HART capable devices and their potential for the improvement of the performance of production plants in the processing industry has long time been a very underestimated and misunderstood topic. This contribution shows the benefits of diagnostics in general and particularly when used in combination with the HART protocol to transmit diagnostic data within the safety instrumented system. The argument is supported by an analysis carried out using the tool exSILentia for the calculation of the probability of failure on demand for example safety loops. This leads to the conclusion that the use of diagnostic data can increase a plant’s safety and reduce unnecessary downtime.
