ABB PM861AK01 Central Processing Unit
SYMPHONY Harmony is a proven process control system used for demanding
applications in various industries. The wide range of Harmony references includes the
power generation, chemical, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, water and wastewater,
petrochemical, metals and mining, food and beverage, cement, and sugar industries.
These system owners first acquired their ABB distributed control system because
it offered the best set of solutions that helped them be successful and competitive.
Whether it was ease of engineering, system scalability, powerful control applications
or ergonomically designed user interfaces, the system met the company's needs in an
effective and efficient manner.
But markets and business conditions are constantly changing, requiring faster
turnarounds, greater customization, smaller lot sizes, and lower overall costs. In
today's faced paced economy, companies are under more pressure than ever to run
their operation profitably - to achieve greater results with fewer resources.
With reduced capital spending, ABB system owners need to perform smarter and
better at substantial cost savings. The business challenge they face is to squeeze the
most productivity from the installed system by adding new functions and features,
extending its useful life and the applications within it, and by reducing maintenance
costs while improving overall reliability.
ABB addresses these challenges by providing new capabilities that enable Symphony
Harmony system owners to achieve Operational Excellence. Symphony Harmony
system products are enhanced to improve their cost/performance curves and make
them more reliable while incorporating proven, new technology to enable step change
benefits.
While a greenfield automation system installation can readily take advantage of the
latest capabilities, an existing system installation faces many modernization challenges.
These include:
24/7 production, short or non-existent downtime
Upgrades must be performed without jeopardizing operation of plant or mill
Maintenance budgets rather than large capital project funding
Site has made significant investments in:
.Control applications
User interfaces
·Training of plant personnel
.Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) based on the automation system
.Validation (for the regulated industries)
.Hardware
.Software
●Other intellectual property
Therefore, changes to an existing system must be limited to the specific area of
interest, be risk averse, and protect the owner's investments in hardware, software,
and intellectual property: In short, there must be a solid, measurable Return-on-
Investment (ROI).

ABB's answer to these issues is founded in its evolution strategy. Evolution is ABB's
way to deliver continuous improvement to its installed systems; allowing system
owners to meet automation system business objectives in an incremental way affording
the lowest risk and best ROI. It is not migration, it is not “rip-and-replace"; it is a well
thought out plan, allowing system owners to adapt new capabilities at their pace,
according to their need.
From a product point of view, this strategy is business as usual at ABB. Its pledge
of Evolution tbrougb Enbancement (Figure 1) has extended the life and the
Return-on-Investment of installed Harmony systems. Other vendors may talk about
investment protection, but ABB's proven programs are truly unique in the industry: All
told, from the introduction of Network 90* in 1980, through each of the evolutionary
steps of INFI 90*, INFI 90 OPEN, and SYMPHONY"" Harmony, this family of systems
represents the largest contiguous installed base of any process automation system
in the world. System 800xA represents the most recent step in the on-going system
evolution process.
The purpose of this document is to summarize the many opportunities available
to the Harmony system owner for enhancing the value of and extending the useful
functionality of their system. On the following pages are details of the enhancements
available to the Harmony DCS foundation (see section “Extending the Return-on.
Investment of Harmony Systems"); as well as the opportunities available to build to an
extended automation scope from a Harmony DCS foundation (see section "Achieving
an Extended Automation Scope with System 800xA").