Aixprocess: Journey and Challenges in Process Digitalisation

From Early Beginnings to Advanced AI Digitalisation

With core competence in Computational Engineering, aixprocess has been a fully digital company since 2001. Our process digitalisation journey began in 2017 and deepened in 2019, allowing us to compile the first software tools for data analytics and process KPI predictions from a process engineer's perspective, despite having somewhat limited programming skills.

Initial Successes and Early Challenges

Quickly, we developed our first optimizer with a rudimentary graphical user interface, leading to the initial RealTime Digital Twin of a Vertical Roller Mill. This milestone required significant individual effort in data manipulation, supported by clients' IT departments for data exporting and automation, and plant engineers for identifying tag lists and explaining gaps and noise in the data sets.

The Need for Permanent Solutions

However, problems emerged when customers requested permanent installations with added software usability and OT features. We discovered that each system was a monolithic piece of software code, making it difficult to transfer to another client PLC system and adapt to their individual cyber security philosophy. This realization prompted us to invest in highly skilled professionals for connectivity, data analytics, code infrastructure, proper code writing, and testing, while still bridging the gap between software and process subject matter expertise.

Overcoming Data Stream Challenges

Our hardest lesson? Securing constant and robust data streams from the process into our digital platform aixProM from different data lakes turned out to be the most tedious and frustrating work by far. Product quality data posed a particular challenge, with each project struggling with time stamps - whether it was the time the sample was taken, analyzed, or documented. Identification of such inconsistency took quite an amount of time and numerous iterations to achieve consistent input data. That is what we experienced in our development of a Cement Pyro Line Digital Twin.

Embracing the Value of Challenges

Despite these challenges, we have come to appreciate the value of these bumps on the road to process digitization. These experiences, though cost-intensive and often frustrating for our entire team, have taught us invaluable lessons. We are now more equipped than ever to provide robust and reliable digital solutions.

Sharing Our Journey

We are more than happy to share our experiences with customers, partners, and the digital community, offering valuable insights into the process digitization journey. Our story is one of perseverance, innovation, and continuous learning, driving us to achieve excellence in every project we undertake.