Honeywell introduces the Field Device Configurator (FDC), a software application for the MCToolkit handheld configurator device. This new application software can help operators more easily configure and assess the health of HART 5, 6 and 7 instrumentation.
FDC and the MCToolkit was designed to help streamline device management for manufacturers as they transition their plant instrumentation from previous HART versions to the most recent versions. The MCToolkit device simultaneously supports this new FDC software as well as previous Honeywell software for configuring units with DE protocol, making this one tool available for many uses.
Technicians and engineers must frequently operate and maintain many field instruments from different suppliers, and they must also keep track of device description revisions from various manufacturers, which can sometimes be a complex and time-consuming chore. FDC can simplify device management by allowing engineers to choose device descriptors and revisions needed based on their unique requirements.
The FDC allows operators to customize their handheld device screen menus to quickly find and execute frequently performed tasks. For example, the screen that reports instrument device health can be quickly accessed from the main menu, which helps technicians and engineers make faster diagnostic assessments and take corrective actions. FDC also supports a search feature that uses filters and caching to quickly return the desired item instead of requiring the user to navigate through a menu structure. Users can typically reduce the number of steps needed to reach an item by 40%, according to Honeywell.