Risto Korpi is Product Manager for FieldALMA at Vitec ALMA Oy. He is responsible for guiding the development of FieldALMA, drawing on more than 30 years of experience in electrical and automation engineering projects as well as maintenance engineering for industrial plants.
In electrical and automation engineering, many errors occur when information is transferred from one place to another: from a drawing to a list, from a list to another drawing, and from one revision to the next.
With FieldALMA, engineering is carried out in a single database, while diagrams, lists and reports are generated from that data model. In this article, I explain what this means in a designer’s daily work, from circuit engineering and ATEX engineering to change management and project execution.
In conventional electrical and automation engineering, a single device may appear in a circuit diagram, equipment list, cable list, connection list, I/O list and tag plate list. Each of these is typically a separate file, and each must be updated manually.
When a transmitter is replaced, a cable becomes longer or an I/O channel is moved to another card, the designer needs to remember every place where the information appears. A single forgotten row in Excel can create an inconsistency that may not be discovered until installation or commissioning, when correcting the error is most expensive.
FieldALMA takes the opposite approach. When a designer adds a cable, it is important to understand that they are not simply drawing a line on a diagram. Instead, they create a cable object in the database, including its identifier, type and connections. Diagrams and lists are simply different ways of presenting the same object.
The difference becomes particularly significant when handling modifications and maintaining plant information. When the information exists in one place, a change only needs to be made once. There is no uncertainty about which version is the latest, and the same model continues to support the plant for years after the original project has ended.
In FieldALMA, predefined rules determine where objects can exist in the hierarchy, what they can be connected to and how they can be typed. This prevents designers from creating structures that are invalid from the data model’s perspective.
In practice, this gives the designer three key benefits:
A shared product register. Technical specifications, certificates and documentation are entered once in the product register. Every position using the same product can then use this information.
Diagrams and lists are generated automatically. Circuit diagrams are produced from DXF templates, while lists are generated from Excel templates. Because the information comes directly from the database, the generated output is always as up to date as the underlying model.
The information remains with the plant owner. The same model supports engineering, installation and maintenance. It can also incorporate process information, piping, mechanical equipment locations, IT environments, fiber-optic networks and electrical distribution networks.
Because all this information is interconnected, a change made in one place is immediately reflected wherever that information is used.
FieldALMA supports both instrumentation and motor feeder engineering. A circuit is built step by step in the database, with each stage also serving as a validation point.
Position and device. An automation position or electrical circuit is created, and devices are assigned products from the product register.
I/O and bus addresses. Measurements and controls are assigned to I/O cards or bus addresses. The system prevents the same channel or bus address from being allocated more than once.
Cabling and connections. Cables are assigned products and connected using automation.
Switchboard feeders. Electrical feeder reservations are made in switchboards for motor feeders. Cable voltage drop and maximum cable length are calculated according to the SFS 6000 standard using values stored in the product register. Everyone works with the same calculation formulas.
Diagrams and lists. The DXF generator copies the drawing template and replaces its #-variables with information from the database. Symbol substitution selects the appropriate device and card symbols.
The same principle is used to generate main diagrams, circuit diagrams, connection diagrams and installation type drawings. Lists required for engineering and installation, including circuit, equipment, cable and connection lists, are also produced directly from the model.
For the designer, an important advantage is that existing templates do not need to be abandoned. A customer’s current circuit diagrams can be reused by adding #-variables to them. If a circuit differs slightly from a standard circuit, the closest template can be selected and the generated drawing modified as required. Any subsequent changes made in the database can be transferred to the drawing using the Update function.
For instrument installations, FieldALMA includes installation types based on PSK standard drawings, complete with installation materials and DXF templates. Installation type drawings and material lists can therefore be generated directly for individual positions.
Diagrams can also be presented graphically within the user interface. For example, network diagrams for ICT engineering can be opened directly after modelling, making larger systems easier to understand and manage.
When engineering equipment for potentially explosive atmospheres, the ATEX Equipment Directive 2014/34/EU and applicable SFS standards require designers to demonstrate that each device is suitable for its intended environment. In FieldALMA, this information forms part of the same model used for the rest of the engineering data.
ATEX virtual areas. Areas based on hazardous-area classification drawings are created in ALMA, and all objects physically located within an area are linked to it. Equipment suitability can then be calculated using the appropriate ATEX values, allowing discrepancies to be identified quickly.
ATEX data in the product register. ATEX classifications and the electrical values required for Exi calculations are entered once for field devices, barriers and cables. Certificates are stored in the same location and can be opened whenever required.
Calculation of installation conditions. Once a field device has been connected to a barrier, ALMA checks the installation conditions of the circuit according to the applicable standard and compares the equipment classifications against the requirements of the hazardous area.
Commissioning inspection. The Exi commissioning inspection report is generated directly from the model. Values are retrieved from virtual areas, devices and products, and the report includes inspection points for the equipment, installation and environment.
The designer does not need to manually copy values into a spreadsheet, which ensures that calculations and documentation remain consistent.
Changes are inevitable in engineering. FieldALMA provides two complementary levels of change management: revisions in the data model and redpens in documents.
Revision management is handled in the data model. Every database object has a revision status:
This allows the plant’s current state and planned modifications to coexist within the same database without being mixed together. An expansion project, for example, can be engineered directly on top of the operating plant model without maintaining separate copies.
If an installer discovers that an actual connection differs from the documentation, or the customer’s responsible personnel comment on a diagram, the proposed change can be saved as a redpen document linked to the original document.
In drawing-based engineering processes, redpens are often exchanged as email attachments or paper documents, leaving their processing status dependent on an individual’s memory.
In ALMA, every proposed modification can be traced from the original suggestion through to approval.
The greatest time savings come from completing repetitive tasks once and applying the result to many objects.
Large volumes of information can be imported and exported through Excel, while data for hundreds of objects can be edited at once using table editing. Frequently used circuits, cable products and installation types can be stored as templates, allowing new objects to be created with only a few selections.
Calculation formulas populate values automatically, reports are generated directly from selected objects, and interfaces allow information to be transferred to other systems.
Standards are included as standard product content, so designers do not need to recreate them for every project. New models, report templates and engineering types are made available to users through product updates.
When engineering is performed in a database, project status does not need to be collected separately from different stakeholders. ProjectALMA’s engineering progress tracking calculates completion directly from FieldALMA data.
At the beginning of the project, estimates are entered for the required switchboards, circuits, devices, I/O points and bus addresses.
Actual progress is then calculated directly from the model based on factors such as how many circuits have been created, devices and cables assigned to products, connections and reservations completed, and documents generated.
Dashboards show the difference between planned and actual progress, overall completion and approval status. The same information can also be generated as a report when required.
For the project manager, this provides an up-to-date overview without separate progress reporting. For the designer, it means that missing reservations and documents that have not yet been generated can be identified before they cause problems during installation.
As FieldALMA’s Product Manager, I have seen the same pattern repeatedly. During the first project, the most visible benefit is faster document production. However, the real value grows with every subsequent project. Four things stand out.
Standardized solutions deliver compounding benefits. Once circuit types, engineering types, installation types and report templates have been standardized, the next project starts from an established foundation. Designers can spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on actual engineering, while the work produced by different designers remains consistent.
For example, a product and its type designation entered in the product register will always be represented consistently. This is fundamentally different from manually entering type information into a data field separately for every device.
Centralized information retains its value after the project. In drawing- and Excel-based engineering, project information can easily become buried in file folders. When the next modification project begins, the first task is often to determine which information is actually correct. When the model is maintained in ALMA, maintenance teams and future engineering projects can continue working from the same up-to-date information.
Changes remain under control. With drawing- and spreadsheet-based engineering, a single change may require updates to ten separate files. Every manual update introduces another opportunity for error. In ALMA, the change is made once and the generated outputs follow. Revisions and redpens provide traceability of what was changed, by whom and why.
The end result doesn't involve errors. In my view, this is the most important benefit. FieldALMA’s operating rules prevent invalid structures. I/O reservations prevent overlapping connections, and duplicate identifiers cannot be created. There is also no uncertainty about the latest documentation because documents are generated from the same underlying model.
An error that never enters the engineering model cannot make its way into installation or commissioning.
This reduces both the number of redpen documents and the potential for confusion during installation and commissioning.
In FieldALMA, the designer changes the model and the drawings follow.
Circuit engineering, ATEX verification, change management and project progress tracking all use the same database, preventing information from gradually becoming inconsistent across different documents and systems.
The result is faster engineering, controlled changes and reliable documentation that installation and maintenance teams can trust.
