Plants have hundreds or thousands of devices of different types to manage: configure/setup, calibrate, and troubleshoot etc.

In the past these devices were left unattended until they failed or drifted to the point the process was affected before a technician was sent to the field to check on them with a handheld field communicator. Other times the opposite was true, when work as done on the device in the field, somebody had to be in the control room to work from the software.

To unleash the full capability of intelligent devices, a permanent networking infrastructure such as HART, FOUNDATION fieldbus, PROFIBUS, and WirelessHART has to be in place.

Intelligent device management consists of:
• Overview Dashboard
• Configuration/Setup
• Calibration Trim
• Device Diagnostics
• Monitoring
• System Administration

These functions are now performed using handheld field communicator or intelligent device management software, whichever suits the task at hand best. EDDL technology makes these tasks easier thanks to user guidance such as intuitive graphics and wizards as well as expert know-how made available from the device manufacturer's experts, enabling all the devices in the plant to be managed using the same system thanks to standards-based multi-vendor interoperability. The result is lower cost of maintenance, and better performing devices.

How intelligent devices are setup, calibrated, and how diagnostics is incorporated in daily work practices is sometimes misunderstood and will therefore be explained in technical white papers and videos on these topics. The importance of EDDL in these functions is also explained.

Additionally, EDDL technology makes the system easier to administer, and there is no other way to achieve a comparable result.