Digital Transformation - What it Actually Means for a Plant

What does digital transformation really mean for a plant? How do they do it? For the third year I call 24th of July (24/7) the World Reliability Day to recognize the men and women that keep equipment working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7). I spend a lot of time thinking about digital transformation of plants to make their job easier, and how digital transformation can help all the other amazing people in the plant which ensure safety and compliance, energy efficiency and low emissions. So much of what we do privately and in the office is digital and data-driven, why should work in the plant be any different? Here are my personal thoughts:

In plants the basic process control and safety is already automated. That is, the production of oil, gas, petrol, ethylene, polystyrene, electric power, water, insulin, alumina, sheet metal, paper, and beer etc. is an automatic process. Yet, around the plant there are still lots of manual tasks being carried out for supporting functions. Digital transformation is about changing from manual paper-based tasks to data-driven tasks infused with digital Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Here I have summarized digital transformation I have seen in various plants. Imagine what it could do for the operations people in your plant.

Digital Transformation of Reliability & Maintenance

The maintenance, reliability, and integrity teams perform many manual tasks ripe for digital transformation enabling them to complete their duties faster and better.

Digital inspection

Imagine no routine manual collection of maintenance, reliability, and integrity data with portable testers or time-consuming interpretation. Instead data is collected automatically, transmitted digitally, and analyzed by software to detect early signs of problems. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is also tracked by software. Any remaining manual inspection rounds are not by clipboard and paper forms, but instead a tablet computer and software. A central pool of domain experts, company or external, tap the information to support plant personnel.

Digital collaboration

Imagine no delays waiting for an expert to mobilize to site or trying to explain a problem in the field from the phone in the office. Instead two-way digital video and audio between field technician with wearable camera at site, and expert anywhere in the world seeing the problem up close and live in software.

Digital document box

Imagine no carrying of papers or returning to the office to pick up additional documents. Instead open up digital procedures, drawing, and manuals etc. in software on a tablet or get information from the company Intranet or the Internet on-the-go.

Digital Transformation of Safety & Compliance

The Health, Safety, Environment (HS&E) team become very much more effective trough digital transformation of some of their tasks.

Digital distress calls

Imagine no walkie-talkie required for distress calls. Instead automatic detection, digital transmission, and alarm on safety shower activation or man-down, not moving, in operator software and location tracking software.

Digital safety checks

Imagine no ad-hoc visits to the plant to check if a manual valve was closed or dipping to see if tank is nearly full, and similar safety checks. Instead automatic detection, digital transmission, and indication in control room software, as well as use in interlocks.

Digital mustering and locating

Imagine no paper lists and walkie-talkie to account for people during emergency evacuation mustering and no search parties required to find missing personnel. Instead the location of every person is digitally tracked in real-time and automatically tallied in software.

Contractors are managed and alarm issued if personnel wander beyond permitted areas which is particularly useful during a turnaround.

Digital Transformation of Production

The tasks of both field operators and control room operators is simplified with digital transformation improving their productivity.

Digital operator rounds

Imagine no routine manual collection of operations data on clipboard and paper forms. Instead data is collected automatically and communicated digitally to historian and operator software etc. Any remaining manual rounds are instead by tablet with software.

Digital logbook

Imagine no paper notebooks for jotting down near miss incidents, hazards, and maintenance needs etc. Instead notes and digital photos of incidents, hazards, leaks, and damaged equipment is captured on tablets with software.

Digital package unit management

Imagine no more relying on just a general hardwired alarm for a package unit and having to go to the local operator panel to understand the state of its operation. Instead full status of every package unit transmitted digitally and displayed in operator station software.

Digital Transformation of Energy & Emissions

Energy efficiency and loss control personnel become more effective using new digital tools

Digital energy management

Imagine no manual collection of energy meter readings or tallying of consumption report. Instead consumption data is collected automatically, communicated digitally, and overconsumption alarmed by software also generating the ISO 50001 reports.

Digital Plant Transformation: Sensors to Software

Before there can be a digital transformation of how the plant is run and maintained there has to be a digital transformation of the automation in the plant. A digital plant is a connected plant. A digital plant also enables digital turnarounds thanks to these digital transformations. The main components of the digital architecture are:

Digital network infrastructure

Plants with fieldbus can use that to integrate more sensors simply by connecting them to the existing junction boxes. In any case, the Instrument & Control (I&C) department has to deploy a plant-wide wireless sensor network and optionally also a wireless LAN (WLAN) infrastructure depending on which operations tasks will be digitally transformed. People tracking, video collaboration, using computers in the field, and digitally integrating package unit PLC data are examples of functionality which require industrial Wi-Fi in addition to the WirelessHART sensor network. Since these are operational functions, both wireless networks have to integrate with the control system, historian, machinery protection system, safety system, and other operations systems. The wireless network infrastructure consists of wireless gateways for the wireless sensor networks, and wireless access points for the Wi-Fi network. The wireless gateways can be embedded inside the wireless access points when WirelessHART and Wi-Fi are deployed together.

Digital sensors

Process equipment like pumps, compressors, heat exchangers, blowers, cooling towers, air cooled heat exchangers, manual valves, and tanks etc. even steam traps are instrumented with additional sensors for pressure, flow, level, position, on-off contact, vibration, temperature, corrosion, acoustic noise, electric power, humidity, H2S, and sand as well as level switch – yielding smart connected equipment. Laying more cable and installing more I/O for 4-20 mA and on-off signals is not practical. Therefore, the sensor data is transmitted digitally using existing fieldbus infrastructure or a wireless sensor network. Control valves and flow meters not integrated through fieldbus are fitted with wireless adapters. The automatic data collection is much faster, thereby making the asset management more predictive as well as more productive.

The video camera on the headset for expert collaboration is also a sensor of sorts; an image sensor. The ID tags used for location detection optionally include a panic button and sensor for no movement (man-down).

Cloud connection security

Security is implemented at every level; in the wireless sensor networks, the Wi-Fi networks, wireless gateways, access points, analytics and other software.

For those plants using IIoT to get additional support from a central pool of experts, either their own at a corporate monitoring center, or outsourced to a third-party service provider, the cloud connection also has its security. Cloud connection options include using an existing De-Militarized Zone (DMZ), historian CloudConnect, data diode, or implementing the cloud connection as a physically separate network, for insistence using 3G/4G mobile.

Analytics and apps

Many digital transformation solutions are simple monitoring such as corrosion (metal loss), temperatures, and pressures etc. that need no analytics. However, performance and condition monitoring for complex process equipment with multiple measurements such as for compressors, blowers, fans, pumps, heat exchangers, cooling towers, and air cooled heat exchangers requires easy to use equipment analytics for automatic data interpretation. The analytics apps can either be created specifically for the plant’s existing historian or be platform agnostic. Either way plants continue using their existing historian, it need not be replaced by another middleware platform, and there is no need to add another middleware platform thus protecting the plant’s investment and keeping cost low. Thus analytics uses data aggregated from multiple sources; the existing sensors, package unit PLCs, control systems, safety system, machinery protection systems, intelligent device management (IDM) and software etc. through the historian or OPC-UA.

Other software includes the people tracking software for geo-fencing, mustering, contractor management, and asset tracking.

Mobility

Many of these tasks are carried out in the field, away from your desktop. Therefore some of these tasks make use of software on a tablet computer. Tablet-based functions include field data entry, taking digital photos, web interface for CMMS, MES, and ERP systems such as for digital work order and digital work permit management without returning to the office, and accessing documents etc.

The other aspect of mobility is when you are not in the plant, and not at your desk. You can access equipment data from your smart phone or tablet when you are sitting in a meeting, in the canteen, or are on your way to or from work. The system can also send you a message on high vibration or a critical pump issue.

Connected services

Often there is not enough experts at site. IIoT enables experts in a central location to monitor equipment at multiple sites. It can be the company’s own global monitoring center to manage process equipment in the company’s many plants around the world, or it can be a third-party service provider monitoring process equipment in multiple companies’ sites globally. The global monitoring center has a pool of experts in the areas of rotating machinery vibration, control valves, analyzers, static process equipment, and steam traps etc. to support the personnel at site with expert advice.

Digital transformation discovery session

The future is digital. But don’t try to transform everything at once. Work out a phased approach to digital transformation. Conduct a digital transformation discovery session at your site to uncover the current state of digital technology and which departments and tasks in the plant can benefit from digital transformation. Well, that’s my personal opinion. If you are interested in how the digital ecosystem is transforming process automation click “Follow” by my photo to not miss future updates. Click “Like” if you found this useful to you and share it with others if you think it would be useful to them.