FDI Usability Evaluation Service New Usability Evaluation Service for FDI Device Package Developers FieldComm Group is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Bilfinger Maintenance GmbH to create a usability evaluation service for FDI enabled field instruments and systems. The new service is available to field instrumentation suppliers and will be managed as an optional service. Instrument usability will be evaluated by Bilfinger technicians through a series of tests with several host applications and systems. At the conclusion of the evaluation the supplier will receive a report documenting the observations. “We believe that this service provides great benefits to users that would like to adopt FDI in their plants but want to understand how FDI registered field instruments will operate with specific host systems”, says Paul Sereiko, Director – Marketing and Product Strategy at FieldComm Group. “Additionally, suppliers will gain insights that will inform future product usability improvements.” Devices that are tested will be evaluated against a set of important criteria for usability including: - Presence and appropriate configuration of all security certificates.
- Successful import of the FDI Device Package into each selected host system.
- Validation that the FDI Device Package identification parameters match the product nameplate.
- Operation of the FDI Device Package including:
- Proper display and functionality within the host.
- Upload and Download of field device configuration data from the device to the host and back.
- Faultless configuration of field device parameters with the FDI Device Package.
- Functionality of integrated User Interface Plugins (UIP).
- Ease of identification of all attachments found in the FDI Device Package.
“FieldComm Group lab registration services are focused on conformance to test specifications designed to validate protocol standards”, states Sven Sientsch, Bilfinger Maintenance GmbH. “FDI usability testing focuses solely on the user experience associated with operating specific devices and systems.” Suppliers who purchase the service will be able to evaluate their products against up to six host systems including: - ABB FIM
- AMS FDI
- FieldCare
- iDTM / Pactware
- Instrument Inspector
- PDM
Additional information can be found on FieldComm Group’s Member Support Portal. | 
