Strategies for fault-finding and maintenance on extensive PROFIBUS systems

Andy Verwer, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

The clear benefits of PROFIBUS have led to its widespread use across many industries and its current position as the world’s leading fieldbus. It is now common to find extensive installations comprising thousands of devices on multiple PROFIBUS networks which share data over Ethernet. This paper explores various approaches that may be adopted for dealing with device and communication faults on such extensive systems. A maintenance and fault-finding strategy that minimises plant down time is essential. The paper summarises experiences from a number of industries and outlines a general approach that can be taken to deal effectively with network and device maintenance.