Equipment Phases

Equipment Phases … do your systems use these?

Troubleshooting a system which includes Equipment Phases presents some new challenges. You’ll need to access the Equipment Phase Monitor screen shown here – and understand how the chart sequences the processor’s execution from one State Routine to the next. In some maintenance operations you’ll need to “take ownership” of an Equipment Phase – and then manually drive the processor through the various steps of its sequence.

Depending on what method the original programmer preferred to use, each of the State Routines (the individual steps) might be written in Ladder Diagrams, Structured Text, Function Block Diagrams, Sequential Function Charts – or in any combination of those methods.

You’ll also need to understand the operation of the special instructions which are unique to Equipment Phase programs. The most common of these are the PCMD (Equipment Phase Command) – the POVR (Equipment Phase Override Command) – and the PSC (Phase State Complete) instructions.

Our Boot Camp classes can provide hands-on training exercises to help you navigate and interpret the various features of the Equipment Phases programming method. Just let us know if you’ll require these particular job skills.

Reference material on Allen-Bradley’s website