Abstract: A method of controlling an industrial process run in a plant includes sending field data from the process to a data acquisition module. The data acquisition module converts the field data into Internet protocol (IP) field data. The IP field data is provided to an IP broker having a memory that stores the IP field data arranged in a tree of topics. The IP broker has a stored publisher/subscriber pattern including a plurality of clients including a first client subscribed by a published message to the IP broker that includes at least a selected topic from the tree of topics. Upon receipt of an update of the IP field data including the selected topic, the IP broker publishes the updated IP field data according to the publisher/subscriber pattern over a permanently open IP connection that is received by at least the first client.

Abstract: A data processing system for controlling an industrial process includes a cross software platform layer including a data acquisition (DA) add-in and calculation add-in coupled to receive measured field data from a field layer including a process data link or Communication Interface Unit (CIU) coupled to processing equipment in the plant having associated field devices including sensors for providing measured field data and actuators configured to run the industrial process. A processor implements a DA algorithm to provide the DA add-in, a calculation algorithm to provide the calculation add-in, and a visualization algorithm all stored in a memory associated with the processor. The DA add-in acquires the measured field data from the field devices, the calculation add-in generates calculated data from the measured field data, and an application layer is for applying the visualization algorithm to the calculated data to populate cells of a spreadsheet.

Abstract: A method includes obtaining data associated with material that is transferred during a material transfer involving multiple parties and/or equipment associated with the material transfer. The method also includes generating an update to a blockchain based on the data and updating a local copy of the blockchain using the update. The method further includes publishing the update to one or more nodes for updating one or more additional copies of the blockchain. The blockchain could identify one or more sealing actions associated with one or more seals applied to the equipment or components of the equipment, such as when the blockchain sequentially identifies all sealing actions applied to the equipment or the components of the equipment. The data could include contents of a document associated with the transfer of the material, and the update to the blockchain could include the contents or a hash of the contents.

Abstract: A method of custom GUI control. Field data is sent to a data acquisition module coupled to a processing block that assembles a serialized object message (SOM) by a selected topic including data values, display sub-controls coupled to an IP data provider that stores the topics, an algorithm for publishing SOMs and a publisher/subscriber pattern including clients. The clients have a GUI application including a custom GUI control subscribed to the IP data provider. The IP data provider publishes SOMs by the selected topic as call-backs over an IP bus shared by the clients including to the first client including an initial SOM which generates the custom GUI control and stores the selected topic as a referable instance for populating GUI components and a subsequent SOM having an updated value, wherein the GUI application accesses the custom GUI control to populate the GUI components by only overwriting the changed values/parameters.

Abstract: A method of controlling an industrial process run in a plant includes sending field data from the process to a data acquisition module. The data acquisition module converts the field data into Internet protocol (IP) field data. The IP field data is provided to an IP broker having a memory that stores the IP field data arranged in a tree of topics. The IP broker has a stored publisher/subscriber pattern including a plurality of clients including a first client subscribed by a published message to the IP broker that includes at least a selected topic from the tree of topics. Upon receipt of an update of the IP field data including the selected topic, the IP broker publishes the updated IP field data according to the publisher/subscriber pattern over a permanently open IP connection that is received by at least the first client.

Abstract: A data processing system for controlling an industrial process includes a cross software platform layer including a data acquisition (DA) add-in and calculation add-in coupled to receive measured field data from a field layer including a process data link or Communication Interface Unit (CIU) coupled to processing equipment in the plant having associated field devices including sensors for providing measured field data and actuators configured to run the industrial process. A processor implements a DA algorithm to provide the DA add-in, a calculation algorithm to provide the calculation add-in, and a visualization algorithm all stored in a memory associated with the processor. The DA add-in acquires the measured field data from the field devices, the calculation add-in generates calculated data from the measured field data, and an application layer is for applying the visualization algorithm to the calculated data to populate cells of a spreadsheet.

Abstract: A method of process control includes providing in a plant a process control system including a first and at least a second field device each associated with processing equipment. The field devices are communicably coupled to ?1 host computer by a shared field communications channel that includes a scanner which includes a data store that which supports a queue that consumes scanner bandwidth and a processor having an associated memory which implements a scanner overrun alert (SOA) algorithm stored therein. Consumption information is stored for the bandwidth (consumption information) as a scanlist in memory including primary requests for bandwidth for data from the field devices with a minimum and maximum update rate defined for each, and secondary requests for bandwidth. The SOA algorithm calculates a total percentage of the bandwidth utilized by the consumption information and generates an overrun alert when the total percentage is above 100% of the bandwidth.