Methods, systems and computer program products for plant resource management

A plant resource management system, configured for monitoring or controlling a plurality of field devices, the plant resource management system comprising:

• a plant resource management server configured to:
• receive device identity information corresponding to a plurality of field devices that are intended to be communicably coupled with the plant resource management server, wherein the received device identity information includes, for each field device within the plurality of field devices:
• a unique first device identifier corresponding to the field device;
• and
• device-class information corresponding to the field device;
• generate and store for each field device within the plurality of field devices, a device configuration data record, wherein generating the device configuration data record comprises:
• identifying a device-class for the field device, wherein the identification is based on the received device-class information corresponding to the field device;
• retrieving pre-stored device configuration information associated with the identified device-class;
• associating the retrieved pre-stored device configuration information with the unique first device identifier corresponding to the field device;
• and
• generating a data record comprising the retrieved pre-stored device configuration information and the associated unique first device identifier corresponding to the field device;
• communicably connect with the plurality of field devices;
• and
• for each field device within the communicably connected plurality of field devices:
• identify a stored device configuration data record corresponding to the field device;
• and
• modify within a local memory of the field device, one or more device configuration parameters corresponding to the field device, wherein the modification is based on pre-stored device configuration information retrieved from the identified stored device configuration data record corresponding to the field device;
• further wherein:
• generating and storing a device configuration data record corresponding to at least one field device within the plurality of field devices includes receiving plant hierarchy information corresponding to such field device, said plant hierarchy information describing a position or location of such field device within a hierarchical control structure implemented by the plant resource management platform;
• and
• responsive to determining that the received plant hierarchy information corresponding to such field device is inconsistent with a plant hierarchy that has been implemented by the plant resource management platform, the device configuration data record corresponding to such field device is generated without associating the received plant hierarchy information with the unique first device identifier corresponding to such field device.

A computer program product for configuring a plant resource management system, for monitoring or controlling a plurality of field devices, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code comprising instructions for implementing within a processor based computing system, the following:

• receiving device identity information corresponding to a plurality of field devices that are intended to be communicably coupled with the plant resource management system, wherein the received device identity information includes, for each field device within the plurality of field devices:
• a unique first device identifier corresponding to the field device;
• and
• device-class information corresponding to the field device;
• identifying a device-class for a field device within the plurality of field devices, wherein the identification of the device-class for the field device is based on the received device-class information corresponding to the field device, and wherein the field device corresponds to an offline registered device;
• retrieving pre-stored device configuration information associated with the identified device-class;
• associating the retrieved pre-stored device configuration information with the unique first device identifier corresponding to the field device;
• generating a data record comprising the retrieved pre-stored device configuration information and the associated unique first device identifier corresponding to the field device;
• communicably coupling the plurality of field devices with the plant resource management system, wherein the field device corresponding to the offline registered device is provisioned prior to the communicably coupling;
• identifying a stored device configuration data record corresponding to the field device;
• and
• updating a local memory of the field device by changing at least one configuration parameter of the field device defined within the stored device configuration data with at least one new configuration parameter defined within the pre-stored device configuration information.