How to get legacy data into your Digital Twin

Over the years, each process plant is subject to maintenance, changes or small extensions. As usual in the operation phase (OPEX), budgets are restricted and money is just enough for plant equipment, maintenance work in the field and redlining. After a while, documents are getting mainly colored in red and difficult to maintain up-to-date. Even worse is that a replacement of an instrument must be reported in many places – so you don't have the certitude that your documents are all at same revision level.

The use of a digital twin will help to reduce downtime and lower maintenance costs, but requires highest data integrity: every technical information or drawing should be unique, in relation to each-other and on one central data platform. The prerequisite is an Object Oriented (OO) database with Single Source of Truth (SSoT) common to all technical disciplines.

There are no human twins with only legs and others with only arms. And same apply for a digital twin: design, process, electrical, instrumentation, automation, and other information must be represented only once and within the same database.

Now you have your collaboration platform in place, how do you get your legacy data there?

The situation of your plant documentation is:

• Older plants have documents in .pdf or paper form
• Each vendor has its own engineering tool and documentation
• Each engineering tool is in its own saving format
• Most export formats are proprietary and incompatible to each-other

The solution consists to export drawings and documents over a common format as XML, xls, dwg?, dxf, AML, DEXPI. In a second step, objects (e.g. reactor, pump, instrument, pipe, cable,…) are identified and grouped together (from the different drawings and lists). Finally, the data are migrated to a common project structure for all disciplines.

Nowadays, advanced algorithms can recognize equipment types on drawings and map parameters, which makes it very convenient for large amounts of documents.

Your benefits with a digital twin:

• Data are unique and in real-time: no discrepancies, no duplicates, up-to-date
• Easy find and navigate between your documents, lists and drawings
• Better knowledge and visibility of your plant through central data platform
• Reduced maintenance administration and coordination
• No more manual processes between the disciplines
• Reduced amount of databases (Hardware + IT administration)

Our solution Engineering Base (EB) is the backbone for all data in the area of Engineering Technology (ET). It can bridge with various interfaces to the full Information Technology (IT) world and together with Dynamic data from the Operational Technology (OT) world, fulfill the requirements of a digital twin.

If you want to know more about the possibilities of EB and how to build a real digital twin, please contact me or visit AUCOTEC at ACHEMA 2022.