Digital Twin Alliance to Address Complex Digital Transformational Challenges

In brief: Three Organizations Combine Expertise to Bring Digital Twins to Life, Create Added Value, and Deliver Support Across the Asset Lifecycle

The idea of an open system for data flow from engineering through construction to startup to operation & maintenance, and perhaps even to decommissioning has intrigued me for years. I have worked with MIMOSA and its Open Industrial Interoperability Ecosystem for many years. Check it out.

For the most part, suppliers have been a bit slow to this game. The way of the world is that automation vendors never liked the “open” part, since their design emphasizes tight integration of as many parts as possible under their proprietary umbrella.

An ecosystem is one thing, and a partnership is another. Sometimes companies announce partnerships with great flourish and publicity only to see the great promise wither from neglect. Sometimes end users (owner/operators) reap significant benefit.

With that background, I approach the announcement of a partnership. I like the idea, but execution and sustainability will be proof of the strength of this partnership. Note that two of the companies are sort of like “conjoined twins” joined at the hip.

From the announcement:

DORIS Group, global Engineering and Project Management company in the energy industry, Schneider Electric, supplier of products and solutions for digital transformation of energy management and automation, and AVEVA an engineering and industrial software supplier, have agreed to develop a strategic partnership to deliver Digital Twin technology for the upstream oil and gas markets.

These new solutions will support the goals of oil & gas organizations to improve asset performance, increase sustainability and maximize return on capital on projects.

The three companies will combine offerings to bring engineering capabilities, an asset lifecycle software solution and digital specialization in order to create a fully formed digital twin to serve as a backbone for improving performance for the upstream sector. The new solution will:

  • Bring new assets on stream faster through the use of cloud-enabled software that improves collaboration and increases engineering efficiencies
  • Deliver enhanced safety leading to better business outcomes
  • Improve traceability through a single point of accountability
  • Enable remote operations and production assurance through a fully functional Living Digital Twin that mirrors all aspects of the operating asset

Oil & Gas owner operators have struggled to go digital due to the lack of a structured offering and orchestration as no single vendor currently delivers what is required to achieve this. Large amounts of data of various types, from different sources is another challenge they face, often leading to data inaccuracy and incompatibility, as well as difficulties in organizing that data and identifying trends.

Similarly, the oil & gas sector is under considerable pressure to quantify, track and reduce CO2 emissions as well as reduce overall pollution – this can be even more difficult with limited monitoring, no established method and no data-driven decision making.

Together, DORIS, AVEVA, and Schneider Electric will offer a structured digital and collaborative solution across the lifecycle of projects that will help oil & gas owner operators address many of these challenges.

Christophe Debouvry, CEO of DORIS Group, stated, “DORIS Group is excited to be strategically partnering with Schneider Electric and AVEVA in this unique venture which will allow us to accelerate the building out of our digital transformation strategy. Combining our complementary expertise will go a long way to providing a powerful enabler to offer our customers embarking on their digital transformational journeys with optimized solutions throughout their assets lifecycle.”

Craig Hayman, CEO AVEVA, also commented, “Leaders driving the next wave of transformation are moving quickly and that’s why this partnership with Schneider Electric and DORIS Group is so opportune. Our common aim is to support organizations on their digital journey especially in the current environment, helping them accelerate the use of digital technology, realize the value of a digital twin and also work towards a more sustainable future. It’s never been easier to begin a digital transformation program, as access to cloud computing, great connectivity, a merged edge and enterprise combined with analytics and machine learning, means that the ability to digitally drive productivity improvements into the industrial world is now unprecedented.”

Christopher Dartnell, President Oil & Gas and Petrochemicals at Schneider Electric, commented, “This partnership is in line with Schneider Electric’s objectives around Digitization and Energy Transition and we will bring our expertise in both energy and process efficiency to the industry. Our goal is to support customers looking to adopt a digital twin model, by offering our experience to facilitate the overall digital transformation for our clients enable them to improve lifecycle performance and safe operations while also making their operations more sustainable.”

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