The committee has input and support from 39 manufacturers and suppliers including many energy companies that run refining, petrochemical and upstream operations. Procedural operations are now being used in the Gulf of Mexico for compliance testing. Answers to the most commonly asked questions for those entering the world of modular automation Large-scale automation systems have been at the heart of production line control for decades. When modular design works well, it merges the advantages of standardization and customization. Conditions Typical facilities that merit automated procedural operations are the offshore production platform and the floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) because of the concentration of processing in critical environments. Prompted procedures are implemented in a control or manufacturing execution system which steps through the procedures, stopping at the end of each step or action and waiting for the operator to manually grant permission to continue. It has since become ISA106. If you look back at the functions available to control systems for both programmable logic controllers (PLC) and distributed control systems (DCS), they focused on discrete and continuous control. (See figure 4) How to do it… This is due to the increased implementation costs to change and update successive procedures over time due to the lack of reusable software modules. Confirm deck operator opened hand valve HV100. The products are no longer a commodity and we move towards very small batches. This approach optimizes user acceptance and reduces deployment costs. Modular Automation. A procedure consists of a set of tasks that are conducted in a set way to achieve a certain goal. This approach optimizes user acceptance and reduces deployment costs. normal sequencing only or complex exception handling). What does provide the best solution is to consciously examine events that caused production interruptions, then examine the procedural operations associated with those events, document them and determine what type of implementation will provide the best economic return while improving safety, health and the environmental metrics for the facility. The ISA-88 standard ultimately addressed batch automation very well, however, attempts were made in the 1970s and 1980s to implement advanced procedure management using control system functions with strings of function blocks or by straight-line coded applications. There are three broad operational procedures involving transitions: startup, shutdown and unit state change. Keyword Driven Automation Framework. ABB has launched world’s first commercial modular enabled process automation solution. 1997 . Smart Manufacturing- Why is the Technology Stack so important? As many firms continue to operate with lean technical staff, yet the level of technological complexity is increasing, the timely flow of information, data, and knowledge is more important than ever in the process industries. It also maintains the primary role of the operator. Deployment to the actual remote upstream site then happens quickly and safely. These costs could amount to 2% of annual production. See more. Since the upstream sites are geographically dispersed and difficult to reach, innovation has occurred in the area of using remote operation centers (in an offline mode) together with production platform models and virtual basic process control systems. In the future, if there is any change in the series of action, all you have to do is to make changes in your main modular method script. Home automation is constantly evolving as new smart home technology emerges every year. This object fully represents from an automation perspective the complete functionality of that raw material delivery system. I sit on various IEC international standards committees on smart manufacturing. Procedural automation has been a consistent goal in most of the processing industries for several decades. These are used by the offshore industry for the processing and storage of oil and gas. Also other data will not be shared with third person. Modular automation transforms it into a flexible system that allows you to quickly and easily adjust the production volume by removing modules (numbering down) or adding modules (numbering up). Go to the brochure. One key area was in messaging and communicating back to the operator. Without modular procedural automation techniques, this level of standardization would be very cumbersome to maintain. MPA is a consultative methodology whose purpose is to document and automate procedural operations in continuous processes. The objective was to eliminate equipment failure (leaks) due to exceeding recommended levels in the rate of cooling. Other Basic PLC CPU options include the classic modular designs Q00 and Q01, the first steps on the path to the full System Q automation platform. Over the last decade, many papers have been published describing the implementations and the results achieved. MODULAR AUTOMATION IRELAND LIMITED is a LTD - PRIVATE COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES company based in Smithstown Industrial Estate, Shannon, Co Clare Shannon, Ireland, which employs 6 people. A definition of automation risk with examples. Check base tank level LI100.PV>=50% Transitions also inherently increase the risk of disruptions that can lead to incidents or lost production. Prompted procedures can decrease variability, transition times and enable automatic record keeping. Module Testing is recommended because 1. 1995 . The actual procedural knowledge and skill are in the heads of the most experienced operators. Technology, products, tools and actors associated with modular automation concept, Modular Automation solution for life sciences company Bayer AG, Submit your inquiry and we will contact you. We deliver outstanding automation solutions for advanced manufacturers worldwide including custom soultions, build-to-print machines & precision tooling. U.S. government regulations have tightened up considerably and now it’s not only important to demonstrate that you have a procedure but are actually following it and further can prove you are following it. Secondary and tertiary oil recovery methods follow procedures that are very repetitive but need constant vigilance to maintain costs and maximize production rates. Moved into purpose-built, 12,500 sq. Modular Automation Framework. Hybrid Automation Framework. In the U.S. hydraulic “fracking” to extract natural gas has been practiced since the 1940s. With the modularization approach, procedures are constructed like “building blocks”. Figure 1, below, depicts the methodology of capturing procedural best practices. Now, driven by changes in consumer demands, an alternative … The goal of this approach is to “distill” best-operating practices and find the right balance between manual, prompted and automated procedures, documenting and implementing the procedures and then executing continuous improvement cycles on them. Your e-mail address will not be published. The original SOP was simply: By staying here you are agreeing to our use of cookies. A procedural operation consists of a set of operator tasks that are conducted in a set way time-after-time to achieve a certain goal such as starting or shutting down a unit or making a product. Company registration number is IE296291. How Does Home Automation Work? • Process unit orientation with an operational perspective Upstream automation procedures are helping reduce costs, improve regulatory compliance, and improve the facilities’ performance by. Automated procedures are implemented in control systems and generally only stop at the end of normal operational sequences. The required chemistry is basic but the complexity arises from the extreme temperatures and required high pressures. Modular Protection Automation & Control (MPAC) ABB Electrification Distribution Solutions. As is typical in these applications, safety, and spill performance are paramount in the matrix calculation of operational cost. ABB provides complete protection, automation and control systems for an entire substation integrated into a modular building, that is tested and delivered to site. An overview of modular robotics. (See figure 3). While modular construction itself isn’t a new concept, a recent report from McKinsey & Company acknowledges that we’re now at a point where technology is making it a more viable solution. 13 Types of Office Automation » Automation Risk . Hierarchy of Procedures: MPA breaks large and complex procedures into smaller modules and organizes them into a hierarchy. Sequential and batch control functions were added later and the logic was more complex. 7 Examples of Automation Risk » Trending The most popular articles on Simplicable in the past day. These functions certainly could handle the sequential nature of procedure management but they had limitations. Before automation the procedure was always a manual operation because it involved a complex set of steps, the process responded non-linearly during cool-down and operators needed to handle several actions simultaneously. Why should you care about MTP - modules with encapsulated process functions offered as services? The hierarchy of modular procedures is easily adjusted to fit the application requirements which can vary with the level of complexity (e.g. In the last two years, another category of procedural operations has become more important involving a significant amount of time for the upstream operator. This is the first solution to combine an orchestration layer and a module layer integrated with the technology of module type packages (MTPs). Popular. I have 40 years of experience in decision support, human factors, batch solutions, procedural operations, HMI design, advanced process control, benchmarking analysis, the chemicals and refining industries and developing related standards. Also other data will not be shared with third person. Documentation for process improvement or compliance requires manual records which can vary in quality and be difficult to gain benefits from without additional data analysis. How to preserve the knowledge of the best operators on his/her best day has become the question. On closer examination of possible actions during a crisis, such as mistakes, it begs the question - “Are Machines Better than Humans in a Crisis?”. Modularity avoids duplicacy of code. While this can provide short-term operational benefits, the total cost of ownership of these procedures is higher than necessary. The common types of office automation. Only today is the economy and technology available to begin the extraction of natural gas in large underground fields. With the technology and early adoption of the idea of modular automation ABB is the right partner in this area.” Dr. Torsten Knohl, Senior Project Manager, Bayer AG. The topics being considered for the standard are: • Models and terminology The company started trading on the British marketing since 1998-11-13. Since the early 2000s, there’s been a renewed interest in modular construction due to breakthroughs like BIM, 3D-printing, and automation. Popular Tools that are used for Functional automation: Moving from monolithic automation systems for complete production plant to modular-enabled, more flexible and service oriented plug and produce automation solutions will allow faster process implementation, ability to scale the capacity by numbering up and down the production and improved capability and speed of product changes. This facilitates the development, testing, and verification of the “best-practice” automation procedures. Modular systems are also used in other industries (e.g., shipbuilding) where simple integration into higher-level systems is the key to success. In 2009 Shell developed automated procedures in an LNG facility to stem losses from transition management. Utilizing the Best Toolset Depending on Requirements: Although there may already be an installed base with existing control capability in a plant, using the MPA methodology the procedure requirements are first understood and documented, and then the best tool for automated procedure execution is recommended. So, you cannot use QTP modular framework alone in many of your automation projects (especially if your test cases need to be validated against multiple sets of data). LNG is a clear, colorless, nontoxic liquid that forms when natural gas is cooled to around -160 DegC. Overview. Typically the operations team is not in charge of the control system configuration and engineering. Together the five areas mentioned above are the places for implementing advanced procedure automation integrated into the operator’s console. If an abnormal situation takes place or an operator intervenes, the sequence can be held or perform exception handling. Transition management applies equally to a complete process unit and to a selected piece of equipment in a processing unit, like a shutdown valve, or a test separator or a heat exchanger. At the first meeting in June 2010, the committee agreed that its purpose was to develop standards, recommended best-practices and to publish technical reports on the lifecycle of automated procedures for continuous process industries. I am active with ISA (International Society for Automation) Standards & Practices division and co-chair of the ISA101 HMI standard committee. Our services include; Custom Automation Solutions, Proof of Principle, Build to Print Equipment and Precision Tooling. Complexity of testing can be easily managed The actual risk of safety events and spill occurrences are kept very low because the consequences of any excursion are huge. For our example, we’ll take a water filtration system design with a central controller and control system that was once commonly used. Plant Historian: Core of your Digital Transformation. Typically, there are 4 test automation frameworks that are adopted while automating the applications: Data Driven Automation Framework. Modular definition, of or relating to a module or a modulus. Privacy Policy, Artificial intelligence (AI) empowers the Sushi Sensor You might have, How Digital Transformation impacts Plant Availability, Digitization, which originally meant the conversion of analog information into digital formats, has now been almost completely implemented. However, procedural operations are again paramount in maintaining facility performance and environmental standards. Modular. The oil and gas fields onshore also have complex procedural operations. Modular Procedural Automation (MPA) MPA is a consultative methodology whose purpose is to document and automate procedural operations in continuous processes. In relation to modular automation, a service can be defined as a discrete unit of process functions provided by a module or a subset of a module which can be accessed, acted upon or update to. How to choose a control system that manages the operation of the process modules? Another example of capturing procedural best practices is shown in figure 2. Automated procedures for continuous processes in the past have typically been implemented using ad-hoc designs and programming techniques usually resulting in difficult-to-maintain code. A fourth area that is added to transition management is “abnormal” process state changes, like a process trip resulting in a well shutdown or a larger event causing a platform shutdown. Since that first meeting, the committee has grown in size substantially, met face to face several times and held monthly teleconferences. • Implementation of startup, shutdown, abnormal conditions, hold states, and transition logic It is written for the capabilities of the system. The upstream facilities are run and maintained according to operational procedures and every process and transition has a documented SOP. I am the Volunteer Engineering Director and a Fellow of the Institute of Measurement and Control and a Fellow of the IChemE. Managing a procedure or process transition in automatic mode did not work well and operators chose to accomplish procedure management manually. Role Joining Modular Automation means joining an accomplished team of innovators, to help blue chip medical device manufacturing companies advance their capabilities. Modular systems are becoming increasingly common in manufacturing and process engineering. Modular design, or modularity in design, is a design principle that subdivides a system into smaller parts called modules (such as modular process skids), which can be independently created, modified, replaced, or exchanged with other modules or between different systems. • Exception handling of abnormal process conditions In the last two years, this work is now being applied to the upstream industry and particularly to off-shore production platforms. This meant that the skill and knowledge of running the operational procedure stayed with the operators and operations staff and not with the control system designer or engineer. Automated procedures can provide an improvement over prompted procedures yielding further improvements in variability and transition time reduction. Its usually depends on the customer requirement and specification for their projects or manufacturing lines. This contributes to extended equipment life and optimized production or product yield. Are Machines Better Than Humans in Crisis? However, after evaluation and consultation with operation teams, the best practice, “know-how”, was added to the initial SOP flow chart. 4. According to a report by the insurance company Marsh Ltd, over the period 1975-2009, the 5-year loss rate (adjusted for inflation) in the refinery industry continued to rise. ABB's website uses cookies. Moving from monolithic automation systems for complete production plant to modular-enabled, more flexible and service oriented plug and produce automation solutions will allow faster process implementation, ability to scale the capacity by numbering up and down the production … We specialise in delivering top quality, reliable solutions for the world’s leading medical device and technology manufacturers. A module, also known as a package, assembly, or unit, is an independent portion of code that acts as a single building block for more complex systems. Incidents that occurred during startup and shutdown continued to be a major factor. Modular Automation is the right solution for process industries that are facing market requirements such as more customized products, shorter delivery times and smaller batch series down to batch size 1. On the right-hand side is the resultant “best-practice” procedure. No test case will be impacted by the change. Often operators perform these procedures based upon their training and experience gained over the years and upon reference to written documents such as SOPs. Probability of identifying errors or bugs on smaller chunks of program becomes higher 2. 3. By staying here you are agreeing to our use of cookies. “Modular Automation is doing phenomenally well,” adds Burfield. Advanced PLCs For advanced machine designs and controlling manufacturing cells, including infrastructure and site-wide management, System Q’s advanced PLC CPUs offer incredible performance and versatility. As standard, data and media are available in digital form. A modular design approach facilitates standardized implementation within sites and across companies. Batch processes are procedural in nature, but typically involve sets of procedures running in parallel on varying process units and almost always need to have inbuilt flexibility. However, knowledge and the accompanying skill sets are leaving the workplace due to retirement, and the availability of good operators to run these procedures manually is diminishing. A typical example is steam flooding in an oil field or in steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) oil fields. The first draft was issued in May 2011, has gone through a thorough review and will be re-issued in January 2012. Modular Automation is founded by visionary engineer Ron O'Brien . It covers the sharing of operational knowledge and experience, the implementing of procedure consistency, and the use of modular implementation. Another difficult area to overcome was that most procedure management involves unsteady state operation which includes many manual operations for the field or deck operator. Imprint In some abnormal transitions, like a process trip, most of the time there is an opportunity for a process operator to reset the equipment and operating conditions to reestablish normal conditions. The existing paper-based operator procedure library and standard operating procedure (SOP) manuals contain the “static” knowledge known when the production platform was being built and brought on-line. In its basic definition, transition management is a method of implementing advanced procedure management. More and. “In life sciences the production is now more focused on the patient and the given problem with personalized medicine. The goal is to improve overall performance through faster and smoother transitions. The other limitation (data re-usability) still looms large. Automating every procedure does not always provide the best solution; neither does manually executing every procedure. But the time window is narrow and is very challenging to do during an abnormal event and most often the affected process is brought to a much longer shutdown state with the result of higher production losses. Typical items of concern are water, acid gases, sulfur compounds, carbon dioxide, heavier hydrocarbons, and heavy metals. Modular procedure automation reduces engineering costs, improves flexibility and reduces downtime for changes. We are an agile business with the in-house skills and capability to design, build, install and support advanced manufacturing equipment. ABB's website uses cookies. Manual procedures are performed by operators taking actions either in the control room or in the field. A global standard with best practice is developed and deployed. My primary work with Yokogawa involves working with international organizations to understand the impact of digital transformation on our current and future business and also working with global standards development organizations (SDO’s) in the development of standards for operator decision support, smart manufacturing, robotics, and autonomous operations.