PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD

摘要

An automated process control system (100) and method includes a controller (101) and a number of peripheral devices (104) that are controlled by the controller (101). The devices are located in a number of environments and su b- environments. The devices, environments, and sub-environments are organised in hierarchies and each device has an associated hierarchical identifier, which depends upon the environment in which the device is located. If the environment changes then so does the associated identifier. The controller i s operable to determine when an environment changes and to implement any contr ol actions that may be required by the change in the environment. The identifie r for devices can also be linked to users of the system to define dependencies between the devices and users. Properties for the devices can therefore be linked to the users through the identifier, thus enabling multiple users to access the same devices.