How prepared are you for digital twins?

There has been some discussion about creating a digital counterpart or "twin" of the actual world. However, despite nearly two decades of debate, the Internet of Things revolution has only recently given the idea of a "Digital Twin" traction.

The term "Digital Twin" is frequently used in the context of the Industrial Internet of Things, Digital Transformation, or simply turning digital. Most people think of Digital Twins for machinery failure prevention, but the benefits extend far beyond that.

Their value comes from providing insights into potential future design and process improvements and anticipating operational concerns through predictive modeling and "what-if" scenario analysis, including process optimization, cheaper manufacturing costs, and minimizing the enterprise's carbon footprint.

Digital models of physical objects can generate enormous economic value by providing real-time insights into various parts of a business, such as operational procedures, asset utilization/performance, product development, and even event management.

While it's one of the hottest concepts in technology, is your company ready to take advantage of it? 

What exactly is a digital twin?

A digital twin is a virtual representation of a physical entity, such as an item, process, or person. It contains information about the object's size, components, performance, and so on, as well as current and historical data captured by sensors and actuators. We can create analytical models using this data to provide valuable insights.

Digital twin components

The technologies that enable digital twins are the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and big data. A digital twin does not always have to be a 3D reproduction of the real thing (though a 3D model is highly desirable). 

A digital twin will have these four important components.

·       A virtual model of the physical object.

·       A sensor captures time series data from the object or other related sources.

·       A unique identifier, such as an equipment ID or equipment number, to associate the digital twin with its physical counterpart.

·       Monitoring capability with the help of a sensor or camera.

The four critical components of digital twins can be illustrated using a feed pump. A feed pump, for example, may be part of a distillation column and is listed on the P&ID. A digital operator records a production event and initiates the feed pump. The feed pump automatically executes a series of startup processes and checks known as the initialization sequence. The pump's motor current and vibration data, as well as temperatures, pressures, and flows, are recorded—the time series dataset. The operations manuals specify data limits, sequence timing, and so on. At the same time, the 3D models provide any visualization that the operator or management requires.

The data acquired by digital twins are used to record and analyze the current state of the equipment, informing appropriate decisions on whether the equipment should be repaired, maintained, or adapted.

The benefit of Digital Twin Technology

There are numerous advantages to having digital twins in your firm. Let's take a look at a couple of them.

·       Product quality concerns are reduced. Digital twins simulate various "what-if" real-world scenarios to assist firms in understanding potential consequences, improving operations and processes, and identifying product quality issues. 

·       Maintenance costs are reduced. Through simulation models that incorporate information about numerous risk variables, operational scenarios, and system configurations, digital twins predict maintenance failures. As a result, they aid in cost savings, equipment reliability, downtime reduction, and equipment life extension.

·       Improve financial decision-making. A virtual representation of a physical product can include financial information such as the cost of materials and labor. In addition, the availability of a significant amount of real-time data and advanced analytics enables organizations to make better and faster judgments about whether or not to make changes to a manufacturing value chain. 

·       Efficiency and productivity are improved. By utilizing digital twins, organizations are no longer required to experiment with actual things to enhance operations. Instead, they can continue existing operations; they may run simulations in the lab to understand the risks and advantages of new processes and then tinker with them to see which tweaks produce the most significant outcomes.

Use Cases of Digital Twin in the Manufacturing Industry

Manufacturers can use digital twins in a variety of ways. Let's look at how some of the world's best manufacturers utilize digital twins to their advantage.

1️⃣ Reduced time to market. Maserati, one of the world's most recognized vehicle manufacturers, cooperated with Siemens to integrate a digital twin into its manufacturing process to accelerate its car development. Their engineers can now use data from virtual copies of cars to continuously optimize their development with the help of Siemens PLM software. For example, the traditional approach for evaluating the vehicle's aerodynamics requires manufacturing a physical prototype and placing it in a wind tunnel. Instead, such testing can be conducted virtually using the digital twin, significantly saving expenses and enabling more intricate experiments with the car's aerodynamics.

2️⃣ They are predicting product failures. To address the increased demand for their industry-leading screw compressors, Kaeser chose to incorporate a digital twin into their new production facilities. In Kaeser's situation, the items must match a specific customer's needs, which significantly complicates quality control. Furthermore, Kaeser clients can select between air and water cooling systems depending on the environment and add a drier or a heat recovery system to their compressor.

Kaeser staff can use a digital twin to establish the exact product test routines before it is constructed. Then, with the push of a button, test sequences are launched after a compressor has exited the production line. If the remaining results do not meet the specified requirements, the system notifies an operator, who manually modifies compressor parameters.

The utilization of a digital twin by Kaeser extends beyond its manufacturing facility. A digital twin virtually replicates every discharged pressurized air system, which enables operators to remotely detect possible issues and perform timely maintenance on each compressor. As a result, the digital twin considerably extends the product's life, boosts customer happiness, and lowers maintenance expenses.

3️⃣ They are streamlining product development. For example, Bridgestone, the world's top tire maker, now employs a digital twin to share virtual duplicates of prospective products with partners for approval. The data science director of Michelin, the world's second-largest tire maker, also argues that the digital twin has enormous potential for creating highly successful partnering ecosystems, allowing firms to share development data effortlessly.

How to prepare your business for Digital Twin?

Prior preparation is required for the creation of a digital twin. The following checklist below emphasizes the critical elements you must have for your digital twin investment to pay off.

·       State aims and goals: Determine your business goals and objectives for using a digital twin. Assess the cost versus the value and risk.

·       Create an ecosystem of intelligent technology: To create a connected ecosystem, invest in sensors, actuators, APIs, IoT platforms, AI, and other technologies.

·        Build a data-driven analytic model by investing in real-time data processing, 3D modeling, predictive analytics, and machine learning.

·        Build and implement a digital twin plan by training business leaders, IT managers, data analysts, and IT, security teams.

·        Prepare a plan for digital ownership, ethics, and security:

·        Build an effective data management policy that addresses issues such as digital twin model ownership and data management

Using Digital Twin to Transform Your Business

Digital twins are changing how businesses make decisions and function by providing insights into the most likely outcomes without requiring them to accept those risks in the real world.

Participating in the new digital industrial environment requires thinking digitally, which means digitizing and automating many of our manual processes. The process is a team sport that involves leadership, information technology, operations, maintenance, and, of course, a team to accomplish the integration.

It is possible to prioritize business prospects with the right team in place while focusing on effective and quantifiable projects that can be implemented fast. Implementing a technology roadmap is also necessary to address all or the majority of the business objectives.

Companies should collaborate with integration teams with competence in operational technology (OT), information technology (IT), and expertise in the company's production process.

The result? 

They can assess the influence of changing conditions on their operations, investigate business strategies and their expected outcomes, improve customer experiences at scale with human-like intelligence, and increase the chances of succeeding in a highly competitive commercial sector.

If you need further information about implementing digital twins, we from ensign advisory GmbH support you with experienced #consulting and # to find your best solution. 

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