Emerson DeltaV Edge Syncs Operator Views for Faster Fixes

Emerson’s DeltaV Edge Environment is designed to improve how industrial teams view, share, and act on operational data by allowing engineers, IT personnel, and operators to see exactly what others see in real time. This shared-visibility approach streamlines troubleshooting and reduces miscommunication by aligning everyone to the same dashboards and displays. Beyond collaboration, the platform contextualizes plant data through customizable views and includes a sandbox environment for safe analysis and training. With automatic updates, secure data pipelines, and support for open standards like OPC UA and REST APIs, DeltaV Edge also helps bridge IT and OT systems while simplifying integration and cybersecurity.

The DeltaV Edge Environment creates data contextualization and eases communication between system users. Image used courtesy of Emerson

DeltaV Edge Environment

The DeltaV Edge Environment is an application that lets IT teams, engineers, and expert operators see what other operators are seeing. Typically, if there is a problem or a critical decision, an IT team will view a different display, featuring redrawn, reorganized data to make processing easier. This can make it difficult to properly instruct a technician in the field on what to do next. In the DeltaV Edge Environment, the IT team logs into a secure site that shows them exactly what the technician in the field sees, making it easy to communicate with the technician. Things like “check the flow rate, third gauge down on the upper left part of the screen” are much easier to communicate than “find the flow rate”, which may or may not even be accessible to the operator.

Besides troubleshooting, this environment provides data contextualization. Plenty of devices in the plant are generating data, but without context, the data has limited value. Creating customized dashboards helps, but without a way to view one another’s dashboards, it can be difficult to ensure that key performance indicators (KPIs) are tracked properly across the organization.

Neat Features

DeltaV Edge Environment is a total ecosystem. To be effective, it must be deployed on multiple machines and devices across the plant. At first glance, this looks like just another logistical nightmare, with many nodes requiring updates and security patches. Emerson has a solution for this as well; they perform automatic updates. Once installed, the application updates itself directly through Emerson, saving the IT team time.

Emerson has also included a data “sandbox” that allows users to play with data. Engineers or technicians can view real-time data and start making sense of it in a safe environment. This can be used to find trends that might otherwise be hidden, or for training purposes.

This environment also serves as an integrating device, bridging the gap between OT and IT. Common communication methods, such as REST API and OPC UA, make it easy to expand automation systems to include new hardware as production needs change. All data is moved through a single, secure feed, reducing integration time while limiting threat vectors for cyberattacks.

Potential Applications

Troubleshooting is just one application for this software system. It also provides a means to contextualize data so that it has meaning for particular purposes and operators in the plant. Furthermore, the sandbox feature can be used to make the most of the data and speed up training for new operators. They can get a feel for their entire role by viewing real data without inexperience-related mistakes impacting production.