How digital is your plant?

A recent article “Which Industries Are the Most Digital (and Why)?” in Harvard Business Review got me wondering which plants are the most digital? Plant managers talk about smart plants and going digital, but many are uncertain about what it actually means. Digital plants stand out from their peers in how they put digital technology to work in Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and how plant personnel are endowed with the skills to use digital tools in every aspect of their daily activities. Here are my personal thoughts on how the article applies to plants:

What is the state of digitization in the plant you work in or which you are designing? That is, what is the degree of digitization? While many modern plants make pervasive use of networking, with digital networks from the very first meter, from sensors and actuators, other plants are still being built with analog signals for real-time transmission with their sensors and actuators.

Plants are digitizing their equipment by putting more digitally networked sensors on them than ever before

The article highlights the need to digitally transform work processes – which in a plant applies to activities like maintenance, as well as for ensuring reliability and energy efficiency.

Most importantly the article stresses digitally empowering the personnel with digital skills – which in a plant means that all roles need to be able to work with computers, software, networked “things” (instrumentation), and the Internet.

A greater share of tasks needs to be digitally transformed using digital tools. For instance, to digitally transform instrumentation maintenance the instrumentation needs digital networking to enable centralized condition monitoring of the health of an ever increasing number of devices. This can’t just be the transmitters and control valves, but must also include networking of the on-off valves, electric actuators / motor operated valves, and level switches etc. to cover all devices. Plants need to deploy software tools to enable work processes to be rewritten around a check the software first mentality rather than first going to the field just to take a look. In other words, work process have to be rewritten to make use of this software – if not, the software may fall into disuse. This in turn means that to digitally transform equipment maintenance (e.g. pumps, cooling towers, blowers/fans, cooling towers, air cooled heat exchangers, and compressors etc.) these assets need to be fitted with more instrumentation – again on fully digital networks to minimize the amount of associated wiring.

New digital occupations will be created in the plant; such as positions specialized in looking after the health of the ever increasing number of industrial networks, positions managing the analytics software system, positions looking after integration with IT systems, position looking after digital integration with external third-party service providers using IIoT-based business models. That is, these new digital occupations require new digital skill sets. But even existing positions that remain will also be digitally transformed and require new digital skill sets. 

The article shows oil & gas, utilities, chemicals & pharmaceuticals are lagging behind the ICT sector and many other sectors in digital adoption. This is not so surprising considering that although most plants have digital control systems, digital transmitters, and digital valve positioners – the real-time signals between them in most plants are still analog. While many smart plants with fully digital instrumentation are being built, other plants are still being built with analog signals. Because each analog signal requires a dedicated pair of signal wires which is costly and requires an analog I/O card channel which is also expensive, most such plants are being built with a bare minimum of instrumentation and using only a subset of I/O signals available in the devices.

However, there are of course standout plants that are pushing the frontier forward for everyone else with pervasive networking, both fieldbus and wireless, which enables pervasive use of sensors for digitization of all process equipment and also enables all I/O signals in every device to be utilized. These plants are in an entirely different league.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/how-one-plant-cut-44-wires-down-2-jonas-berge

Digitization

To what degree is the equipment in your plant digitized?

Is the plant using digital sensors and digital valves such as in “smart” transmitters and valve positioners but also intelligent on-off valves and intelligent level switches? Are these instruments fully digital or do they still rely on analog real-time signals?

Are the process equipment “connected”, meaning fitted with networked digital sensors to turn an ordinary pump into a smart pump?

Is the plant using real-time analytics software for equipment condition and performance monitoring to increase equipment reliability and efficiency?

Has the plant deployed IIoT solutions for centralized or engaged external vendors’ business models outsourced valve, steam trap, or pump diagnostics etc.?

Digital plants are adopting digital technology in a purposeful way. One example is an intelligent two-wire on-off valve which includes valve and actuator diagnostics. Another example is a wireless vibrating fork level switch able to detect if there is buildup on the tuning fork.

Digital Work Processes

Modern plants make more extensive use of software to manage tasks such as instrument calibration and service as well as process equipment cleaning and overhaul. This in turn requires use of intelligent devices including intelligent on-off valve which are digitally networked as well as smart equipment fitted with additional sensors – digitally networked. These plants have a “check the software first” mentality; if operations report a problem with a transmitter or valve, instrument technicians don’t run into the field with a handheld – they check the intelligent device management (IDM) software first from their office desk to determine if the device is healthy, or if not, what action needs to be taken. Similarly, if operation reports an equipment problem, the maintenance team will check the condition monitoring software first to confirm if there is a problem, and if so what needs to be done.

Digital Skills

Plants use incredibly sophisticated technology in diagnostics of their large turbines and compressors but substantial parts of their workforce use only rudimentary or no technology, such as a multimeter for instrument troubleshooting because the real-time signal is still analog 4-20 mA.

I personally agree with “In some cases, new hires may be necessary, but investing in ongoing employee capability building and cultural change could pay real dividends”. Many industry articles point out that lots of experienced people are now retiring which indeed is a challenge. But, on the bright side, the young engineers being hired to fill the gaps as more senior people are promoted to take the place of those that retire, have information and communications technology skills that can be brought to bear on activities to bridge this gap. At time same time it is important that all plant personnel pick up these ICT skills because networks and software will be everywhere in the plant. This is necessary for the culture change to take place; to “check the software first” when planning activities.

Plants can also make use of new IIoT-enabled business models such as remote monitoring services where an external third-party manages the digital instrumentation, digital networks, and software required for equipment monitoring as part of a service contract where the plant is simply receives periodic and exception-based reports which drives maintenance activities to ensure reliability and energy efficiency while ensuring a low maintenance cost.

About the need for business transformation to maintain a competitive advantage the HBR article mentions “This requires a renewed external focus to understand more deeply how peers in the industry are digitizing”. For instance, since plants in Asia and elsewhere are being built with modern digital networks from the very first meter, the sensors and actuators, existing plants need to modernized with digital networks as well.

Digital Renewal

Plant management can drive digital renewal of the plant starting with a plant modernization audit to gauge the level of digitization of assets to know where modernization is required and amount of investment to be made. As the digitization gets rolled out, the plant’s SOPs should be rewritten around the new software. Simultaneously, train people to use software and not just portable tools, and endow them with the skills to run and maintain digital networks, not just 4-20 mA instrumentation and on-off devices. Well, that’s my personal opinion. If you are interested in how the digital ecosystem is transforming process automation click “Follow” by my photo. Click “Like” if you found this useful to you and share it with others if you think it would be useful to them.