Page 30 - Impiantistica Italiana

twin could be reused later on for operations and optimization, the necessary variations from
maintenance purposes.” process and asset design are fed back to the
The true and maximum value of such a digital twin engineering stage of the lifecycle enabling a
is obtained through continuous and consistent cap- complete and efficient digital value loop.
ture of relevant data throughout the entire lifecycle
–from engineering to operations - converting the Digitalization further enables collaborative solutions
data to business contextual information and ena- that increase optimization and efficiency with better
bling a digital closed loop of value to every aspect informed decisions. Tools like digital twins help sta-
of the lifecycle. Digital twin can reduce simulation keholders formulate the most profitable operations
effort by 50% throughout a plant’s lifecycle [9]. in terms current (and predicted) market conditions.
This is just one example of how new tools can help
First born digital twin oil & gas companies to harness the true potential
As part of the process design lifecycle, a model is of digital transformation by injecting innovation at
typically created to simulate the plant before it is every level of their IT and OT systems, thereby tran-
even constructed. Referred to as a “first born” digi- sforming the efficiency of the oil & gas value chain.
tal twin, this allows for the process, equipment, and
operations to be analyzed and optimized for safety, Simulation tools
reliability, and profitability. Digital twin and first born Although user interfaces may be simple and intuiti-
digital twin are really all about visualization. ve, they mask some complex processes that repre-
Once optimized, a company can build the physical sent the fundamental core of utility or manufactu-
asset twin and once that physical asset is up and ring operations. For example, a Schneider Electric
running, the connection with the digital twins con- tool called SimSci, a rigorous process simulation
tinues as operations are continuously monitored, platform, predicts the time-dependent future beha-
adjusted, and optimized based on real-time data vior of industrial processes.
– collected from the sensors around the plant. The business value that is generated includes lo-
A digital twin process lifecycle involves several wer capital costs and improved plant design - gi-
steps. ving the organization the opportunity of “getting it
right the first time”. Behind the scenes are design
1. A “first born” digital twin of the plant is created checkout control systems for Programmable Logic
through a model to simulate the entire plant Controllers (PLCs), Emergency Shutdown Systems
before the assets design is finalized. (ESDs) and Distributed Control Systems (DCSs), all
working together to optimize the production pro-
2. The processes, equipment and operations are cess.
analyzed through multiple simulations for opti-
mal safety, reliability and profitability, based on Business benefits of simulation tools
which final design is completed. In a plant setting these technology changes allow
gains in operational efficiency that result in faster
3. This digital twin matures further to incorporate time to market. A typical 3-month project could be
the physical assets design information asso- shortened by as much as three weeks and up to
ciated with the process design of the entire 30% in energy savings can be achieved.
plant. Aspects of the plant digital model are
used to train operators with virtual reality ba- The power of IIoT and all the connected smart con-
sed immersive training environments. trol devices allow oil & gas operators to save much
more energy and to reduce CO emissions by up
2
4. During the operational stage of the plant, va- to 30%. These new technologies will also help to
riations from optimal process and asset design make plants safer by optimizing burner manage-
are captured during run-time, and the digital ment systems, fire and gas safety systems, and
twin is updated with this information. digital turbine control of power generating plants.
Plants will be made safer and more profitable throu-
5. Operations and maintenance personnel use gh the new wave of process improvement tools.
augmented and virtual reality technologies
with mobile devices to address plant and field
based maintenance issues for the involved as- An architecture built
sets. Given the current state of an asset, the to support digitization
digital model with predictive learning techno-
logy enables proactive identification of asset An important key for managing upstream, midstre-
failures before they occur. am and downstream operations digitization is to
view the cloud, edge, and on-premise plants as
6. Using artificial intelligence, predictive learning part of a larger whole that is built upon an open,
technologies used with advanced process multi-layered architecture. When piecing together
control, control strategy design and process such an architecture, a holistic view should be ta-

28 Impiantistica Italiana - Marzo - Aprile 2018