Integration holds the key for efficient plant engineering

All new plant developments face challenges. Chief among them are requirements to get the plant delivered, and up and running without undue delay, and to provide facilities not only to reduce risk but also enable optimisation of ongoing operational performance and efficiency throughout its lifecycle. Getting each of these factors right also impacts the ability of plant operators to improve product launch times and quality, so that investment cycles can be better supported. Among the starting points is creating an efficient plant engineering environment, able to cover from the original plant concept through to its operational ownership phase. However, traditionally, the elements of plant design, engineering, commissioning, operation and optimisation have acted in isolation from one another. Due to its serial nature, that inevitably means delay, as one stage has to be completed before the next can get fully underway. To get plant built, operational and able to flex efficiently, these stages – and the systems that support them – need to be integrated. And that is the point of the digital plant concept. It's about fusing together the various elements – from the plant design software to the engineering tools that are required for everything from plant development to the build and operational phases. With digital plant technology, industry, for the first time, can benefit from integrated engineering solutions that seamlessly link upfront plant design, engineering, commissioning and ongoing daily plant operations and optimisation. The fusing of Siemens COMOS plant engineering software – which is designed for plant and process planning – with the plant operational controls delivered by its PCS7 process management solution, offering key advantages for plant owners, engineers and operatives. It provides a consistent plant and equipment engineering environment that sees, for example, code generated in the COMOS plant design stage seamlessly transferred to the PCS7 operational phase. Such a digital plant approach delivers a 'living system' that fully models the as-built plant from day-one, through all its phases, using an ongoing two-way data exchange. It eliminates the conventional requirement for multiple system interventions to handle changes at any stage – from design to operations – so mitigating the risks and complexity associated with plant developments and alterations. Changes made in one part of the process simply ripple through to the other – alleviating repeat tasks and so reducing risk and effort. Equally, engineers at all stages enjoy a continuous information flow, from product design to production. Such are the benefits of the digital plant's integrated tool chain, which encompasses all key stages, from plant design, through basic engineering to detailed engineering, installation, commissioning, and operations and maintenance. Everything is based on a single engineering model, with built-in workflows for all aspects of the plant, including its automation configuration, with instrumentation and control. By adopting such an integrated approach, it is entirely feasible to reduce the plant concept to commissioning timescale by up to 11 weeks and the number of man-weeks involved by approximately10%. So the plant can be up and running, and making inroads into what is invariably a very substantial financial investments much more quickly – helping with both cost reduction and efficiency improvement targets. While the integrated plant engineering phase boasts the ability to optimise the engineering process itself and reduce process development effort – so reducing risks and timeframes – similar benefits can be derived for plant operations. Once the plant is operational, users gain the advantages of a fusion between engineering and operations – including minimised plant downtimes and shutdowns, fast and error-free information handover, as data is exchanged seamlessly, and consistently available plant documentation. This topic will be under discussion at Answers for Industry, a major conference and exhibition hosted by Siemens on 4 and 5 July at Manchester Central Convention Complex. Sign up for the conference by clicking the link below: