The plant, an Emerson Process Management customer, was recognized for innovative use of the advanced capabilities of HART Communication in real-time applications to improve operations, lower costs, and increase availability.

The plant's achievements included reducing maintenance costs by 10% and detecting device failures that might otherwise have led to unplanned shutdowns costing as much as €2.2 million in lost production.

"With HART, we have been shifting from time-based maintenance to condition-based maintenance," reported Takayuki Aoyama, instrumentation group team leader at the Kashima plant. "We have also been able to predict and prevent potential problems by monitoring advanced diagnostic information from field devices, such as the statistical process monitoring capabilities of Emerson's Rosemount 3051S transmitter."