Yokogawa to Release ProSafe®-RS SIL2 Wireless Gas Detection System

In energy and basic materials industries such as oil, gas, petrochemicals, and chemicals, a safety instrumented system is employed to safely initiate an emergency plant shutdown when a critical failure is detected, and to initiate the operation of facilities that can extinguish or prevent the spread of a fire.

A field wireless system consists of field devices that are able to communicate wirelessly with a monitoring and control system. Wireless devices have a number of advantages such as allowing installation in difficult-to-access locations and the reduction of installation costs, and they are increasingly seen as essential elements in plant safety solutions. This is a particularly important consideration with gas detection systems, whose operation can be easily impacted by factors such as installation location and ambient conditions. And even after system installation, ongoing efforts to optimize its overall configuration may necessitate occasional changes in the location and number of detection devices. The use of wireless technology eliminates the need to worry about wiring and thus greatly facilitates the process of moving and/or installing additional detection devices.

To achieve SIL2 level risk reduction when using wireless gas detectors with a safety instrumented system, communication protocols that comply with the functional safety requirements specified in the IEC 61508 international standard*4 are required. To meet this need, Yokogawa will provide a SIL2 wireless gas detection system based on a new version of the ProSafe-RS safety instrumented system that will link to field devices using an IEC 61508 compliant communication protocol.

The ProSafe-RS SIL2 wireless gas detection system will consist of a new version of the ProSafe-RS safety instrumented system, R4.03.10, that will be enhanced to add support for an IEC 61508 compliant safety communication technology used in distributed automation; annunciator panels; ISA100 Wireless*5 compliant field wireless devices; and GasSecure GS01 or GS01-EA wireless gas detectors, which are the only devices of this type in the industry that achieve SIL2 risk reduction.

1. Total system solution including both consulting and engineering
   Through the use of wireless technology, the ProSafe-RS SIL2 wireless gas detection system will allow increased flexibility with the configuration of detection devices, and will be suitable for use as a fire & gas system and emergency shutdown system thanks to its achievement of SIL2 risk reduction. Based on its knowledge of each of this system's components and its expertise in production control, safety instrumentation, and field wireless engineering and consulting, Yokogawa will be able to offer a total system solution that includes customer support.
2. Enhanced operating efficiency
   On their Yokogawa CENTUM® VP integrated production control system screens, operators will be able to easily monitor the operation of the ProSafe-RS SIL2 wireless gas detection system as well as that of any conventional wired gas detection system. Since the GasSecure GS01 or GS01-EA wireless gas detector uses the same faceplate as a wired gas detector, operators will have no trouble identifying any changes in the detector's status, thus helping to prevent errors that can result from the misinterpretation of information.
3. Improved maintenance
   With CENTUM VP, operators will have on-screen access to information on the status of all network devices, the charge remaining on the gas detector batteries, and the status of wireless communications, and thus will be able to quickly detect and respond to any abnormality. Thanks to this functionality, more efficient maintenance plans can be drawn up that, for example, will require fewer periodic checks.