by Gary Mintchell | Feb 24, 2025 | Asset Performance Management, Data Management, Process Control, Workforce
I have had a busy month. Good think I didn’t take four days to travel to Orlando. I’m wrapping up my last interview from there today. There are a few more pending if the media relations person can find a way to coordinate calendars.
This interview is with Kim Fenrich, ABB Global Product Marketing Manager, Process Automation, PC. He brought up the term “Digital Habitat”—something not found on the ABB website, but still an interesting concept.
The problem statement recognizes new people entering the industrial workforce. Many of these will not have much background in process operations. Meanwhile our digital technologies contain immense amounts of data that could be used to guide operators toward better decisions.
Fenrich brought a concept called Digital Habitat. This is the area alongside the core process control. This core contains monitoring and optimization. It houses process data. The data then gathers at the edge. In the ABB architecture, data at the edge becomes freely available to other applications, such as asset management and optimization.
Not all data is created equally. Some are “dirty” data that must be cleaned before using. Some is good data from trusted sources with solid metadata. These many applications ride atop the system to run analytics, support decision-making, optimize operations. Sometimes operators are new lacking operations experience and knowledge. Data science to the rescue to clean up and provide interfaces to support these new workers. Sometimes the data science supports engineers working in maintenance and reliability performing predictive analytics or enhancing asset management.
ABB had a suite of applications called the Augmented Operator. The system does pattern mining. Perhaps the operator sees something new. They can ask the system, “Have you seen this before? If so, what happened and how was it resolved?” This greatly helps the younger generation operator.
Should the situation be new to the system, then it can run simulations to predict outcomes and resolutions.
In short, the system:
- Freeing up operators time for more meaningful work such as using data and advanced analytics to optimise processes for energy efficiency and carbon emission savings.
- Enabling early warning of potential failure with AI-powered systems that can use real and historic data to offer troubleshooting solutions, much like a virtual assistant.
- Workflow simulation to check outcomes and for training and augmented reality (AR) headsets to access experts working offsite.
This is from the ABB web site. The next step to achieve this reality is to fuse together the Distributed Control Systems’, operations technology and real-time control system with the Edge and newer IT technology, such as machine learning and AI. As well as incorporating historical data and the mining of other data sources for pattern recognition and knowledge extraction. This will shift the automation system beyond only real time control to one that allows the operator to augment operations from day-to-day. It will be a journey, but humans working with technological systems to augment their cognitive capabilities can amplify their potential and provide huge value to both the workforce and the industry at large – as well as attract new generations to the sector.
by Gary Mintchell | Feb 21, 2025 | Process Control
More Schneider Electric news from Orlando. In brief:
- Using artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance risk assessments and process safety studies
- Semi-automate safety lifecycle activities
Schneider Electric announced its patent to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to help reduce the likelihood process safety hazards. The innovation automatically, or semi-automatically, analyzes potential process hazards and validates protection mechanisms in an industrial process. It is then possible to prevent hazards using an analysis tool by engaging protective mechanisms to the process.
This latest patent from the EcoStruxure Triconex Safety team has the potential to identify potential hazards and safeguards in a process.
Process safety management can then take advantage of industrial, real-time data to revalidate HAZOP studies to prevent industrial hazards and save lives.
This patent is a part of a strategic initiative to enhance functional safety using AI. It is now possible to simulate hazards, with varying conditions, and then attempt to prevent dangerous conditions by using a process hazard analysis tool to generate protective mechanisms to the process.
Three other Schneider Electric patents incorporating AI into functional safety lifecycle are currently pending. News of the innovation comes as there is a growing interest in combining human ingenuity in functional safety analysis with strategic implementation of reenforced learning to prevent hazardous scenarios in industrial automation.
by Gary Mintchell | Feb 21, 2025 | Process Control, Technology
People often remind me of problems I tried to solve decades ago now made possible through technology advances and creativity.
Some 30 years ago, I tried to concept a system where we could monitor all the electrical power buses in a plant using the data to reveal potential problems with machines along the production line.
It didn’t fly.
One of the few companies that I would expect to be able to put that sort of system into operation would be Schneider Electric. I had the opportunity to interview Manishi Tiwari, Global Director of EcoStruxure Power and Process at Schneider Electric during the recent conference held in Orlando.
Her task is to lead the teams that will enable the sort of system I had envisioned with a customer way back in 1995. The technology now exists. Now the leadership exists to bring it all together.
She told me that about half of her 17-year career at Schneider Electric was in the process business with the other half working in the electrical power business.
Industries require electrical power to operate. But those systems are not built for information exchange between it and process control. Engineers must connect these systems considering latency, reliability, and continuity. Many systems are upgrades to brownfield sites. These most likely require upgrades to electrical equipment such as circuit breakers, relays and other such equipment. How these new components interact with the process must be carefully considered.
Conversely, process system upgrades, say a change in capacity, will affect the electrical power system. These must be studied and considered at design.
Cyber security also must be engineered into the system. Then steps must be taken to improve information to the operator to make their job better.
Schneider Electric not only has expertise in power systems and process systems, but it also has the AVEVA software portfolio to finish the loop.
I must add that in 27 years of interviewing I’ve seldom had a conversation where the other person jumped right in with background, problem statement, possible solutions, and, oh, with a minimum of marketing jargon. And when I sat down to write, I could construct a logical story.
by Gary Mintchell | Oct 14, 2024 | Automation, Data Management, Process Control
The automation side of Yokogawa has not contacted me for years. I’ve lost all my contacts there. Recently some news has come my way. This news incorporates a lot of things currently receiving media attention—data integration and visualization solution that incorporates robotic process automation (RPA).
Yokogawa Electric Corp. has announced the global release in all markets other than Japan of OpreX Intelligent Manufacturing Hub. By utilizing robotic process automation (RPA) implemented in a low-code / no-code environment or through customization by Yokogawa, this data integration solution can significantly reduce reporting time. OpreX Intelligent Manufacturing Hub covers the full range of key performance indicators (KPIs), workflows, and reporting at every level of the organization, from the C-suite to the plant floor, and employs a single database to integrate and display on dashboards data that customers need to make the right decision at the right time.
Main Features
- User-friendly dashboards that visualize data for decision makers at each layer of the organization
- Reduction in reporting time
The OpreX Intelligent Manufacturing Hub also allows for the drilling down through data to find root causes and gain insights. It is suited for use in a wide variety of industries, from oil & gas to chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Along with this solution, Yokogawa will provide holistic support and services through its global network that are essential for the success of any intelligent business tool project, including definition of specifications, training, maintenance, and technical support.
by Gary Mintchell | Oct 9, 2024 | Automation, Events, News, Process Control
I didn’t rate an invitation to this year’s Honeywell User Group. They have reorganized. All my marketing contacts are evidently gone. I checked in to the only source I have, Control Global, who somehow maintains contact and once again published the email show daily. The link is to one of the days of the show.
Looks like the highlight from the keynote is that once again Honeywell Process is reorganizing. They are trying to reflect the latest hype in the industry—AI and cybersecurity. Indications filtering to me hint at the relegation of Honeywell Connected Enterprise (whose user conference last year was the same dates as HUG this year) as a business unit. It’s all hard to tell what’s up with the major automation suppliers in this era.
From Control Global’s editor in chief Len Vermillion:
In case anyone still had any doubts, Pramesh Maheshwari, president of Honeywell Process Solutions, stepped on stage and matter-of-factly reminded an audience full of process control professionals of one simple fact: digital solutions will be at the forefront of the industrial future.
Maheshwari and other Honeywell business leaders mapped out the company’s business vision to open this week’s 2024 Honeywell Users Group (HUG) Conference at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas.
Their vision focused on three key trends driving the future of the global industrial sector, each requiring a proactive approach utilizing new and existing technologies that will help businesses stay “ahead of the curve”—the event’s main theme. Those key trends include artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity and the energy transition.
“Imagine a world that is incredibly efficient. That’s the power of AI. Imagine a world that is safer. That’s the power of cybersecurity. Imagine a world that is cleaner. That’s the power of energy transition,” Maheshwari said. “Finally, imagine a world that is a better place to live. That is what it means to stay ahead of the curve.”
by Gary Mintchell | Oct 1, 2024 | Process Control, Standards, Technology
I have two pieces of news regarding The Open Process Automation Forum. These came just as I was wondering if the organization had been making any more progress. I have unfortunately seen enough of these open automation standards attempts to wonder if this one will go much farther—especially given the maturity of the market.
This group started as a response to the high cost of upgrading automation systems in the field in the process industries. Where I see more opportunities would be in the discrete manufacturing area where the old trend of larger and more complex systems seem to be reversing to a more manageable size for the automation with the requirement to tie the systems to information networks.
My second piece, following this one, reports on an analysis of OPAF’s proposed system orchestration standard.
Philosophy aside, OPAF has made another step forward by launching the O-PAS Certification Program.
The Open Group Open Process Automation Forum (OPAF) has developed the O-PAS Standard, a standard of The Open Group, which uses existing and emerging standards whenever possible, making it a standard of standards. The standard enables the development of fit-for-purpose systems consisting of cohesive functional elements acquired from independent suppliers and integrated easily, via a modular architecture characterized by open standard interfaces between elements.
O-PAS certified products allow end users to build open, interoperable, and secure systems with products from multiple suppliers, offering greater flexibility in obsolescence management, system upgrades, and technology infusion.
Jacco Opmeer, Co-Chair of the Open Process Automation Forum at The Open Group and Principal Automation Engineer at Shell says, “Certification provides the credibility that the fundamental qualities open systems will bring are measurable, and this will support the realization of many of the values the Open Process Automation Forum has been promoting.”
Hideki Murata, head of the Systems Integration Planning Dept. at Yokogawa Electric Corporation, commented, “Yokogawa welcomes the O-PAS Certification Program as this will allow us to officially certify our products designed for the O-PAS Standard. We expect the program will accelerate the development of the O-PAS ecosystem by enabling end users to select certified products with confidence. This will help the industry move forward with open, interoperable, and secure products and systems.”
Within the O-PAS Standard, there are Profiles that define the various segments of the architecture. The O-PAS Certification Program is based on these Profiles and for each Profile, the Supplier must attain independent verification of its claims of conformance. The Connectivity Framework and the Global Discovery Server Profiles are currently ready to be certified against, and The Open Group is anticipating that more Profiles will be available by the end of the year.
