Cloud-hosted interface for portable device communicators

A system for sharing plant device configuration data collected by handheld communicators for a plurality of process control devices comprising:

• a first process control device including one of a set of devices including a process controller, an input/output interface, or a field device;
• a first handheld communicator device detachably coupled to the first process control device and adapted to:
• access a device parameter menu of the first process control device to execute a set of write commands to the first process control device;
• generate a configuration profile capturing a set of device parameters of the field device, wherein the set of write commands modifies the set of device parameters of the first process control device;
• and
• assign an equipment identifier to the configuration profile, wherein the equipment identifier indexes an equipment profile that includes a set of process control devices associated with the field device;
• and
• a device configuration database adapted to receive the configuration profile from the handheld communicator and to store the configuration profile indexed by at least a device identifier and an equipment identifier.

A computing device for use in configuring a plant device comprising:

• a computer readable memory;
• a processor;
• a first interface communicatively connected to a first process control device, wherein the first interface is detachable from the first process control device,
• wherein a configuration application is stored on the computer readable memory and adapted to be executed on the processor to:
• communicate with the first process control device via the first interface to access a set of device parameters of the first process control device;
• modify the set of device parameters of the first process control device;
• generate a first configuration profile for the first process control device, wherein the first configuration profile includes a configuration identifier, a device identifier, a set of process control device parameters, and a date-time parameter, wherein a subset of the process control device parameters includes the set of device parameters modified by the configuration application;
• assign at least one equipment identifier to the first configuration profile, wherein the equipment identifier references at least a second process control device associated with the first process control device;
• and
• query for the first configuration profile by the device identifier and the at least one equipment identifier to retrieve the first configuration profile.