The aim of Endress+Hauser 's "Open Integration" partner program is the simple, fast and manufacturer-independent integration of components and devices with various automation systems and, above all, satisfied customers.

This sounds simple in theory, but it is by no means the case in everyday system operation. Even experienced automation specialists have respect for multi-vendor systems. However, this now also applies to complete solutions "from a single source". This is because digital communication - the prerequisite for the comprehensive use of existing intelligence in the field and system - places serious demands on integration.

With "Open Integration", suppliers of control technology, fieldbus infrastructure, measurement technology and actuators are invited to test and document the interaction of their products even more intensively in the interests of their customers. The cooperation partners include Auma Riester, Bürkert, Festo, Flowserve, Hima Paul Hildebrandt, Honeywell Process Solutions, Mitsubishi Electric, Pepperl + Fuchs, Phoenix Contact, Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric and Turck.

They are based on open communication standards (Hart, Profibus, Foundation Fieldbus, EtherNet/IP or Profinet) and open integration standards (FDT, EDD, FDI). The reference topologies map practical combinations from an almost infinite number of possibilities - for applications in chemistry, life sciences, food, oil & gas, power plants & energy, raw materials & metals and water & wastewater.

Typical industry requirements such as explosion protection, availability or redundancy are taken into account in these reference topologies. Each topology is comprehensively tested in the test laboratory in Reinach in consultation with the partners, documented and then published as a recommendation.

And how do customers benefit from the "Open Integration" partner program? Every problem that the integration experts find in the run-up to commissioning can be solved much more cost-effectively in the laboratory than later on the construction site. Customers are provided with concrete and validated suggestions for the automation of their systems that go far beyond established conformity and interoperability tests and ensure smooth integration. Last but not least, this saves them a lot of time and money.

Developments such as IIoT and APL will present users with new challenges and give integration tests even more weight. This makes it all the more important for partners to work together sustainably. The company representatives present from both the customer and provider sides agreed on this point. Cyber security will play a central role in the future, as will connectivity. It is also important to counter new entrants to the automation market such as IBM or Amazon with effective strategies.

At the exchange of experiences and ideas in Reinach at the beginning of June, it became clear that the process industry wants open, interoperable systems and not proprietary solutions. One of the users is longing for standardized, structured access to static asset information via QR and RFID-supported type plates in accordance with DIN 91406. Standardized diagnostics in accordance with NE 107 is also at the top of the wish list.

Endress+Hauser intends to address these and other open questions together with its cooperation partners in the near future in order to offer customers even greater added value in the digitalization of their process plants. The common goal: satisfied customers who can make extensive and low-risk use of the opportunities offered by digitalization.