF documentation.

I circled another way to get to the PDF documentation. However, our sketch is enough here.

Anyway, looking back at the misconfigured ADAPT Block 3095, you can see that it is adapting S3 (the Time units spec) of Block 3102, which is illegal. 

S5 is the Timer reset value of Block 3102, which is what it should be adapting, i.e. S3 of ADAPT Block 3095 should be 5.

The point of this is that the issue pops into view when you get to the problem sheet. Of course, you should have already gone through the issues we identified and hidden ones you found to be inconsequential. But the error markers put the issues we have found right in front of you..

Error markers are the latest enhancement to integrity management for INFI 90. You need them to step on problems before they step on you, your plant and the people in your path.