Installed Networks Exceed 8,000 at Major Manufacturing Sites Worldwide

More than 8,000 WirelessHART (USA) networks are currently installed in major manufacturing sites around the globe signifying the widespread acceptance of the WirelessHART standard (IEC 62591; EN 62591) by the process automation industry.

Tens of thousands of WirelessHART devices are at work in a variety of process applications including rotating equipment, pipeline monitoring, storage tank farms and many others. Major companies such as Bayer, BASF, BP, Celanese, ConocoPhillips, Evonik, PEMEX, Shell, Statoil, and others are realising the benefits of WirelessHART technology at process manufacturing sites worldwide.

“The WirelessHART standard is built on the solid foundation of the HART Protocol and by design provides the same familiar ease-of-use, backward compatibility, interoperability, reliability, and security,” says Ron Helson, HART Communication Foundation Executive Director. “WirelessHART was designed so that the integration and operation of HART and WirelessHART devices with automation systems is seamless and transparent.”

Leading automation suppliers such as ABB, Emerson, Endress+Hauser, MACTek, Pepperl+Fuchs, Phoenix Contact, R. Stahl, Siemens and others are shipping WirelessHART-based products to provide cost-efficient wireless communication for process industry applications.

The WirelessHART standard supports self-organising, full multi-hop and multi-path mesh topologies and requires no specialised tools or expert communication protocol settings for deployment. The technology is easy to implement, provides built-in reliability in all industrial environments, and employs 128-bit AES encryption, multi-tiered, always-on security to protect the network and the data being transferred at all times. WirelessHART builds on proven international standards—the HART Communication Protocol (IEC 61158), EDDL (IEC 61804-3) and IEEE 802.15.4.