As part of "Testing Tuesdays" we plan to highlight the Process Safety Management Suite, its features and how it can be deployed for your Control & Safety Systems to significantly reduce the cost of validation whist significantly improving the reliability and availability of your systems.

This week we introduce our automated logic testing tool, VESTA.

VESTA, Process Safety Solutions Cause and Effect Verification Software can be deployed to fully test a system Cause and Effect logic.

Once configured, VESTA connects to the Logic Solver running the application, and stimulates the C&E Inputs to a tripped state. All Outputs are monitored and the results from the tests are displayed in Cause and Effect format, and in a report.

VESTA can be used after every system modification to perform a 100% test of the logic; ensuring errors have not been introduced as part of the modification.

VESTA Key Features;

  • Testing of Cause & Effects to verify functionality of PLC application logic
  • Automatically condition System to a ‘healthy’ state
  • Full Cause and Effect testing of System logic
  • Verification of expected Effects against initiating Causes
  • Detection of unexpected Effects
  • Production of C&E Charts and reports from tests
  • Fully automated, fast, accurate and repeatable testing
  • Carry out ‘before’ and ‘after’ verification of system application logic; pre and post modification.
  • Fully satisfies the requirements of IEC 61511 Part 1 Clause 17.2.7 Paragraph 9: “Tests used to verify that the change has not adversely impacted parts of the SIS which were not modified.”

VESTA supports the following systems and protocols:

  • Trusted TMR
  • Tricon
  • ABB Plantguard
  • ABB 800xA HI
  • ABB Safeguard 400
  • Emerson DeltaV SIS
  • HIMA HIMax & HIMatrix
  • Allen Bradley ControlLogix
  • GE Fanuc 90/70
  • ISAGRAF 3,5 & 6 Targets
  • Legacy PLCs (Via Kepware KEPSever Drivers)
  • ICS 2000 / Trusted Hybrid Systems
  • Generic OPC DA Targets

Once Cause & Effect information is declared, VESTA performs the full Cause & Effect test.

The test is performed as follows:

  • Conditioning of the system to a ‘healthy’ baseline state.
  • System resets are applied.
  • The first Cause & Effect input/vote is tripped.
  • All the outputs are monitored.
  • Output trips are displayed on the test matrix.
  • Input/vote is made ‘healthy’.
  • System resets are applied.
  • The second Cause & Effect input/vote is tripped.

The Cause & Effect test is executed for all C&E lines.

On completion a Cause & Effect test report is produced.

VESTA is capable of testing a number of user defined Cause & Effect logical functions, which can be defined within the CERES database or manually, including;

  • Direct Input – Output Test
  • Time Delay Trip Tests
  • ANDed Inputs
  • MooN Inputs
  • Analogue Differential Trips

The Cause & Effect Test Matrix displays the following results: