MARCH
/APRIL 2
013
The high-performance HMI Trade in those ambiguous and flashy displays for productive ones
Human-level process control Confidence in dealing with the unexpected
Process simulation The key to effective training
From labour worker to performance manager – things are changing
MES and the human factor Effective decisions or biased opinions?
The human differentiator Beyond technology
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Contents
Contents MARCH
/APRIL 2
013
2 Editor’s notes 3 Stop complaining, start training Human-level process control and
From labour worker to
50 performance manager Empowering people to
53 contribute with DPM
5 ArchestrA Workflow
Product profile: ArchestrA
11 Workflow Software
Why should you consider
17 ArchestrA Workflow Software?
20
Plant Engineering names ArchestrA Workflow software from Invensys a Product of the Year
22 Workforce empowerment 23
The resilient plant: The truth about building capabilities for workforce enablement Minimising time-to-experience
30 and maximising performance
34
Product profile: EYESIM Immersive Virtual Reality Training System
38
Operator simulator training improves GenOn power station efficiency Product profile: IntelaTrac for
42 improved situation awareness
Protocol Magazine Owner and Publisher:
Dynamic Performance Measurement system improves
54 energy and electricity
consumption at SASOL Situation awareness – vital to a
58 sentient enterprise
61 The Human-Machine Interface 62 The high-performance HMI Lonmin uses biometrics to secure
67 SCADA access
Why is alarm management
70 required in modern plants? 74 MES and the human factor 78 Human differentiator dictionary 80 Events: X-CHANGE 2013 84 Invensys Sentinel Services 86 Customer FIRST 2012/2013 Training Schedule
87 (Johannesburg)
Use Protocol Magazine to
88 generate business opportunities
Plant operational excellence at
90 On the lighter side
IntelaTrac
92 Protocol crossword #59
45 Infineum thanks to Wonderware
Invensys Operations Management Southern Africa
Marketing Manager: Jaco Markwat jaco.markwat@invensys.co.za
Editor: Denis du Buisson, GMT Services ddb@iafrica.com
Advertising Sales: Heather Simpkins, The Marketing Suite heather@marketingsuite.co.za
Distribution: Nikita Wagner nikita.wagner@invensys.co.za
Contributors Many thanks to the following for their contributions to this issue of the magazine: • Dr. Peter G Martin for the article about minimising time-to-experience and maximising performance • Charles Mohrmann for the article on the resilient plant • Simon Windust for the article titled: From labour worker to performance manager • Stan DeVries for the article about why alarm management is required in modern plants
Facebook: Twitter: YouTube:
Wonderware Southern Africa WonderwareSA WonderwareSA
• Bill Hollifield for the article on the high-performance HMI • Dr. Kobus van der Merwe of Industrial Management Enhancement for the article on MES and the human factor
www.protocolmag.co.za
March/April 2013 | 1
Editor’s Notes “You can’t treat people like machines!” I
employees the immense benefits of situation
hear you cry and, of course, you’re right. Yet
awareness, they would not only empower
the machine world works so well, doesn’t
those employees to make better decisions
it? It creates wealth, it can be fixed and it’s
but the company itself would improve its
predictable – even most of the breakdowns.
bottom line far quicker, better and cheaper
So why not extract the principles that work
than with technological tweaks.
so well on the shop floor and apply them
The human differentiator – beyond technology
to the rest of the company? In fact, why not
So, should mining and manufacturing
make the entire company the “shop floor”
companies only hire people that show a high
with structured processes ranging from
degree of situation awareness? Perhaps the
sales and accounting to resource planning
job needs a robot in which case situation
and production control? This would make
awareness doesn’t come into the picture.
the company the machine and the people
But if a human being is needed, it’s for some
the process controllers – and because
very good reasons including the ability to
process principles would apply, personnel
make good decisions based on analysing
would have a great deal more confidence
information in the context of any given
because they would know what to do when
situation – and, in industrial automation at
something goes wrong and there would
least, that calls for a high degree of situation
be no surprises as to who is responsible for
awareness, knowledge and experience.
If you think of all the technologies and their
what. Welcome to the world of human-level
benefits that surround us today, we humans
process control, ArchestrA Workflow and a
Robots are excellent at what they do but
can be very proud of our achievements.
new company paradigm that frees humans
don’t ask them to do something else on the
On the other hand, while computers may
to do what they’re good at – creating new
spur of the moment or decide what to do if
crash or industrial accidents maim and kill,
things and improving old things while the
something goes wrong. That’s what humans
to really screw things up takes a human (viz.
machine that is the company hums quietly
are supposedly good at so you might as well
the global financial meltdown, seven billion
and productively in the background.
hire someone who’s very good at it.
And it’s because of people’s creativity that
At the end of the day, it’s humans that are
we can say that they are the company’s
(should be) in control and it’s by improving
At the technology level, we mostly tend
greatest assets. Creative people think
their abilities that the most dramatic
to work with logical, finite devices and
outside the box – but what does that mean,
improvements can be made.
processes which, although they might
exactly? Ever seen one of those guys walking
be complex, are still our creations and
down the street with a cell phone glued to
Until next time,
if something goes wrong, the fix isn’t
his ear, bumping into people or generally
Denis du Buisson
far behind. When dealing with humans,
getting in the way? Well, he’s thinking inside
ddb@iafrica.com
however, the tendency when something
the box. As long as that call lasts, he’ll have
goes wrong is to blame someone else or
a glazed look and he will be totally unaware
walk away because fixing humans has little to
of where he is or that he is about to become
do with logic and isn’t something we’re very
intimately familiar with the oily bits of a bus.
good at doing.
His situational awareness is next to zero and
people, global warming and two world wars to name a few).
his creativity is little more than that as he Industrial automation works because it
focuses solely on winning a losing argument
is based on rules, logic and procedures
with his wife.
which are followed to the letter by ... machines. But leave the factory floor and
Creative people are aware of the situations
as you travel upward to the more ethereal
in which they find themselves and of the
realms of the company, you will find
environment that could affect that situation
that those same working principles fade
from minute to minute. Because of all this,
rather quickly to be replaced by opinions,
they can make better decisions quicker
uncertainty as to what to do when
than anyone else. They analyse trends and
something goes wrong and quite a lot of
make contingency plans – they’re “on top”
guesswork.
of things. If companies focused on showing
2 | www.protocolmag.co.za
Stop complaining, start training
Stop complaining, start training It’s important to note that these 600 students recognise that they have
Some statistics:
been given a rare opportunity and as a consequence, they show a high degree of
Unemployment in SA
seriousness about not wasting it. • 5 million unemployed During their learnerships (school-leavers) and internships (graduates), students learn valuable practical skills, which, in our
• 4 million working age South Africans are currently unemployed
case, focus on business IT and industrial IT. This prepares them for the real world
• 14 million are economically inactive
and forms an important part of their CVs. What’s more, having had their first job,
Mike le Plastrier, MD, Invensys Operations Management Southern Africa
• Youth are half of South Africa’s workforce
they find it a lot easier to find another and
and make up nearly 75% of South Africa’s
soon realise that education is the key to a
unemployed – recipe for high future
bigger pay cheque.
unemployment and social instability
During the past financial year, the EOH
• 400 000 unemployed matriculants
group spent nearly R22 million on skills development as we believe that
• 600 000 unemployed university graduates
We all know the complaints regarding skills
government alone cannot shoulder the
shortages and the outsourcing of jobs
responsibility of job creation. Business has
offshore but this doesn’t have to be so.
the capacity and capability to do more and
South Africa may not be overpopulated
unemployment poses a major business
by rocket scientists (although we do
risk. We are working with our top 300
have some) but we’ve certainly got
customers and business partners to devise
human resources equal to the task of
ways and means of creating more jobs and
handling many skilled jobs in the mining
to develop and train young people. EOH
and manufacturing industries – and it
is also working with existing government
doesn’t cost anything to find and train
departments to mobilise existing and new
these valuable individuals because the
job creation initiatives.
• R8,2 billion to improve school facilities
Today, the novice’s journey to proficiency
• R70 billion into the Expanded Public Works
Government job creation funding (2011) • R10 billion for job creation, small enterprise development, and youth employment • R9,5 billion to increase enrolment at FET colleges and skills development
government foots the bill for everything. Of course there is often significant red
is certainly very different to what it used
tape associated with these government
to be and they need all the help they
subsidies and this is probably one of the
can get. Many present-day control room
reasons why more companies aren’t using
operators, for example, are mature
this golden opportunity – but we’ve got
people who have come up through the
around that by handling all the red tape,
ranks and have had exposure to most
accreditation, etc. for any company who
aspects of the shop floor which has given
employment subsidy to create about 178 000
is interested. We’ve had to streamline
them a depth of understanding of the
jobs
the process because EOH takes in 300
company’s production processes over the
school-leavers and 300 graduates every
decades they’ve been with the company.
year as part of its job creation initiative so
But someone who today starts off as
Department received R41,1 billion of which
we’ve created a team of people who are
a technician, say, rarely stays with the
R9,6 billion are skills levies that go to the
well versed with all the intricacies of the
company for decades and so tends to stick
Sector Education and Training Authorities
process, freeing the rest of us to do our
in the technical field with the result that he
and the NSF
job of imparting knowledge.
most probably will not rise to the rank of
Programme • R9 billion National Treasury Jobs Fund to create 150 000 jobs over the next 3 years • R5 Billion is being used to introduce a youth
• National Skills Fund (NSF) – Education
March/April 2013 | 3
supervisor. The result is that operators are
(at all levels). The petrochemical
It’s quite predictable that simulator
trained for a career as operators.
industry has been doing just that for
training for industry will become the
years because of the hazardous nature
norm rather than remain the exception.
That training starts with teaching them
of their operations. Bringing simulator
The technology for this is nowhere as
about the processes they’ll be supervising
training to the shop floor isn’t because
complicated as flight simulation and has
and what to do under various conditions.
the plant is likely to explode or poison the
become very cost-effective – especially
But this is rarely good enough when
surrounding population (although that’s
when compared to what can happen as a
they actually have to control those same
not always strictly true) but because lack
result of decisions taken by ill-informed or
processes for real. Like all of us, they can
of knowledge on how to handle situations
insufficiently-trained personnel.
make mistakes, some of which can have
goes hand-in-hand with lack of production
serious safety or monetary consequences.
due to unnecessary stoppages.
One reason for these mistakes is that
So, what have we got? A government with deep pockets that pays for all skills
they simply don’t have the experience
It’s not as if we don’t have the tools to do a
training, a wealth of technologies and
necessary to deal with all the various
good job of educating our wealth-creating
expertise to provide some of the best
problems they’ll have to face. This is why I
personnel. From the Invensys stable alone
training in the world and the potential
believe that on-the- job simulator training
we have the suite of simulator solutions
of retaining much needed jobs in South
has become such an important issue.
from SimSci-Esscor which can simulate any
Africa. In my mind, there’s nothing much
eventuality in any plant. Then there’s ArchestrA
left to complain about.
Presently, there is no way that a pilot can
Workflow that provides scripted scenarios
retain his commercial licence or switch
for responding to various situations while
from one aircraft type to another without
IntelaTrac provides guidance and instructions
many hours of simulator training. Yet, we
to mobile personnel on how to handle events
put people in charge of huge, expensive
from routine maintenance to emergencies. Of
plants and dangerous processes with a
course there’s always software solutions such
smattering of academic education and the
as intelligent HMIs, trending tools, Statistical
fervent hope that they’ll cope.
Process Control, Artificial Intelligence Neural Networks and others that have been designed
It’s time that the mining and manufacturing
to mitigate surprises but none of these can
industries follow the lead of the aircraft
measure up to a well-informed, situation-aware
industry and start using simulators to
human when it comes to dealing with the
properly train their operational personnel
unexpected.
4 | www.protocolmag.co.za
Human-level process control and ArchestrA Workflow
Human-level process control and ArchestrA Workflow Denis du Buisson – Editor, Protocol Magazine
these principles uniformly throughout the
purpose of enriching its creator – it would be
company were impressive if not staggering.
like trying to convince you that gravity is a
Companies would have an unprecedented
good idea (most of the time, it is).
In the May-June 2011 issue of Protocol,
degree of control and clarity that allows their
you were introduced to the concept of
personnel to be more creative and effective
If it wasn’t for process principles, we couldn’t
SCADA-b, the application of process
while their business, administrative and
live more than a few minutes. The fact
principles to the entire company and at the
information processes moved to a new and
that you’re reading this proves that your
time, we briefly touched on how ArchestrA
purposeful level of reality. For the first time
metabolic processes are working – without
Workflow contributed to this end. Now is
I could see (and prove) why such things as
your consent or knowledge. And that’s a
probably a good time to investigate this
empowerment and delegation were not only
good thing. If you contracted a virus and
further because after you’ve implemented
“nice-to-haves” but logically indispensable.
your antibodies had to get your consent
all the available technology and still find
SCADA-b also showed the necessity (or not)
before springing into action, you’d be dead
your bottom line wanting, you’ll want to
for performance improvement initiatives and
in minutes – far quicker than it would take
know what comes next.
what Information Services (IS) should really
for you to have a board meeting in your
be doing.
head as to what actions should be taken.
Memory refresh
If the antibodies encounter difficulty, you Suddenly, SCADA-b glued everything
get a warning through increased body
As I’m sure you already know, the term
together and explained in a logical way
temperature so that you can take the
SCADA stands for Supervisory Control And
where all the thousands of applications,
appropriate medicine.
Data Acquisition – a well-known technology
approaches, standards and everything else
used at the manufacturing or production
mining and manufacturing companies have
Process control on the shop floor works in a
level to supervise and control processes
been exposed to for the past half a century
similar way. PLCs do what they’re told to do
that would otherwise be too complex to
fitted.
without resort to higher levels of control until
handle on a manual basis and in real-time.
an alarm or unforeseen error occurs.
I’m explaining this acronym because this
Physicists have their unified field theory and
is intended to be read by all levels of
the article in the May-June 2011 issue of
We can learn a lot from this. If you were
management and not only engineers.
Protocol was titled SCADA-b – the unified
constantly busy monitoring and controlling
firm theory because I think it’s high time that
your bodily functions, you would have no
In the real world, SCADA and MES are in
all the bits and pieces of solutions available
time for higher level processes such as
charge of the company’s wealth–creating
were brought under a single, unifying
creative thinking. The same holds true for
processes; it’s the heaviest of responsibilities
umbrella that showed where they were
a company. If the company’s sub-processes
and they do it extremely well. So why not
needed and how they should collaborate
can’t look after themselves, management
use these same principles everywhere in
towards helping the company achieve its
is constantly putting out fires rather than
the company? While trying to see how this
business objectives.
thinking about new ventures, making the
could be done, I was struggling to come
most of business opportunities or improving
About processes
existing processes.
level. I grew to like this unimaginative
If we’re going to have unified companies,
While most other disciplines can blame
name because it didn’t suggest yet another
then it would be a good idea to have a
someone or something else for non-
mind-bending technology, it incorporated all
unifying principle; an approach that caters
performance, engineers don’t have that
the proven process control principles to be
for all eventualities at every level of the
luxury. They have to make things work. That’s
found in SCADA and it wasn’t a three-letter
company – and we find such a principle in
why they’re hired and that’s why they, in turn,
acronym. Is SCADA-b the same as Business
the concept of processes.
have to adopt principles that will ensure an
up with a snappy name but the best I could do was SCADA-b – SCADA at the business
Process Management? Very much so but it
income through the provision of working
explains it from an engineering and well-
Process principles work with or without
results (usually within tight performance and
understood angle.
our consent, so you don’t have to concern
budget constraints). Buildings don’t stand
yourself that this is yet another opinion-
up because people think it’s a good idea
based business religion created for the sole
or television sets don’t work because of
I found that the benefits of adopting
March/April 2013 | 5
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6 | www.protocolmag.co.za © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Invensys, the Invensys logo, Avantis, Eurotherm, Foxboro, IMServ, InFusion, Skelta, SimSci-Esscor, Triconex and Wonderware are trademarks of Invensys plc, its subsidiaries or affiliates. All other brands and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Figure 1: Immune system processes keep us alive yet we don’t even have to think about them because they’re on “automatic” leaving us free to be creative. The same can apply to company processes.
their price. It’s engineering principles that
and workflows because these are largely
company consciously and with intent as
have made our modern world a marvel of
unstructured. What to do when something
a real process-oriented and logical entity.
technology.
goes wrong? SCADA systems know
As soon as this happens, a lot of things
exactly what to do because they’ve been
will fall into place and some things may go
But, when it comes to business processes,
programmed that way. Humans, on the other
away. The important thing is that you will
what’s really improved? (let’s leave out the
hand, immediately call meetings that rarely
have a logical, dynamic and self-correcting
computer thing because that’s just another
achieve anything other than to confirm that
structure that isn’t the result of an accident,
engineering milestone). The fact that
nobody’s really sure about what to do next
coincidence or uninformed opinions
companies still show their structure in the
– meetings are usually directly proportional
(informed opinions are something else
form of a hierarchical and position-based
to uncertainty and inversely proportional to
altogether).
organisation chart (never mind how “flat”
productivity.
the structure) goes to show that not much has changed.
The difference without and with such a The fact that companies could not operate
structure can be likened to alchemy and
if they weren’t process-oriented (at whatever
chemistry. With alchemy, there’s random
It’s important to note that processes apply
unconscious or accidental level) seems to
and futile groping around for the elusive
equally across the board and can involve
rarely occur to anyone. That’s right. Your
philosopher’s stone whereas with chemistry,
mechanical and human involvement. So
company must already be process-based to
there’s a precise science involved in getting
far, the term “process” – at least as far as
some degree otherwise you wouldn’t be in
to a desired end-result (as well as an
the mining and manufacturing industries
operation. You wouldn’t be able to process
explanation of why the philosopher’s stone
are concerned, has been mainly applied
orders or manufacture anything if there
doesn’t exist – at least in this dimension).
to mechanical production methods. In
wasn’t a process in there somewhere (it’s
actual fact, these are the least troublesome
important not to confuse work flows – what
With a ship, the captain lets engineering
and least numerous of all the processes
you do to get things done – with processes
and process principles run the engine
in an enterprise. The most worrisome
of which work flows are only a part – see
room as well as navigate the ship to its
are those that involve human interaction
later). What’s needed is to structure your
chosen destination. But in a company, while
March/April 2013 | 7
4. A list of performance specifications against which performance and progress can be measured 5. The workflow of actions necessary to address the operational requirements 6. A Supervisory Control Mechanism (SCM) - a computer and/or a person that will monitor the workflow performance against its specifications and which is informed on how to correct malfunctions and learn from them. The SCM must have a high level of situation awareness at all times. 7. A measurement facility that will get the relevant data for the above measurements (at the shop floor level, this is a combination of PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) and one or more databases – historians - while at the business level this could
Figure 2: Example of a process at the shop floor level
include Information Services and their the CEO will allow the same engineering
2. A reason why achieving the objective is
access to relevant data repositories.
principles to govern his wealth-creating or
desirable (without a good reason, what’s
Measurements are done from the
value-adding processes (e.g. the “engine
the point?)
output to the input (M1 to M5 in figure
room” of the manufacturing plant), he will turn to the business equivalent of
2) because there’s no point in fixing 3. A list of operational requirements of
alchemy and uninformed opinions for
what has to be done to achieve the
everything else – including the direction
objective
the company is taking. This is quite scary
The objective gives rise to a set of operational and performance requirements
stuff and explains the random directions companies often take in an attempt to achieve changing and elusive business objectives. Competitors can rarely do as much damage.
How processes work Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems are part of an overall structure called a Process. A process is a series of controlled and measurable actions that involves feedback, learning mechanisms and contingency plans to transform energy and / or matter from one form into another So SCADA is the “controlled and measurable” aspect of processes which are made up of the following components (figure 2): 1. An objective or desired end-result Figure 3: Example of a company process
8 | www.protocolmag.co.za
something that works.
Human-level process control and ArchestrA Workflow
operation went ahead without hesitation because this had been catered for. Two Chinook helicopters were on standby for just such an eventuality and also for refuelling (even more Chinooks were on standby with additional SEAL reinforcements but were not needed). The raid was scheduled to take 40 minutes – it actually took 38, in spite of things not going quite as intended. This is the result of contingency planning and everyone knowing what to do if something goes wrong. ArchestrA Workflow facilitates the structured monitoring of actions during normal and abnormal situations by using process control principles at the human interaction level. This allows the right people to be involved and provides for the organised escalation of responses. Such organisation also means that best practices are retained and continuously refined with regard to the Figure 4: The extent of ArchestrA Workflow in a manufacturing process model. The software
resolution of issues.
monitors the interaction between the SCMs of the various physical processes rather than the processes themselves which are monitored by devices such as PLCs (figure 2).
that must be in place to achieve it. The
people see exactly to what degree they are
operational requirements result in a series
contributing.
of tasks known as a workflow while the
Empowerment and management in a company process model As we’ve already seen, the role of the SCM
quantity and quality targets for the tasks.
Human-level workflow management
The Supervisory Control Mechanism or SCM
So far, we’ve seen how process principles
sub-process is shown expanded at each
(with business processes, this is usually a
can be uniformly applied at any company
level, imagine that all the sub-processes
manager), monitors the performance of the
level but we’ve only been concerned
were expanded to the next lower level. This
process at each measuring point and checks
with the monitoring and measurement
would leave the SCMs at level 3 with the full
this against the performance specification
of “mechanical” workflows or collections
responsibility of making things go right. In
for that task. If the performance is not “up
of tasks during normal operations. What
other words, the SCM at level 2 would really
to spec”, then the workflow needs to be
happens when something goes wrong?
only be monitoring the inputs and outputs
adjusted accordingly. If the workflow is
Maybe a SCM didn’t properly manage
of the level 3 processes – and since these
continuously achieving its objective, then the
the task for which he/she is responsible or
would be self-correcting, the job of the level
SCM can set the sights a little higher with
perhaps there’s been a machine malfunction
2 SCM could rapidly become quite boring
more aggressive KPIs. This is what makes
or an accident. By then, it’s probably too
if not redundant – let alone the role of the
processes dynamic, adaptive to change
late to think of something and that’s why
level 1 SCM.
and capable of continuous and incremental
it’s important to script contingency plans
improvement.
that can be enforced using proven process
That’s why, in a process model,
control principles.
empowerment has to increasingly go to
performance requirements specify time,
is to make the process achieve its objective through control. Figure 5 shows three levels of processes and, although only one
the lowest level while the role of traditional
Each sub-process becomes a whole process in its own right at a lower and more detailed
The armed forces never start an operation
management (SCMs) decreases at higher
level. In this way, level 1 could give the
without detailed contingency plans.
levels. From this we learn that:
“big picture” for the company while level
The raid on bin Laden’s compound in
3 or 4, say, could show detailed selling or
Abbottabad on 2nd May 2011 is a good
manufacturing processes. But the same
example. Even though one of the Blackhawk
SCM is Fred on the factory floor. He,
rules hold throughout and it’s easy to show
helicopters damaged its tail rotor and
with his lathe, smelter or soldering iron is
the necessity for detailed processes since
made a controlled crash landing inside the
responsible for doing what the company
they are the natural evolution of higher
compound because of a condition known
was created for in the first place. He adds
level requirements. This provides total
as a vortex ring state (where the helicopter
the value and creates the wealth and if
visibility throughout the company and lets
descends into its own downwash), the
any top management reading this thinks
• The lowest level (and most important)
March/April 2013 | 9
solutions like Business Process Management principles and ArchestrA Workflow software. All the way through this exercise, you’ll have the certainty you’re doing the right thing because the very heart of your company, your wealth-creating processes, are using the very same approach. But automating mechanical processes is one thing – automating human-level processes is something else altogether. Change is almost always seen as threatening rather than exciting – especially by those people who would rather not have their private agendas exposed by the logic and visibility Figure 5: Empowerment and management in a process model
of enterprise-wide process principles. Others may feel that this will simply be another
that wealth is created elsewhere, then fire
delegation for long enough so this shouldn’t
imposition of management control – which
all your Freds and see what happens in a
come as a surprise. What should come as a
is completely wrong because that would
couple of days.
surprise (even to the business consultants)
defeat the object of the exercise.
is that they were right and the process • In the business context, management is
structure tells them why.
the SCM
The objective of structuring your company on process principles is to build an efficient,
So, is there the necessity for middle and
responsive and well-oiled machine that
top management and, if so, what should
can deal with contingencies routinely
position. This is good news for everyone
they be doing? Of course there is and their
and in real-time. This would give the
except the empire builders whose only
role is a vital one. They have the same job
“machine operators” (your staff) not
reason for staying in their position is that
as lower level SCMs in making sure that
only the guidance and confidence they
they have one. With traditional structures,
their processes are on track and, because
probably lack today but it will also show
senior management has the leverage to
they won’t be putting out fires any more,
them the level of their contributions and
make those weighty decisions but are
they have more time to do what they were
provide a logical rather than opinion-based
they actually qualified? It’s the staff (all the
supposed to do all along – improving their
foundation for recognition and rewards. But
Freds) who know what’s really going on.
processes. This means everything from
mostly, it will free them to do what humans
The process model puts all this in a logical
designing better products and streamlining
are good at; originating new ideas for
perspective by replacing the management
the supply chain to optimising inventory and
improvement.
position with the SCM function. This
improving proactive maintenance – all the
leaves “managers” with experience time
time and with no distraction. This is what
Wonderware has proved the wisdom
to improve their processes and to realise
humans are good at, so let the rest of the
of the bottoms-up approach for driving
their worth.
self-correcting wealth-creating machinery
reality-based information throughout the
that SCADA-b allows your business to
enterprise. Well, structuring your company
become, give them the time they need to
on process principles is going to need a
management will have little or nothing to
excel rather than standing still with a fire
top-down approach that can only succeed
do because of empowerment at the lower
extinguisher just in case.
with the commitment and dedication of top
• Management is a function, not a
• It would appear that upper and middle
levels
management and the understanding and
Conclusion
acceptance of the entire staff.
if you’re a CEO because it probably takes
Structuring your entire company into an
So, is this the “final frontier” of
the “passing of the buck” thing too far for
efficient process and sub-processes isn’t
manufacturing excellence? Probably not
your liking. Business consultants, however,
going to happen overnight but it can be
but it’s definitely one of the big ones we’re
have been talking about empowerment and
achieved bit by bit – especially by adopting
going to have to face on the way.
This last point could be quite disquieting
10 | www.protocolmag.co.za
Product profile - ArchestrA Workflow Software
Product profile: ArchestrA Workflow Software
Enable true collaboration
These ever-changing demands are forcing
institutionalise work processes that manage
companies to evaluate and improve
normal, unscheduled or disruptive events
In today’s business environment, companies
their business processes across their
within their operations environment. This
are faced with many challenging demands:
organisation.
industrial workflow application benefits
• Responding to market dynamics
ArchestrA® Workflow software is an
quality, environmental and safety
advanced workflow application that enables
departments within an organisation by:
operations, maintenance, engineering,
• Driving higher levels of quality and consistency • Managing compliance and regulation • Coordinating with suppliers and vendors
companies to digitise manual and automated processes that include people and/or
• Increasing productivity. Automating
systems. This sophisticated Business Process
manual processes and best practices,
Management (BPM) application enables
eliminating manual error-prone
companies to Model, Execute, Analyse and
procedures, effectively coordinating
Improve processes inside and outside of
people and systems to accomplish a
their organisation to drive higher levels of
simple or complex task
• Reducing operating costs
collaboration, productivity and innovation.
• Managing global operations
With ArchestrA Workflow, companies can
• Providing ownership-driven innovation. Employing a model-driven approach
March/April 2013 | 11
that empowers non-IT users to visually
In a nutshell ...
compose processes, monitor and measure the performance of processes, change
ArchestrA Workflow is the systematic
and adapt processes.
collaboration tool you need for modelling, executing, measuring and
• Enabling knowledge management.
adapting work processes within your
Digitising Standard Operating Procedures
global enterprise. The software will
(SOPs), Good Manufacturing Practices
enable you to:
(GMPs) and work instructions to ensure that company policies and procedures
• Standardise, visualise and track processes across all domains within
are being executed in a consistent and compliant manner.
your organisation • Digitise SOPs, GMPs and work
Workflow-enabled applications
instructions Work processes span across many different • Coordinate human-centric and system-centric tasks • Support comprehensive compliance
domains within a typical operating company.
• Production related activities
Many of these processes are embedded in commercial off-the-shelf applications
• Maintenance related activities • Synchronise with supply chain applications
www.Gartner.com, Hype Cycle for Business Process Management, 2009
These processes may include:
management and audit trails
and other plant floor/enterprise
“BPM is an approach to improving business processes that helps organisations cope with frequent process change by making processes explicit and visible, by using highly agile and iterative methods and empowering business stakeholders to make changes to the underlying solutions supporting business processes.”
and custom applications. People-driven processes are generally employed to fill
• Quality related activities environmental and safety related activities
the “white space” that exists between the applications. This landscape creates a significant obstacle that organisations need
Business value • Increase process agility • Optimise resource utilisation • Facilitate innovation • Increase end-user ownership • Manage process-related intellectual property • Maximise productivity • Reduce operational costs • Enable knowledge management
12 | www.protocolmag.co.za
• Lean related activities
to overcome in an effort to drive higher
Product profile - ArchestrA Workflow Software
• Model-Driven Business Rule Management: Leverage the visual modelling capability of ArchestrA Workflow to eliminate the custom script or code used for defining classic MES business rules.
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) applications • Material Receiving and Inspection: When raw materials are received by a customer, the system would enforce the QA sampling plan defined for the product and vendor, highlight information that is out-of-spec or requires resolution, and coordinate any reviews or additional Comprehensive cash flow management with accounts payable
actions required to complete the receiving and inspection process prior
levels of productivity and innovation.
When a specification change has been
to submitting the information to the ERP
requested by a user, the system would
application.
ArchestrA Workflow has been designed
submit the request to the appropriate
to seamlessly collaborate with existing
resources (e.g. Operations, Process
hardware and software assets to enable
Engineering), enforce the decision making
data is changed in the ERP application,
organisations to Model, Execute, and
process, communicate the decision back
the system would coordinate the
Analyse processes that require humans and
to the stakeholders, and update the
appropriate resources (e.g. QA, Process
applications to be coordinated effectively
appropriate specification management
Engineering) to review the change,
to accomplish specific business objectives.
applications (e.g. PLM and MES).
potentially capture additional information
Let’s take a look at how ArchestrA Workflow can add value to your existing application landscape.
HMI applications • Operator Alarm Response Management:
• Master Data Approval: When master
required to make the change at the plant • Positive QA Release: After a production
(e.g. effective date, qualified production
order or lot has been completed, the
lines), enforce the plant-level signoff
system would compile data from the
process, and update the appropriate
appropriate data sources, highlight
applications (e.g. LIMS, MES, Quality) on
information that is out-of-spec or requires
the plant floor.
resolution, and coordinate any reviews • Production Order Download
Guide operators through a series of actions
or additional actions required for the
to resolve a particular alarm condition. If
selected disposition (e.g. release to
Synchronisation: When bulk production
necessary, collaborate with other resources
distribution, hold for QA review).
orders are downloaded to the plants
or escalate to a supervisor to assist in resolving the alarm condition.
within an enterprise, the system would • QA Hold Resolution: After a QA hold
apply plant specific business rules
has been issued against material by an
to break down the bulk orders into
operator, the system would coordinate the
manufacturing orders that look at the
operators through standardised and
appropriate resources (e.g. QA, Operations)
capacity constraints of a particular plant.
validated processes that have been
to review the issue, as well as coordinate
established by the organization for
any reviews or additional actions required
common activities such as machine setup,
for the selected disposition (e.g. remove
production orders have been completed
line shutdown, plant start-up, product
hold, return to vendor).
on the plant floor, the system would
• Electronic Work Instructions: Guide
changeover, material staging, etc.
• Production Order Reconciliation: When
compile of all the production records • LIMS Integration: When a laboratory
associated with the order (e.g. production,
• Model-Driven HMI Logic: Leverage the
sample is required for a particular process,
consumption, labour records) from the
visual modelling capability to eliminate
the system would prompt the operator for
MES application, coordinate the resources
custom script used for defining process,
the sample, collect the sample data, send
required to review the production
machine or line control logic at the
the sample data to the LIMS application,
records (e.g. Production Supervisor, Shift
supervisory level.
receive the sample results from the LIMS
Supervisor), highlight inconsistencies
application, and coordinate any additional
with the data, capture any changes made
actions required based on the sample
to the data, and send the reconciled
results (e.g. continue batch, place batch
information to the ERP application.
MES applications • Specification Change Management:
on hold, change batch parameters).
March/April 2013 | 13
ArchestrA Workflow has gone mobile! ArchestrA Workflow’s new Mobile Client allows you to manage your Work Task via an iPhone or iPad. • Update tasks anywhere, anytime • Receive new task notifications • Approve or Reject a task • Flag a task based on importance • Fill out a form
Process Designer
• Proactive alerts of business exceptions and KPIs
• Intuitive, visual modelling environment for easy process design • Over 50 out-of-the-box configurable workflow activities
Forms Designer • Model complex forms to collect and/or visualise data at a particular step in the process
• Processes can be designed and imported from Microsoft® Visio
• WYSIWYG editor enables end users to create new forms or maintain existing
• Workflow actions secured through
forms
itemised security features
Key features of ArchestrA Workflow
• Forms can be linked to, or initiate, • Supports complex branching and decision
workflows
trees ArchestrA Workflow software provides a collaboration framework that enables end users to create composite workflows
• Multiple forms can be associated with a • BPMN (Business Process Modelling
that include Invensys applications, as
• Scripting is available to perform more
applications.
Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) and KPIs
Workflows can be modelled at all levels
• Out-of-the-box activity reporting and
well as other third party or custom
particular workflow
Notation) compliant advanced tasks • Security can be applied to different fields
(1, 2 and 3) and, depending upon the required degree of sophistication, some
• Supports use of Microsoft InfoPath®
workflows may span across multiple levels.
• Associate workflows with BAM events
The ArchestrA Workflow process design
• Customisable Key Performance Indicators
and workflow task execution components
These components may also be embedded
forms
Communication Channels
(KPIs)
are seamlessly embedded into the InFusion Enterprise Control System applications.
on the form
activity monitoring views
• Comprehensive Microsoft Outlook • Standard out-of-the-box performance analysis
integration support for two-way communication on mobile phones
into third party commercial applications or custom applications.
• Visibility to workflow instances and genealogy
14 | www.protocolmag.co.za
• Supports web, PDA, email, voice and IM for task delivery and response
Product profile - ArchestrA Workflow Software
Combine paperless processing and workflow technology
• Extensive APIs and web services support
ArchestrA Workflow connectors and accelerators
InTouch® for System Platform
Wonderware MES Connector
workflow activity for IntelaTrac procedures • Provides configurable workflow activity to retrieve data from the IntelaTrac database
Provides configurable workflow activity
ArchestrA System Platform
to transact with Wonderware MES
SAP Connector
middleware • Provides configurable read/write and wait-for-event workflow activities for Application Server integration • Provides access to Enterprise Console from Wonderware® Information Server
• Provides configurable workflow activity Enables MES middleware extensibility hooks to invoke workflows Provides configurable workflow activity to retrieve data from the Wonderware
that reads/writes information from / to SAP • Exchanges data with SAP using standard RFCs/BAPIs
MES database
BizTalk Connector
• Extends standard objects in ArchestrA IDE with a workflow tab to configure workflow events
Wonderware IntelaTrac Connector
• Invokes workflows from BizTalk orchestrations for human workflow
• Enables Wonderware Historian events to invoke workflows
• Provides configurable IntelaTrac Action to
integration
invoke workflows • Invokes BizTalk orchestrations from
• Provides ArchestrA graphic templates for task delivery and response • View and respond to workflow tasks in
• Provides configurable workflow activity to invoke IntelaTrac web services
workflows for advanced system integration
• Provides configurable wait-for-event
March/April 2013 | 15
SharePoint Accelerator
Extensions provided
• Provides advanced workflow capability
ArchestrA Workflow Software builds on WCF
that seamlessly integrates SharePoint with
/ SOA / Web Service and .NET technology
your manufacturing processes
as an extension to the existing suite of Invensys Operations Management products.
• Integrates with SharePoint database
ArchestrA Workflow Software provides extensions to:
• Delivers tasks to SharePoint lists • Wonderware Application Server • Allows initiation of workflows from document libraries, lists and content types Offers a rich set of SharePoint Actions that
Involve ArchestrA Workflow from within BizTalk for human workflow services
• Wonderware Intelligence • Wonderware Historian Server
inherit and manipulate SharePoint metadata during a workflow process
• Wonderware InTouch for System Platform
Databases supported
• Wonderware Information Server
• SQL Server Versions
• Wonderware MES 4.0/ Operations and Performance Software
• MS SQL Server 2005 Standard - SP3 • Wonderware IntelaTrac • MS SQL Server 2005 Enterprise - SP3 • MS SQL Server 2008 Standard - SP1
ArchestrA Workflow enables organisational best practices
• MS SQL Server 2008 Enterprise - SP1
ArchestrA Workflow Software is a comprehensive workflow solution for
Both 32 and 64 bit systems are supported
manufacturers that allows organisations to build specific business processes that
Operating systems supported
help in monitoring key business activities. Whether it is for regulatory compliance, or
• Windows Server 2003 Standard
best practice sharing, or to enhance other systems of record (Manufacturing Execution
• Windows Server 2003 Enterprise
Systems; Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence; Enterprise Asset Management;
• Windows 2008 Server Standard
Enterprise Resource Planning), ArchestrA Workflow provides collaboration, visibility
• Windows 2008 Server Enterprise • Windows 2008 Server R:2 Standard • Windows 2008 Server R:2 Enterprise Both 32 and 64 bit systems are supported
Microsoft Internet Explorer versions supported • IE 7.0 • IE 8.0
16 | www.protocolmag.co.za
and process enforcement.
Enhance the native functionality of SharePoint
Why should you consider ArchestrA Workflow Software?
Why should you consider ArchestrA Workflow Software?
IT and standards used to support Manufacturing Operations Management (Source: Aberdeen Group 2009
Introduction
with ERP and almost everything else with
Cutting to the chase, ArchestrA Workflow
production (SCADA, MES, EMI, etc.).
coordinates human-level processes as well
We first of all have to clear up some possible
as their physical counterparts so that they
confusion. In this magazine and other places,
The REAL truth of the matter is that your
work in harmony within a unified monitoring
you will see BPM intimately linked with
entire company is run by processes. ERP,
and control structure.
ArchestrA Workflow and you may correctly
MES, etc. are only tools designed to provide
think that you can’t remember when you and
information in such a way that the process
In Aberdeen Group’s 2009 benchmark study
Wonderware were last seen to be involved
owners (managers) can run the company
on Manufacturing Operations Management
with business processes. Our software warns
efficiently and profitably. But who oversees
(MOM), BPM adoption was one of several IT
you when the boiler’s going to blow and you
the process owners and everybody that
tools and standards to be examined. It turned
go and do something about it. It’s been a
makes it all happen? Who provides the
out that BPM was both one of the most
great relationship and hopefully one we can
guidance when things go wrong?
widely-adopted tools and one deemed to deliver the most value, with Best-in-Class
continue to nurture. So BPM isn’t just about business
manufacturers being almost three times as
The truth of the matter is that any process
processes. It’s mainly about the
likely as Laggards to have adopted BPM.
in a manufacturing or mining enterprise is a
coordination of human effort in any
business process because any and all such
process or interlinked groups of processes.
The reason BPM tools are delivering so
processes are there for the success of the
It could just as well as being tagged as
much value to manufacturers is closely
business. And so BPM came to include any
Human-Level Process Management but
related to the problems that BPM solves by
activity. But we’ve come to associate business
that’s quite a mouthful.
leveraging human intellectual property and
March/April 2013 | 17
putting humans squarely in control of the
• Batch pre-weighing
processes for which they are responsible.
are solely responsible for making sure • Logging maintenance procedures and
How does ArchestrA Workflow differ from traditional business process mapping applications?
• Defined responsibilities – Process owners
providing guidance to procedures • Interacting with the mobile workforce (e.g. via IntelaTrac)
their processes meet set performance criteria and to correct them if they don’t. • Improved collaboration – Processes have defined inputs and outputs and so helping their owners understand their
While a process map stuck on a wall lets
• Capturing and applying best practices
you see the relationships between various activities, that’s where it stops. It’s like pinning a P&ID up in your office and thinking
their needs in other processes promotes a • Linking currently disconnected processes
new level of cooperation.
to promote collaboration • Improved efficiency and response
that it represents what’s actually going on in the plant. It’s only a map of what the system
relationship to other staff members and
• Coordinating security
looks like. It can’t tell you what the system
time – Because the actions needed to be taken to handle abnormalities are
is doing. For that to happen, the P&ID
Depending on whether you’re an end user
scripted, virtually no time is lost in endless
needs to be represented in a HMI which
or system integrator, you will benefit from
meetings and normal operation can be
is connected via PLCs to real-time sensors
ArchestrA Workflow in different ways –
restored very quickly. If the corrective
that measure the real and physical process.
perhaps surprisingly to some, it would seem
action taken repeatedly fails to correct the
Only then can the P&ID become “live”,
that ArchestrA Workflow is most beneficial to
situation, then a script can be developed
show you what’s going on, measure system
... but you’ll have to read on to find out:
to handle that situation too. Of course
performance and let you control the process being monitored.
every case is going to be different and has
ArchestrA Workflow benefits if you’re an end-user
In this way, ArchestrA Workflow is to human-level processes what SCADA is to
to be judged on its merits but the process of arriving at a solution will almost always be the same.
• Enterprise unification – Enterprise • Improved responsiveness to market
mechanical processes. Although process
processes are all interconnected and they
definition starts with a map (in the same way
must all share and conform to higher and
demands – For example, the company’s
as a P&ID), measurements and feedback
cross-level objectives and requirements
objectives may need to change if
as well as the issuing of guidance and
otherwise they would be rogue and
faced with insurmountable competitive
instructions is all done in real-time – the
detrimental. So BPM provides the “glue”
challenges. This is rather drastic and
same as with a SCADA system.
and reality for enterprise unification.
changing a company’s objectives without good reasons can be disastrous. But
Where is ArchestrA Workflow likely to be
• Consistent application of best practices
there are certain conditions when this
– Once a process based on best practices
may become necessary. What are those
and captured intellectual property has
conditions? How are new objectives
The most immediate application areas for
been defined, its application is consistent
defined and once they have been
ArchestrA Workflow are probably in those
and independent of various owners and
changed, what follows? BPM forces the
areas where automation leaves off and
operators.
discipline of thinking things through in
most useful in your company?
manual operations take over such as:
order to minimise surprises later. • Defined operating environment – Under
• Manual task tracking • Monitoring Six Sigma activities • Handling contingencies (e.g. abnormal alarms, unforeseen events, etc.)
normal circumstances, no more guesswork
• Important change in the perspective
and endless meetings as to what to do
of staff towards the business – True
when something goes wrong. When
business process ownership means that
something abnormal occurs, its solution
process owners (everyone in the company
is documented and becomes normal
at whatever level they are) recognise their
operating procedure next time around.
role and contribution towards achieving the company’s business objectives.
• Monitoring inspections and quality control activities • Preventing tasks being started without
• Staff confidence and consideration –
To that degree, they adopt a sense of
Staff have prescribed guidance as to what
responsibility that isn’t possible with
to do given any number of recognised
traditional approaches.
circumstances. They also know precisely • Quick and significant results – You and
proper authorisation (e.g. a batch without
what’s going to happen when they
approved LIMS input)
don’t know what to do because that’s
your company have probably spent a
simply another defined process (but not
great deal of time and money trying to
necessarily their responsibility although it
improve production efficiency in order
will require their involvement).
to get a corresponding improvement of
• Product sampling (e.g. non-automated LIMS)
your bottom line. There’s nothing wrong
18 | www.protocolmag.co.za
Contents
with that and it’s part of the deal for
InTouch) with say, food manufacturers, you
bottom lines if you will only give yourself the
continuous incremental improvement.
already have an intimate knowledge of how
permission to do so.
Doing so, however, leverages
processes work in that industry. It’s this same
technologies and approaches whose
knowledge that will help you implement BPM
incremental contribution and focus may
solutions elsewhere in these companies.
be decreasing as you approach a certain
Conclusion So who will benefit most from ArchestrA
ideal result for a given level of production
You may have noticed that, over the last
Workflow? It’s your customers of course!
and circumstances. Leveraging human
few years, the role of SCADA historians
Whether you’re an end user or system
intellectual property and ingenuity, on
has changed somewhat and they are now
integrator, you will win the confidence and
the other hand, unleashes potential that
responsible for far more information than
retain the loyalty of customers through
you probably thought you never had and
their original mandate. That’s because
reliable and excellent service – and you’ll
results in true, collective origination that is
your customers don’t just do SCADA.
be able to do so with confidence, greatly
not only attuned to your exact needs but
They also do MES, EMI, ERP, etc. and the
improved predictability and improved
that can probably outstrip any other form
information in shop floor historians is a vital
profitability.
of technology-based contribution.
link to how the company is performing. So, although you may think that you’re not really
• Continuous incremental improvement
interested in these other application areas,
– Process rules are the basis for this
you’re already involved with them directly
because it doesn’t naturally happen
or indirectly – like it or not. So why not
any other way. The rules are really quite
like it? Who better to spread the concept
simple: If something is wrong, fix it and
and implementation of business process
learn. If something is right, improve it
management than process control specialists
(because there’s nothing else to be done).
like you? Granted, the processes to be controlled will have humans and workflows
• Measurement and control – if you
rather than PLCs, pumps, valves and sensors
can’t measure it, you can’t control it. By
but the principle of process management
transforming business workflows into
remains the same and you already know all
business processes, management can
about that.
measure and control their effectiveness. The alternative to diversification is to wait • Time to think – Business processes are
until your customers need an upgrade to
like manufacturing processes. If they’re
their SCADA systems – that could be five
running correctly, it gives their managers
to ten years away. What will you do in the
time to think on how they could be
meantime? The only block between jumping
improved.
from SCADA to BPM is a mental one. You know what your customers need and you
ArchestrA Workflow benefits if you’re a System Integrator
also know that they’d rather get it from you than anyone else because they trust you to make things work for them. And, although
As a solution supplier in the high-tech field
you may not yet be aware of it, you also
of industrial automation and enterprise IT,
know how to use ArchestrA Workflow to your
you can greatly improve the effectiveness
advantage. It would be interesting to know
of your business if the process of problem
who’s better qualified to provide the solution
investigation, design, project management,
that your customers have been looking
implementation, testing and deployment
forward to for so many years.
can be made more predictable and controllable. This is not only beneficial to
Become more valuable by adding value
you but also to your customers. In fact, by
from a different point of view – It’s often
adopting BPM, you will enjoy all the above
difficult for your customers, as the saying
benefits in addition to the following:
goes, to see the wood for the trees. As an outsider, you can add value to your
Broaden your business landscape
customers’ processes by viewing them
considerably – Adding ArchestrA Workflow
from an objective viewpoint that will not be
to your list of offerings will give you the
biased by years of “that’s the way we’ve
opportunity of integrating your domain
always done it”. That’s worth far more
knowledge to more areas of your customers’
than you may think – and don’t forget that
businesses. For example, if you’re currently
your customers are also reading this and
specialising in SCADA installations (e.g.
know the value that you can add to their
March/April 2013 | 19
Plant Engineering names ArchestrA Workflow software from Invensys a Product of the Year Collaboration across business and
enforces operational processes across
production applications recognized for
multiple plant domains, including
operational excellence in reader survey
operations, maintenance, quality and engineering. The software synchronises
In March 2012, ArchestrA Workflow software
human and system activity by enforcing
won the Gold Award in the Productivity
standard operating procedures, as well as
Training Software category of Plant
standard responses to abnormal events,
Engineering magazine’s annual Product of
such as downtime, quality breaches or yield
the Year contest.
decreases. ArchestrA Workflow software can be embedded in the overall automation
Winners of the contest were selected by the
system configuration, readily equipping
magazine’s readers, comprising engineers
users to configure the operational workflow
from leading global manufacturing
activities of people, systems and equipment.
organisations who buy, specify and use the
In addition, the software can extend other
products every day. The magazine’s panel
manufacturing and business applications,
of industry experts nominated finalists from
enabling new collaboration capabilities.
hundreds of entries, after which readers
Now supporting Invensys Operations
selected the winners in more than a dozen
Management’s IntelaTrac mobile workforce
plant and manufacturing product categories.
solution, for example, ArchestrA Workflow software allows workers on maintenance
“Worker collaboration is a major challenge
rounds to adhere to established procedures,
for today’s manufacturing managers and
report and respond to abnormal process or
engineers, especially as an aging plant
machine events and take approved remedial
workforce contemplates retirement,” said
actions.
Bob Vavra, editor and content manager, Plant Engineering. “Hiring and training
“Driving collaboration across all your
new employees, as well as retaining their
resources by streamlining workflow is the
knowledge and expertise, continues to
new frontier for achieving operational
be a critical function. Workflow tools
excellence in industrial automation,” said
can be of great help because they can
Tom Troy, director, operations and execution
enforce standard operating procedures
portfolio, Invensys Operations Management.
and appropriate incident response. Our
“ArchestrA Workflow software readily equips
readers have identified the products they
users to configure the operational workflow
feel will help them run their plants more
activities of people, systems and equipment
efficiently, and on their behalf, we’re happy
as an integral part of the automation system
to recognise Invensys with this year’s Product
configuration. And its embedded approach
of the Year award.”
enables new collaboration, standardisation and cross-enterprise visibility for processes
20 | www.protocolmag.co.za
ArchestrA Workflow software is an advanced
that have typically been isolated or
workflow application that captures and
addressed on an ad-hoc basis.”
The clearest path to modernisation. Bypass the risk and cost of obsolescence through our unique and comprehensive approach. To start mapping out your path, visit us at iom.invensys.com/Modernise.
Secure your future with Foxboro and Triconex
0800 INVENSYS | contact@invensys.co.za | iom.invensys.co.za
Avantis
Eurotherm
Foxboro
IMServ
InFusion
SimSci-Esscor
Skelta
Triconex
Wonderware
Real Collaboration. Real-Time Results.
TM
March/April 2013 | 21 Š Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Invensys, the Invensys logo, Avantis, Eurotherm, Foxboro, IMServ, InFusion, Skelta, SimSci-Esscor, Triconex and Wonderware are trademarks of Invensys plc, its subsidiaries or affiliates. All other brands and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Workforce empowerment There’s no doubt that a capable workforce can adapt to changing circumstances a great deal faster than programmed process responses and that human training can often yield faster and more dramatic results than investments in technology. Today, the drive is to increase situational awareness through simulator training and other initiatives that help production and other personnel excel and to bring their expertise and knowledge to the forefront of operations.
22 | www.protocolmag.co.za
The resilient plant: The truth about building capabilities for workforce enablement
The resilient plant: The truth about building capabilities for workforce enablement Charles Mohrmann, Product Marketing & Strategy Director, Invensys
Introduction
average cost per major incident related to operator error exceeds $80M. The Chemical
According to a recent ARC Advisory Group
Safety Topical Committee, sponsored by
study, “Why We Need a Better Approach
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE),
to Procedural Automation”, it was reported
findings reveal there is one chemical
that operator error is the leading cause
incident per day, on average, in the U.S.
of significant plant incidents. In process
These incidents have an estimated cost of
industries, these incidents account for the
over $2 million per incident to comply with
highest dollar loss per incident resulting
the Occurrence Reporting and Processing
in 42% of unscheduled plant shutdowns.
System (ORPS) which is required by the
Recently, a major oil company paid:
DOE’s Office of Health, Safety and Security (HSS). This ORPS cost does not take into
• $15M in fines to the U.S. Environmental
account other direct or indirect costs such
Protection Agency (EPA) as part of a
as repairing equipment/facilities, employee
consent decree
injuries, revising procedures, increased training, work slowdowns, stoppages during
• $51M in fines to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
accident investigations, corrective action implementations and others.
related to one facility There has to be a better way … and • $20B in escrow to the U.S. government to cover potential costs of an oil spill
there is. This white paper looks at the issues facing process industries today and presents a strategy framework that can
Is this an exception? Hardly. A recent J & H
yield step-change process improvements
Marsh & McLennan report documents the
to your operational excellence objectives
March/April 2013 | 23
new workers faster. The problem is further
Many organisations have no idea whether
exacerbated by an ongoing deluge of
or not they are getting real business value
new regulations creating an operating
from their training investments. Companies
environment which did not exist the previous
typically measure training impact by
year. Traditional training alone can no longer
conducting surveys of attendees or counting
overcome this aging workforce/regulatory
how many employees complete courses
compliance crossfire. All organisations train
rather than assessing whether or not those
their people and most spend significant
employees learned anything that improved
money doing so. 90% of the respondents
business performance. We therefore have
to the July 2010 McKinsey Quarterly survey
to ask:
said building capabilities was a Top 10 priority for their organisations. In addition,
Has anything really changed much in training
the study stated only 25% of the companies
over the past 20-30 years? Cell phones
surveyed said that their training programmes
are now a necessity, the Internet is vital to
were effective at improving performance
daily business and increasingly technology
measurably and only 8% percent track a
advances that drive real-time decision-
programme’s return on investment (ROI). Do
making are becoming critical factors in
these situations sound familiar?
operating manufacturing and industrial facilities. Considering how dramatically
Here are what major companies have stated
and rapidly the technology landscape has
during interviews with Invensys:
evolved in only the past decade, it is worth time questioning the status quo:
• “Our traditional training was moved out of the actual job context and moved to less and less real situations.”
• When industry experts estimate it takes 10,000 hours to develop an employee’s expertise, what can you do differently to
• “Our experts were removed from and can help you achieve true Workforce
working with novices. For most roles in
Enablement.
manufacturing environments there are
Why is achieving world-class workforce enablement so difficult?
workforces and the need to assimilate
24 | www.protocolmag.co.za
• When 30% of plant managers switch sites
very few situations where the experts in
and/or companies annually, how can you
our organisation can spend time coaching
best sustain a safety culture?
and mentoring others.” The McKinsey Quarterly report also noted • “There is very little post-training support;
The problem is compounded by aging
reduce the learning curve?
most of it is limited to manuals.”
that it is imperative senior executives not only understand these training issue trends but think strategically about how to adapt
The resilient plant: The truth about building capabilities for workforce enablement
management and organisational structures to meet these new demands. The report
• Human factor issues (situational awareness/responsiveness)
emphasises that training programmes generate greater value for organisations when the curricula reflect key business
• Effective communications and collaboration
performance metrics (e.g., testing real-world outcomes is crucial).
• Control room/system design and environment
Workforce enablement defined
• User interface design for relevance
Workforce Enablement encompasses
• Abnormal situation management
many areas of plant operations, both
(including alarm system effectiveness)
inside and outside the control room (board operators, field operators, maintenance, EHS personnel, etc.). It is recognised as one
• Automation and control system integrity and reliability
of the foremost contributors to bottom-line performance improvements for industrial operations and is credited with safely
• Asset performance management (mechanical integrity and reliability)
“... having a highperformance team of empowered field and control operators running mission-critical processes, making better decisions faster while complying with procedural best practices is no longer a potential advantage … it is a mandatory requirement to stay in business from year to year. Success is revealed by consistently delivering execution of best practices at the point of incident as the norm, not as an exception”
delivering the highest possible availability, reliability and throughput to create a “resilient” plant environment. Workforce
• System data integrity (accuracy, reliability and security)
The goal: Operation executives want to run plants safely and profitably and know that
Enablement results from a combination of skills, tools and system design which include
Many companies may not need or be
in order to achieve these objectives they
the following important elements:
able to resource process improvement
must empower employees to make better
initiatives across all of these elements.
decisions faster. That’s it.
• Competency-based learning • Accessibility of information and
Instead what they require is prioritisation which necessitates a Workforce Enablement
The workforce enablement strategy
strategy.
framework should address the company’s management of:
procedures on demand • Work processes/workflow decision
A strategy to improve workforce enablement
• Content, control and decision support systems (knowledge, documentation,
support systems Let’s first make sure we understand the goal.
intellectual property)
March/April 2013 | 25
• Learning (classroom and experiential)
• Scope – determining how the project fits into a risk management plan
• Business processes and workflow (required to support the organisation’s
real-time information will translate into the deployment of additional operations systems and higher, more sophisticated
• Validation – leveraging industry
performance needs and continuous
references and experts who have “been
improvement)
there – done that”
levels of automation and decision support. How does a company effectively transfer knowledge possessed by older workers
These three key elements of workforce
• Justification – quantifying the ROI
and properly train new workers? ARC
enablement success can be accelerated
payback period for management
Advisory Group suggests the smaller,
and sustained by innovative technologies to achieve the behavioural and culture change required for a high-reliability
less-experienced workforce that will exist • Auditing – assessing/tracking the benefits based on situational data
organisation to make better decisions faster. Manufacturing competitiveness today requires a culture where people’s behaviour becomes more proactive, they take pride
in the future must be empowered with new technologies and workflows that can transfer knowledge on demand. Due to
Workforce enablement as a response to operational challenges
the critical nature of operator response and the multitude of interactions with key operations personnel, a new generation of training, operations and workflow
of ownership and actively contribute to continuous improvement. In today’s
Operations management faces many
management tools are required to
multi-billion dollar business, simply having a
challenges in today’s global economy
capture and transfer knowledge while
high-performance team of empowered field
as a result of intense competition, tight
empowering personnel with real-time
and control operators running mission-
budgets and limited resources. In addition,
process and procedural support.
critical processes, making better decisions
the increasing complexity of plant
faster while complying with procedural best
processes coupled with greater risk in
Workforce enablement technologies drive
practices is no longer a potential advantage
terms of environmental, health and safety
behaviours that can positively impact culture
… it is a mandatory requirement to stay
considerations strain operations as they run
in business from year to year. Success is
closer and closer to safe operating limits.
The value of any good technology is
revealed by consistently delivering execution
Workforce Enablement can help address
determined by its ability to accelerate and
of best practices at the point of incident as
many of the symptoms caused by these
sustain process improvements that make
the norm, not as an exception.
concerns including:
operations more safe, reliable and efficient.
Getting it right by design
• Inexperienced employees who lack
When the right Workforce Enablement
An effective Workforce Enablement
enforce situational awareness and proactive
actions
behaviours which help deliver a superior
programme should be customised to a company’s specific situation. The programme assessment must at all times
safety culture. • Increased complexity of processes and procedural compliance
consider the impact changes will have on people, processes and assets. “Getting it right” requires identifying and
performance. Where there is no situational
across shifts, units and sites
documentation and procedures
multi-billion dollar businesses with the most safely and profitably. Empowering these employees with tools and “know-how” are vitally important to enable them to make
• Immature safety culture that is not an integral part of day-to-day operations
• Organisation – field workforce, control room and/or decision support
for running mission-critical processes across important goals in mind—operate them
• Inability to rapidly access proper
awareness, there is complacency. Factors to be considered include:
Many employees are in the field or in control rooms. Management teams are responsible
• Inconsistent execution of best practices
prioritising where Workforce Enablement capabilities can best improve operational
technologies are in place, they support and
situational awareness to take proper
better decisions faster while simultaneously following the company’s procedural best practices. Let’s look at technology solutions
These issues affect plant employees and
aimed at addressing gaps in operational
supervisors at all levels. So, what can leaders
excellence, as identified in the U.S. Chemical
do differently to combat the “crossfire”
Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
of high workforce turnover and increasing
(CSB) 2007 findings from their review of the
regulatory compliance and to better retain
BP Texas City explosion which highlighted
learned knowledge for future workers?
the need for managing and executing
According to ARC Advisory Group, 42%
better procedures in operations. The CSB
of all corporate knowledge is actually
report emphasised that their findings
held by employees in personal memory
were not unique to one company, the site
simulation, work process management,
(tacit knowledge). This recent report
investigated or specific accident reviewed
mobility, workflow, communications, etc.
states the downward trend in staffing
but are instead prevalent within the process
and the increased demand for accurate
industries.
• Disciplines – operations, health/safety/ environmental, maintenance/reliability • Locations – process areas, control rooms, offsite areas • Workforce Enablement tools –
26 | www.protocolmag.co.za
The resilient plant: The truth about building capabilities for workforce enablement
FACT – Great safety cultures are observed where everyone is always looking out for each other to prevent accidents and employees take pride of ownership of the company assets by actively contributing to continuous improvement.
eliminated, operators can then focus on true
a vital component to a site’s preparation
effectiveness by enhancing their skills and
and learning programmes, placing workers
knowledge.
in virtual high-risk conditions and testing their responsiveness within a risk free
Event notification and alarm management,
environment. Operator training simulators
in addition, are important elements in the
(OTS) provide plant field and boardroom
implementation of a successful Workforce
operators, maintenance and HSE personnel
Enablement strategy. ARC Advisory Group
efficient knowledge transfer and skill
has identified alarm management as an
development in a matter of months rather
important process automation system
than years. With OTS, employees are able
function contributing to an environment
to improve overall skills and performance by
of flawless intervention. By linking
experiencing plant “issues” and “problems”
telecommunications to industrial automation
in a virtual reality digital environment. This
According to the CSB report, workforce
software systems, alarm management
approach improves operator responses
enablement challenge areas related to
applications enable real-time data and
which can reduce the number of abnormal
control and decision support systems are:
immediate notification of process issues
situation occurrences or unplanned
in the facility. Operators can monitor the
shutdowns and lowers the risk of loss of life,
entire network 24/7 and deliver validated
assets, production and/or environmental
information to the right person at the right
releases. In both “green field” projects
time. A variety of software applications are
and start-ups after shutdowns at existing
available which enable operators to hear the
facilities, these systems help ensure faster
details of an alarm through loudspeakers,
start-up times, quicker recovery from process
intercom systems, radios and telephones.
upsets with less equipment stresses, and the
The technology allows operators to select
ability to correct procedure errors prior to
alarms and access the proper diagnostic,
online production.
Challenge area #1: Content, Control and Decision Support Systems
• Poor or no maintenance of safety systems • Start-up proceeded even though there were reported instrument malfunctions • High level alarm failed to activate • Control board display was inadequate for optimal response
identify root cause and/or access the correct Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Operator training simulation software is
These applications also enable alerts via
an essential ingredient to a successful
alphanumeric text messages and/or emails
Workforce Enablement strategy. Many
sent to the correct employee cell phones,
solutions on the market today provide a
A new approach: The control management
handheld computers and other mobile
rigorous dynamic simulation and control
“toolkit”
devices so that plant and facility issues are
system emulation for process engineers,
resolved quickly and accurately.
plant engineers, operators and managers
• Shift handover communication was poor or non-existent
The dissemination of process knowledge is an important objective in a comprehensive training programme. Interaction between
to improve plant design, check out
Challenge area #2: Learning (classroom and experiential)
board operators, field operators,
controls, train operators and boost plant performance. These solutions feature comprehensive, dynamic process simulation
maintenance technicians and other plant
According to the aforesaid CSB report,
programmes which enable users to meet
personnel is critical to success. There
Workforce Enablement challenge areas
and overcome the dynamic challenges
are several types of tools which enhance
regarding training and experiential learning
of designing and operating a modern
knowledge of operations management and
are:
process plant safely and profitably. They
line workers. These include simulation to provide training in various environments,
expedite comprehensive engineering • Inadequate operator training
alarm and event-notification software to alert workers of processes that go offline, workflow software applications
analysis and dynamic simulation. In addition, • Lack of training for abnormal situation management (emergencies)
for procedure enforcement/tracking and wireless applications which provide a mobile infrastructure for remote data collection,
workflow including design, operational operator training and plant performance improvements reduce capital investment costs, increase process yields and enhance
• Lack of structured formal training that was auditable and reinforced
management decisions while leveraging existing technology investments.
event tracking, procedure execution according to best practices and process
A new approach: Experience-based
validation.
learning
A capable solution should eliminate the
With the availability of low-cost and powerful
further by providing simulation training
distractions operators traditionally face
computing, it is time to revisit simulation
in a 3D environment. These applications
such as alarm storms, manual control of
as now it is a cost effective means to
are particularly useful when training
process loops and tuning/optimisation of
assimilate new workers rapidly. Industry
field operators working in hazardous or
those same loops. With the distractions
leaders recognise training simulators are
mission-critical locations. This type of
3D — The next generation in OTS Some applications take simulation one step
March/April 2013 | 27
advanced simulation also enables training and operations practices to be enforced,
• Incomplete or disregarded safety and work permit procedures
standardised and proliferated, from employee to employee and maintains
operations, maintenance management, production tracking and compliance applications. Wireless applications are a
• Insufficient absent abnormal situation
vital component of a complete plant and
consistency by shift, by plant or by site.
management procedures for emergency
operations management solution which
Comprehensive 3D simulation solutions
or upset operations
connects all wired and stranded assets,
link control room operators to field and maintenance operators by means of a highfidelity process simulation and virtual walk-
enabling even broader visibility into • Nonexistent or passed over Management
through plant environment. As a result, plant crew training improves safety by enabling operators to perform tasks in a simulated
operational performance than ever before.
of Change (MOC) procedures Mobile technology combined with intelligent • Irrelevant, outdated and unused written (hard copy) procedures
environment, react quickly and correctly,
workflow technology now provides field workers and desk workers with intelligent on-demand dynamic procedures, pushed
facilitate reactions in high-stress conditions
A New Approach: Mobility as a key
to the right people based on best practices.
and instil standards for team training and
enabler
These procedures are not “dumb text”
communications.
documents but instead smart procedures Advancements in mobile and wireless
with decision tree logic to ensure proper
technology solutions provide an effective
steps are followed and auditable. No more
on-the-job tool for operations management
dumb documents sitting on the shelf …
to facilitate mobile learning. A mobile
instead better, faster decisions. A capable
According to the CSB report, workforce
workforce is better equipped to address
solution should eliminate the distractions
enablement challenge areas regarding
issues at the location of a problem and
operators traditionally face such as alarm
procedural management and execution of
determine the best course of action to
storms, manual control of process loops
best practices are:
resolve the problem, leveraging remote
and tuning/optimisation of those same
data. Configurable software and ruggedised
loops. With the distractions eliminated, it is
mobile hardware solutions enable a
possible to focus on true effectiveness by
operational procedures which lead to
smooth workflow, accurate data collection
enhancing operator skills and knowledge.
ad-hoc operations
and general task management for plant
Challenge area #3: Business processes and workflow
• Out-of-date, ineffective or unenforced
28 | www.protocolmag.co.za
The resilient plant: The truth about building capabilities for workforce enablement
Chevron: The new path forward
achieved significant savings by standardising
the issues of a changing workforce and
refinery process steps using mobile workflow
increasingly sophisticated automation
software and rugged PDAs to deliver
systems. These solutions empower plant
Chevron was recently named by Managing
decision support to field workers. The
operators with real-time information, highly
Automation as a “Progressive Manufacturing
company implemented a solution which
capable decision support and workflow
Top 100 Award Winner” in the category
increased refinery operating reliability,
tools and ultra-realistic training simulation
of Operational Excellence Mastery. What
reduced maintenance costs and improved
scenarios designed to test new operations
are some of Chevron’s keys to success in
safety and environmental compliance.
procedures and solutions without impacting
Operational Excellence? Let’s start with
safety or expense lines. Ultimately,
understanding Chevron Corporation’s Top
As cited at Microsoft’s Global Energy Forum
companies can manage business continuity
Ten Tenets of Operation:
2011, the Chevron programme delivered
and profitability by leveraging a variety of
“higher equipment availability and faster
technology solutions specifically addressing
reaction to plant concerns (typical $1M hard
the realities of today’s streamlined – yet
dollar annual savings per site from reduction
highly technical – industrial environment.
• Always operate within design or environmental limits
in unplanned downtime and maintenance • Always operate in a safe and controlled condition • Always ensure safety devices are in place and functioning
cost savings)”. The company has also
At the heart of a resilient plant is your
found the solution helps capture process
workforce; they provide the creativity and
knowledge before workers retire and speeds
agility to respond to normal and abnormal
new worker assimilation through mobile
situations. Closing gaps in Workforce
learning—both desirable outcomes of an
Enablement requires we look at roles, tools,
effective workforce enablement solution.
resources, incentives, knowledge and skills.
• Always follow safe work practices and procedures
An assessment is the first step to target the
Summary
right objectives and answer basic questions to help set new Workforce Enablement
• Always meet or exceed customers’ requirements
Plants and factories today face numerous knowledgeable workers to retirement,
• Always maintain integrity of dedicated systems • Always comply with all applicable rules and regulations
of the team or individual related to
complex nature of manufacturing and
short- and long-term business goals and
industrial processes and technologies. With
strategies?
such resource deficits expected to continue during the immediate future, companies
risk or unusual situations • Always involve the right people in
• What competencies are required to meet the target performance results?
strategies to operate more efficiently and profitably. Importantly, the tools they use
• Always follow written procedures for high
• What performance results are expected
workforce reductions and the increasingly
must continually review and revise their • Always address abnormal conditions
priorities.
challenges resulting from the loss of highly
• What gaps exist between required
must be focused on specific needs and
practices and current performance of the
goals.
team?
Many of your employees in the field, control
• How are current work environment factors
decisions that affect procedures and
rooms and management are responsible
and programmes either encouraging
equipment
for running mission-critical processes across
the workforce to perform as needed or
your enterprise with the most important
discouraging them from doing so?
Their recent award also recognises the
goals in mind—safe and profitable
company for being a leader in mobile
operations. A focus on enabling these daily
learning—handheld computers with
decisions through Workforce Enablement
and what new programmes or content
intelligent work process management
technologies is one of the most cost-
should be made available?
software for executing procedures according
effective means of achieving greater levels of
to best practices. Chevron identified more
effectiveness. With quantifiable performance
From the initial assessment, a recommended
than half of most process manufacturing
improvements for the majority of industrial
solution can be derived and tied to the
plant assets are non-instrumented and
operations, Workforce Enablement not
business KPI targets. To learn how Invensys
require numerous manual inspections.
only improves safety in control rooms,
can help you create the “Resilient Plant”
Previously, data was often collected on
process areas and factory floors, but is
by enhancing your workforce enablement
clipboards and entered into databases
acknowledged as one of the most important
strategy and plan execution, contact your
or spreadsheets manually, which was not
means of maximising availability, reliability
account manager.
timely enough to identify and act upon
and throughput.
• What current programmes are working
process data when issues arose. With the implementation of the Workforce
Fortunately, there are new, constantly-
Enablement mobile technology, Chevron
evolving technologies designed to address
March/April 2013 | 29
Dr. Peter G Martin, Vice President, business value solutions, Invensys Operations Management
About the author
Minimising time-toexperience and maximising performance Background
Traditional approach to personnel performance management
It is generally recognised that industrial Peter Martin, Vice President and
companies are in the midst of a human
One reason the aging of the industrial
Invensys Fellow, has been hailed by
resource crisis. In a recent survey of
workforce has become such a crisis is that
Fortune Magazine as a “Hero of U.S.
industrial executives, each indicated that
it has normally taken considerable time
Manufacturing” and was selected by
the aging workforce is one of their most
to evolve employees to proficiency at
ISA as one of the industry’s “50 Most
difficult challenges. The average age of
their jobs. When operational employees
Influential Innovators.”
the industrial worker has been on the
joined industrial organisations years ago,
increase for decades. With a large segment
they were initially put through some kind
Over his three-decade tenure in
of the industrial workforce on the verge
of formal training programme. Following
the process automation industries,
of retirement, just about every aspect of
initial training, they were then put on
Dr. Martin has authored the books,
every industrial operation is challenged with
the job under the supervision of highly
Bottom Line Automation and
filling in positions with new talent without
experienced workers, or work teams, so that
Dynamic Performance Management:
a significant drop off in productivity. This
the knowledge of these highly experienced
The Pathway to World Class
is particularly daunting since many of the
workers could be slowly transferred to the
Manufacturing, as well as numerous
jobs most affected are in skilled positions
less experienced employees. Over the
articles and technical papers about
that normally require years of experience to
years, the employees would progress in
real-time performance measurement
reach desired levels of proficiency.
both experience and proficiency until they
and resource productivity. He also
reached a level of efficiency and expertise,
holds several patents relative to
Fortunately, the sciences of human
enabling them to transition into positions
performance measurement.
performance management, education and
of leadership on their respective teams.
industrial technologies have advanced to
Industrial jobs were so challenging and
Dr. Martin has held a variety of
the point that the “time-to-experience” of
industrial operations so complex that it
positions at Invensys and Foxboro®
employees can be significantly reduced over
might take years or even decades for a
in engineering, product planning,
traditional approaches. Even better, utilising
worker to progress to the desired level.
marketing and strategic planning. Dr.
state-of-the-art approaches to human
Martin has BA and MS degrees in
performance improvement, the performance
The traditional progression of talent to
Mathematics and an MA degree in
of key personnel can not only rapidly grow
proficiency works quite well if the workforce
Administration and Management and
to meet the needs of industrial operations
is continually comprised of a number of
a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering.
facing huge personnel replacement
employees at different levels of progression.
challenges, but their performance can
This provides a continual group of talent
increase to new levels which are far beyond
in position to take over as the more
those traditionally possible.
experienced talent leaves the workforce. Unfortunately, from the early 1990s to today,
30 | www.protocolmag.co.za
Minimising time-to-experience and maximising performance
who have been brought into the operations over the last five years. It has become clear that the most effective way to accomplish this is through a combination of academic, experiential and on-the-job training. Although classroom training is critically important in setting the overall context of the plant operation and getting employees to understand the overall theory of operation, research has demonstrated that students retain less than 30% of what they are presented in this manner. Instructors are typically trained to go over important points and issues at least three separate times during the classroom sessions in order to get there have been fewer people entering
work through case studies as though the
to the 30% level. You might hear instructors
the industrial workforce due to economic
student was going through an actual,
repeat the adage to “tell them what you are
downturns, technological innovations that
real world experience. The effectiveness
going to say, say it, then tell them what you
replaced head count, and better work
of experiential programmes for certain
said” to get the three repetitions. Although
opportunities in other market sectors.
types of training was significantly better
this is good instructional methodology, it
Coupled with significant downsizing that
than a traditional classroom experience. A
still only gets the students to a basic level of
accompanied the economic downturns,
number of colleges and universities started
comprehension.
the result is a critical talent gap for many
introducing experience-based courses into
industrial companies. Many companies
their curriculum. As a result, the power of
Experiential training approaches provide
now have a large number of older, highly
experience-based education to bring up a
a higher level of retention than academic
experienced personnel preparing to
novice to a reasonable experience level for
approaches, and are even more effective if
retire and a large number of relatively
certain aspects of training started to become
they are used as a follow-on to a classroom
inexperienced workers not quite ready to
generally recognised.
session. Employees can immediately put
take over the vacated responsibilities. Today,
the knowledge they have gained in the
the traditional approach to bringing on and
Today, the most effective results in human
classroom to practice − thus reinforcing what
training inexperienced employees does not
resource development typically involve
they had learned to increase retention and
suffice.
an effective combination of academic
adding to what they had learned to further
and experiential training. The academic
drive to effectiveness.
Educational sciences
training is effective at communicating overall theory while the experiential training
Unfortunately, many industrial processes are
Much educational design prior to the 1970s
provides a more pragmatic perspective.
significantly negatively impacted through
was focused on how to make lecture-style
The time to effectiveness of people
inexperienced operations and maintenance
classroom training more effective. We often
encountering new work environments can
teams. Plant management is justifiably
refer to this as academic education. In areas
often be significantly reduced through the
reluctant to allow inexperienced operations
such as the natural sciences, classroom
effective combination of academic and
personnel to get the level of live on-the-job
training was typically supplemented by more
experiential training approaches. Certainly
experiential training required to truly reduce
experientially-oriented training in the form
the ultimate experiential training approach
their time to effectiveness. The solution to
of lab exercises. It has long been understood
is direct on-the-job training. People grow
this is “near-time experiential training” using
that there are certain things that are much
in effectiveness at the highest rate when
training simulators or even virtual reality
better learned, understood and retained if
actually performing tasks on the job.
systems. Training simulators are available
the student can be exposed to the theory through a more academic classroom lecture approach and experience the results through experiential laboratories.
today at multiple levels of sophistication
Minimising time-toexperience in industrial environments through simulation
As I was taking graduate courses in
from simple process loop simulators all the way to full rigorous first principle model simulations of the entire plant. Very effective training can be done with all levels of simulation to give operations personnel
education during the late 1970s, the
Since industrial companies are facing a
firsthand experience to multiple levels of
educational community in the United States
huge human resource experience gap
detail.
had just started to formally recognise
issue, it has become absolutely essential,
the power of experiential education in
for the sustainable performance of
Full rigorous, first principle model simulators
areas other than the natural sciences. A
these operations, to reduce the time-to-
allow operators to experience a simulation
number of the courses were set up to
experience of new employees and workers
which is as close to a real plant operating
March/April 2013 | 31
“scorecards” provide an online, real-time performance training environment for any person who has the potential to impact the operational or financial performance of the plant. With this immediate performance feedback, each person can assess the performance impact of their actions, immediately after the actions are taken. For example, a common activity of a process operator may be to adjust a temperature. Traditionally they just hoped that the new temperature was a good idea. With real-time performance feedback they can immediately discern if the change added or detracted value. Over time, they Figure 1: Improving time-to-performance through training
will learn how to perform their actions in a manner that continually creates the most value of the operation.
environment as possible. Instructors can
to accelerate. Closing the experience gap
help operators walk through what would
however, will only sustain operations at the
be extremely dangerous situations in the
same levels that they are achieving today.
Experience with real-time OJT performance
plant, but with the simulator they can learn
Plant business performance must improve
can drive both the operational and financial
to effectively respond in a safe environment.
or it will become increasingly difficult to
performance delivered by every person to
This near-time experiential approach to
compete in industrial markets that are
measurable and previously unattainable
training can significantly reduce the time-to-
rapidly becoming commoditised.
levels. In fact, on average this type of training realises a 100% return on investment
experience for operators by enabling them
within three months.
to learn through a hands-on approach to
Again, technological advances have
deal with both normal operational situations
provided an ideal solution for driving
as well as exceptional and abnormal
continuous profitability improvement from
Sustainable, measurable performance
situations that only occur infrequently in live
industrial assets. It has been commonly
improvements come from a combination of
plant operations.
accepted for decades that on-the-job
training approaches geared to minimising
training (OJT) is critically effective, but
time to efficiency, then driving to new levels
Recently, there has been a major
most traditional OJT approaches involve
of operational and financial performance
breakthrough in the area of near-time
a highly experienced worker supervising
(Figure 1). The exact combination will be
experiential training with the introduction of
the behaviour of less experienced workers.
different for each industrial organisation and
low-cost virtual reality interfaces to rigorous,
Although this has been adequate, it
will depend on current experience, training
first principle model simulators. These
is constrained by only allowing the
level and complexity of the operation.
virtual reality systems enable operations
less experienced workers to get to the
and maintenance personnel to engage in
experience level and efficiency of their
Consultants familiar with both state-of-the-
highly effective, yet safe, immersive training
mentors.
art training approaches and the needs of industrial operations can help design the
environments that are incredibly true to live plant operations. These immersive
Recent advances in the areas of real-
programme that specifically meets the needs
training systems, when effectively deployed
time Key Performance Indicators (KPIs),
of each operation.
and used in conjunction with training
real-time accounting, real-time workflow
simulators and classroom approaches, can
management, and real-time contextualised
Every effective programme should be looked
significantly reduce the time-to-experience
business intelligence are providing
at as a continuous and integral part of an
for operations and maintenance personnel,
environments in which automatic,
industrial operation rather than a “training
and help close the experience gap that is
electronically produced information on the
event.” The goals and objectives should be
plaguing industry.
operations and financial performance of
clearly set to:
the enterprise is available, and accessible
Beyond time-to-experience – continuous performance improvement
to every person in the operation. Whether
• Ensure there is an effective approach to
they are a stationary worker at a traditional
minimise the impact of the experience
workstation or a remote worker using a
gap in the organisation
mobile wireless unit, real-time operations Closing the experience gap is absolutely
intelligence can be provided in a format
essential to the effective operation of
commensurate with each person’s
industrial plants, especially as the departure
experience, training and capability. The
of the present aging workforce continues
resulting real-time “dashboards” or
32 | www.protocolmag.co.za
• Drive continuous performance improvement of the operation Figure 2 represents the impact of traditional
Minimising time-to-experience and maximising performance
Figure 2: Human resource proficiency progression model
training approaches (orange line) and
operational and financial performance
illustrates the potential positive impact that
improvements.
an effective approach to training can have on time-to-experience.
The Invensys Business Value Solutions team can design a solution that meets the needs
Conclusion
of any industrial organisation experiencing this gap. The Invensys approach is not only
The aging of the workforce and the growing
starting to reap benefits in terms of raising
number of experienced industrial personnel
the overall experience level to fill the gap
ready to retire over the next few years,
left by retirements, it is also helping to drive
coupled with the gap in experience of the
measurably increased profitability through
remaining workforce, is creating a crisis for
better human performance management,
industrial operations. As highly experienced
resulting in 100% returns within three months.
personnel are retiring, the remaining workforce is not at an adequate level of
If the experience gap is a problem in your
proficiency to take over operations. A new
operation, or if you would like to drive more
approach, based on state-of-the-art training
performance from your current workforce, it
approaches and technological capabilities,
may be time to engage the Business Value
is now available to both minimise time to
Solutions team – from Invensys. Find out at
efficiency and drive incremental continuous
iom.invensys.com.
March/April 2013 | 33
In a nutshell ... EYESIM™ is a comprehensive solution that links control room operators to field operators and maintenance operators by means of a high-fidelity process simulation and virtual walkthrough plant environment. EYESIM provides complete plant crew training to improve skills that are safety-critical by enabling operators to perform tasks in a simulated environment, allowing them to react quickly and correctly, facilitating reactions in high stress conditions, and instilling standards for team training and communications. The EYESIM solution is comprised of a modelling engine, powered by SimSci-Esscor’s DYNSIM®; services through the SIM4ME® bridge and is coupled with a high performing virtual reality engine and a high quality 3D modelling/scanning toolset.
Key Benefits: • Provide a realistic virtual environment for trainees with the opportunity for extended practice sessions • Improve environment, health & safety (EH&S) compliancy by promoting safer shutdowns and turnarounds and lowering emissions
Product profile: EYESIM Immersive Virtual Reality Training System
• Boost operator knowledge management, capturing best practices procedures, site-specific processes and reducing
Production processes are only as effective as those who control them
operator errors
and that’s why effective training is perhaps the quickest way to an improved bottom line. EYESIM from SimSci-Esscor has earned an
• Decrease upfront training costs for new personnel • Reduce maintenance budgets
Key Capabilities: • EYESIM can be used for predictive analysis in support of EH&S initiatives • Implement a standardised process for analysis, tracking, accident investigation, escalation and remediation • Encourage collaboration across departmental lines and facilitate communication & coordination among team members • Allow remote access of processes and remote management through unmanned execution • Boost productivity with localised plans, processes visualisation and standard work procedures • Allow maintenance activities to be improved during an outage though a comprehensive virtual analysis of equipment
34 | www.protocolmag.co.za
enviable reputation doing just that.
Product profile: EYESIM Immersive Virtual Reality Training System
source of accidents in plant operations are operational errors. Your challenge? How to ensure that the practices you create are enforced, standardised, and proliferated, from employee to employee, and maintain consistency by shift, by plant, or by site. Static control systems using DCS systems don’t allow for rich simulation or software emulation of processes. Traditional operator consoles with HMI interfaces don’t allow for heuristic learning; and the plant systems that are reflected cannot accommodate the dynamic process model Figure 1: Some of the components of EYESIM’s modular architecture
that is required to capture ongoing changes and refinements.
A comprehensive plant crew training solution
Modular architecture EYESIM’s modular architecture allows
Now, virtual reality comes to the plant
EYESIM™ Immersive Virtual Reality
you to link to major DCS systems, as
is a comprehensive solution linking
well as “traditional” Operator Training
What if your process could be simulated,
Control Room Operators to Field Operators,
Simulators. Leveraging the SIM4ME®
with full operator interaction? Emulating
Maintenance Operators and other critical
Portal, which provides simple, web-based
not only the existing hardware and software
team members in your process by means
bidirectional transfer of variables between
systems, but the physical plant design and
of a High-Fidelity Process Simulation
SimSci- Esscor’s™ Dynamic Simulation
layout, and operator consoles? And creating
coupled with a Virtual Walkthrough Plant
Suite software and Microsoft Excel®, a
an interactive, 3D environment for training,
Environment. EYESIM provides a complete
collaborative engineering environment is
testing, and process simulation? That is what
Plant Crew Training System, capturing
created to facilitate drag and drop, multi-
EYESIM Immersive Virtual Reality Training
best practices, rarely-used procedures and
variable application simulation control.
brings.
Traditional training simulators don’t cover field operators
Modelling your plant the way it is and the way it
other operations and makes them systems of record for continuous use and refinement.
will be. Integrating CAD/CAM designs through DYNSIM® for complete design simulation.
As figure 2 shows, the second-highest
With a new Virtual Reality HMI paradigm
March/April 2013 | 35
EYESIM has been shown to reduce the time-to-value and costs of on-the-job training by 30 to 40%. It reduces the time of start-up when recovering from a planned or unplanned shutdown, or from warm/cold conditions, by 15 to 20%. And, it contributes to maintenance budget savings of 1 to 3%. These costs can rapidly reduce the total cost of ownership for EYESIM within the first year of deployment.
EYESIM’s solution components EYESIM represents the “best in breed” of training components from SimSci-Esscor, representing generations of design and operator training simulation: • For the Modelling Engine, DYNSIM Figure 2: Accident percentages due to the most common causes
using Interactive, 3D Stereoscopic Models for operator familiarisation and training.
• Optimise the transfer of skills from “offline” training environments to the work
simulation is used • For collaboration and integration, SIM4ME portal
environment
EYESIM benefits: optimise training throughout the plant
• A rigorous Virtual Reality Engine adds • Reliable and valid evaluation of
capabilities
operational procedures and individual • Provide more realistic environments for
operator performance
trainees, with the opportunity for practice of procedures in training sessions
art operator interaction and experience • Maximise team training and communications in the control room
• React quickly and correctly in medium/ high stress situations (accident
• A 3D Model and Viewer offer state-of-the-
Services offerings
or field by shift and by operations management
To complement the software, offerings include:
investigation and training) • Improve skills for rarely-performed, but
EYESIM brings real value to operations
• A managed service model for total system maintenance and upkeep
safety-critical tasks such as emergency shutdowns
36 | www.protocolmag.co.za
• 3D Photo Scanning and 3D Modelling
Product profile: EYESIM Immersive Virtual Reality Training System
• Virtual Reality configuration • Systems integration • Training Programmes
Infrastructure Whether you need a virtual reality facility to test your designs, hardware and equipment for deployment, or mobile solutions for remote data entry and operator feedback, these components are available to complete your Virtual Reality system.
Basic architecture EYESIM’s Virtual Reality experience starts with the control room—a Virtual Reality engine provides operators with a rich, 3D experience using special visors for field
Figure 3: System overview
training. DYNSIM Dynamic Simulation Software from SimSci-Esscor contributes High-Fidelity Simulation for operator training
Figure 4: A greenfield refinery
and process engineering design studies. All
producing 200 000 barrels per
contribute to increasing the operator’s basic
day can make annual savings
understanding of the processes, equipment,
of $3M to $4M using EYESIM.
and procedures necessary for safe and reliable operations.
EYESIM savings Use EYESIM to accelerate cost savings that can show a lower total cost of ownership after just a few months’ use. Typical savings include: • Save 30 to 40% on time and costs of on-the-job training • Reduce time of start-ups, from planned/ unplanned shutdowns, or from warm/cold conditions, by 15 to 20% • Save 1 to 3% on maintenance budgets.
March/April 2013 | 37
Operator simulator training improves GenOn power station efficiency “The Invensys solution has helped us significantly, that’s the pure dollars and cents of the project. But there’s also been quality of life improvements regarding overtime for the control room operators.” Alan Metzler Operations Manager GenOn Energy’s Seward Generating Station
Invensys improves GenOn Power Station’s operational efficiency, enhances workforce enablement and reduces costs with operator training simulator solution
Solutions and Products • SimSci-Esscor® DYNSIM® • SimSci-Esscor DYNSIM OPC Server
Goals • SimSci-Esscor DYNSIM OPC Client Link to ABB Harmony Training • GenOn Energy needed to develop a training program to enable
Simulator (HTS)
the easy transfer of technical knowledge and real-world experience from veteran power plant operators to new trainees in the shortest
Results
possible time period • The simulator is successfully being used to qualify new trainees and • The company required a training solution that could deliver a highfidelity model of the Circulating Fluidised Bed (CFB) waste coal-fired
simulation training has standardised responses to specific problem or error conditions
combustion process • All control changes are first made and tested on the simulator before
Challenges
implementing on the plant, improving operational efficiencies and adding higher levels of confidence to control room management
• Seward Generating Station management had to overcome initial scepticism from veteran operators that a computer simulator solution
Coal remains an abundant source of energy and is a strong, economical
could replicate the intricacies and nuances of running an advanced
alternative to costlier fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas. New
technology waste coal-fired power station
technologies and processes are being employed at coal-fired power stations that can significantly reduce the environmental impact while
• New equipment and upgrades required the testing of alternative
providing economical power to a community.
procedures and processes, which needed to be conducted without impacting live plant operations
38 | www.protocolmag.co.za
GenOn Energy’s Seward Generating Station is in this new class of
Operator simulator training improves GenOn power station efficiency
environment friendly power generation
space for community use. Since the other
station needed a solution that could train
because it is specifically designed to
CFB power plants are much smaller than the
prospective operators in an extremely
economically use low quality waste fuel while
Seward station, the plant has a unique set of
dynamic environment so that the nuances
assisting in reclaiming fallow land. The plant,
operational and training needs.
and operational sensitivities of the CFB
located in the lush valleys and rolling hills
combustion process could be experienced
of western Pennsylvania about 70 miles east
The Seward power plant is a relatively
in the assured safety of a simulated control
of Pittsburgh, turns waste coal not suitable
new facility within GenOn Energy, one
room environment.
for traditional coal-fired generating stations
of the largest generators of wholesale
into safe, reliable power with significantly
electricity in the U.S. with a total capacity
“We felt we had to do something with a
reduced environmental impact.
exceeding 24,000 megawatts via coal,
simulator and it seemed to be a potential,”
natural gas and oil. It is regarded as a critical
said Alan Metzler, operations manager for
generating plant in the fleet because of
the Seward Generating Station. “We did
the considerable investment in the CFB
a lot of upfront investigation regarding
technology and the commitment to the
understanding simulators and how they might
environmentally friendly use of coal. With
model a CFB. Invensys made us feel even
The Circulating Fluidised Bed (CFB) power
corporate eyes focused on the success
more comfortable by telling us it was going
station was commissioned in 2004, replacing
of the Seward facility, plant management
to be a tough project and that they weren’t
a traditional coal-fired plant constructed on
relied on Invensys to deliver new training
sure they could do it with the accuracy that
the same site in 1919. The new plant now
approaches that would turn the plant into a
we were asking for. We knew that would be
produces 525 megawatts, nearly three times
showcase for the entire GenOn organisation.
an issue because of the nature of the CFB.”
the Seward station hit the record books as
“The quality, professionalism and
The alternative to plant simulation was to
the largest waste coal power station in the
knowledge of the Invensys team exceeded
drill down on conventional management
world. The power station was named the
our expectations,” said Paul Demi, shift
and operator training approaches, with a
2004 “Plant of the Year” by Platt’s Power
supervisor and simulator trainer. “The
focus on classroom instruction with carefully
magazine and the facility was additionally
Invensys engineers wanted to make a
supervised on-the-job training. Instead,
honoured with the Pennsylvania Governor’s
simulator that they could sit back and be
plant management decided to step outside
Award for Environmental Excellence.
proud of as much as we wanted the same.
of the traditional training envelope with
When GenOn Energy looked for unique
That helped drive all of us to do the best we
operator training simulator (OTS) technology
solutions for bolstering the efficiency of the
could and work closely together.”
already proven in other types of fossil fuel
Invensys offers track record with power station training solution
the power output of the prior plant. Plus
power station through enhanced operator training and procedural improvements, the company turned to Invensys Operations Management after a search of companies
power stations. However, the simulator
Challenges of a sophisticated, new power generation process
specifically with extensive experience in
training approach wasn’t received without some scepticism from the veteran operators. “When we first told the people about the
power station systems. Invensys already had a
Transitioning from a standard pulverised
simulator they initially laughed at it and
demonstrated track record with power station
coal-fired process to CFB did not come
thought it was going to be a waste,” said
boiler simulators, with the added advantage
without overcoming a few hurdles. In
Larry Borsa, control room operator at the
of on-staff engineers who had previously
addition to increasing regulatory compliance
Seward station. “Now the people that have
worked for CFB boiler manufacturers.
and implications of an aging workforce,
gone through the training come into the
managers were concerned about worker
control room totally amazed about how the
“What made Invensys stand out over others
performance issues; specifically day-to-
simulator closely mirrors the control room.
was the technology and expertise of the
day plant operations and the analysis of
Their confidence level is very, very good.
proposed team members that were going
processes and procedures.
They are not afraid to make changes; they are
to be part of the simulator,” said Brian
not afraid to do different things. Also, with
Rematt, controls engineer at the Seward
The start-up and shutdown sequences as
the observations of the equipment running
Generating Station. “It made my decision
well as equipment maintenance procedures
they’ve become very aware of what’s going
pretty easy as to which company to go with.
for a CFB plant are distinct from traditional
on around them. I trained a lot of operators
When it all came down to it we felt Invensys
coal-fired power station operations. The
at the old station and it took a long time just
could deliver the best simulator for the final
control technology and power generation
to get people to touch something. We no
outcome we were looking for.”
systems are highly specialised and
longer have that issue with the people going
require heightened levels of vigilance
through this new training procedure.”
The CFB combustion process for coal-fired
by well-trained operators. As a result,
power installations was developed in
plant management focused on ways to
The SimSci-Esscor DYNSIM solution selected
Europe more than 30 years ago, and has
leverage the knowledge of its experienced
for the project is a comprehensive, dynamic
more recently found favour with U.S. power
operators so that it could be easily
process simulation program designed to
generators. The CFB process turns blighted
transferred to staff involved in the operator
enable Seward power plant operators to
piles of waste coal into reclaimed green
training program. The power generating
tackle the challenges of operating one of the
March/April 2013 | 39
world’s largest CFB plant safely and with a
between the DYNSIM model and the ABB
The centre HMI screen controls the steam
bottom-line eye on performance and operating
HTS virtual controllers was accomplished
turbine, and to the left and right are four DCS
cost efficiency. The simulation technology
through the DYNSIM OPC client
screens, complemented by a set of PLC HMI
offers a basis for a comprehensive approach
communicating with a server embedded in
screens for a total of 13 HMI monitors. The
to operator training, which in turn improves
the ABB HTS system. The link between the
simulator training room is virtually a mirror
plant performance and reduces capital
DYNSIM emulation of PLC controls in the
image of the control room setup and, to help
investment costs by improving the consistency
plant and the Harmony DCS was conducted
trainees stay close to the pulse of the plant, is
of operations and lowering the probability of
through the DYNSIM OPC server.
located within 30 feet of live operations.
Invensys simulator technology sways the sceptics
“When we are doing the training we can
equipment damage due to incorrect operation. The Seward plant operates two CFB boilers that produce steam to power an Alstom
compare what we are doing in here to what’s going on in the real plant -- it makes a good connection for the trainees,” Metzler said. “It
steam turbine. CFB technology increases the residence time of the fuel in the furnace
Despite operator reservations that the
was important for us to have the simulator
significantly, allowing low BTU waste coal
complex CFB coal-burning process could
in an area that would be representative of
fuel to burn completely. Also, CFB furnaces
not be easily modelled in a computer
real-life control conditions. The research
operate at a lower furnace temperature
simulation, Invensys was able to deliver
we had done stressed the importance of
than traditional coal firing technology,
a solution with an extremely high level of
making it as realistic as possible so that it’s
which, when combined with the selective
process fidelity. Invensys extended the
not just a bunch of computer screens in an
non-catalytic reduction system installed in
capabilities of its existing high-fidelity
unrealistic setup on a worktable in the back of
the flue gas path, results in low NOx (nitric
furnace model, adding calculations related
a conference room. We spent a good amount
oxide and nitrogen dioxide) emissions.
to the inventory and circulation of ash in
of money to have a special area available and
Sulphur dioxide emissions are controlled
the furnace, which allowed the addition
the team spent a significant amount of effort
by injecting limestone into the furnace and
of heat transfer, combustion and pressure
in the design application and then in the
via an ash hydration and re-injection system
gradient calculations specific to the CFB.
construction of the system to have it be an
installed at the plant. Particulate emissions
These equations could be tuned to match
almost exact replica of the real control room.
are controlled with a bag house.
the start-up behaviour observed at the plant.
Space is at premium in the plant but we made
Another simulator accomplishment was the
a commitment to have it located near
“The expertise and knowledge of
modelling of the coal ignition process. the actual control room as opposed
our people along with an unwavering commitment to customer success was
“The hardest part is to get an operator
to putting it in a trailer in a parking lot
the differentiator in the selection process
to understand the process and the
somewhere.”
and the key contributors in a resoundingly
interactions,” said Metzler. “They are able
successful project. DYNSIM once again
to see all that in the simulator. That’s not
A number of considerations weighed into
showed itself to be the industry leading
something you get in a classroom or a
the decision to implement an operator
software platform for both Power and
textbook or in a procedure. You have to
training simulator solution. Factors included
Hydrocarbon Processing Operator Training
live it. Fortunately our operators are now
new plant equipment, new operating
Simulators. The team worked tirelessly with
able to ‘live it’ via simulation, and they are
procedures and insufficient or inappropriate
GenOn to understand the requirements
able to deal with many more scenarios and
training. The Seward plant confronted the
and deliver a project that far exceeded
situations in a much smaller amount of time
additional challenge of training additional
customer expectations,” said Alastair Fraser,
than someone could possibly experience
personnel as the new CFB equipment came
V.P. Global Consulting/Solutions Services,
under any other training program.”
online. Staffing needed to be doubled to increase the number of trained control room
Invensys Operations Management. Indeed, the simulator has been so true-to-
operators at the 24/7 plant, and on-the-job
The simulator was created using the SimSci-
life that plant operators have been able
training was no longer a practical approach
Esscor DYNSIM. It was designed to create
to use the technology to identify control
for knowledge transfer of the sophisticated
first-principle models of process operations,
issues and create what-if scenarios off-line,
CFB combustion process.
including typical power plant equipment.
then incorporate new processes and
The flexibility of DYNSIM made it possible to
control solutions into plant operations. The
“When we first started there were people
extend the existing furnace model to achieve
simulator training is considered so realistic
who didn’t think it could be done,” said Demi.
a realistic representation of the Seward CFB
that it can both qualify new plant trainees
“There was always a question as to whether
boilers. The system used a virtual stimulation
and maintain and enhance the skills of even
we were ever going to reach our goal. Now
of the plant’s ABB Harmony distributed
the most senior power plant operators.
we bring a person that has never worked in the control room and give them four weeks
control system (DCS). In addition, the Invensys solution also emulated the Alstom steam turbine controls and the PLC-based
Mirroring live operations is the key to success
40 | www.protocolmag.co.za
week. When they go into the control room they not only know how to operate the
controls for the ash-handling and air-heater leak detection systems. Communication
of intense training, 10 hour days, five days a
The control room layout is a horseshoe design.
equipment but they feel comfortable working
Operator simulator training improves GenOn power station efficiency
with the controls. To be able to train someone
developing process approach options,
“From a support perspective we haven’t
to operate the DCS for a plant our size speaks
management implemented the new logic in
had many issues with the simulator; it’s been
volumes to what the simulator can do. I’d say
the plant, bringing additional safety to power
relatively problem-free for more than two
hands down we reached our goal.”
generation operations and shortstopping
years,” said Rematt. “A few months ago
potential undesired cascading shutdown
the simulator was tripping off the boilers for
For watchers of the bottom line, simulation pays mighty dividends
events involving pressure relief valves, feed
unknown reasons, but the screens would say
water pumps, the boiler furnaces and the
we still had pressure. But through a remote
power-producing steam turbine.
connection we were able to troubleshoot
The Invensys solution has provided
“You can’t understate that, that is very
additional dividends that have exceeded
significant, the single occurrence of bringing
the success in operator training. DYNSIM
the turbine online saved a lot of time and
technology is now used to develop and
money but this issue with the relief valves, it
test new control logic options that can be
was significant dollars and significant time
incorporated into the DCS.
and many other benefits,” said Metzler.
“All in all, the simulator has saved our
The simulator has enabled operators to
by all accounts it has exceeded the
bacon,” Metzler said. “We originally got
define alternative procedures for handling
performance expectations of GenOn Energy.
it to train control room operators and to
certain process conditions. For example,
The Invensys simulator is now the gold
improve our existing operations. We can
the procedure to handle a feed water
standard for preparing operators to work in
say it scored an A+ for all of that. Our
pump trip now calls for the trip of one of
the plant, and training time has been cut in
human performance errors and resulting
the two boilers, which enables the plant to
half compared to the prior classroom and
loss in generation has been reduced
continue safe operation at half load. Also
on-the-job learning approaches.
significantly. This came at a time when
the simulator has been used to increase the
capital dollars for the installation were
efficiency of the plant start-up and shutdown
“The Invensys solution has helped us
scrutinised as much as I have ever seen in
procedures. Plus simulator training has
significantly, that’s the pure dollars and cents
my career at power plants. But we were
improved operational reliability and
of the project,” Metzler said. “But there’s
committed that if we were going to do it,
established the standardisation of operator
also been quality of life improvements
we were going to do it right and we kept
responses to problem conditions.
regarding overtime for the control room
where the problem area was and correct it in a relatively short period of time.”
Invensys solution prepares operators and enhances working environment Since the Invensys solution was installed,
to our guns and achieved a successful outcome. We didn’t want something close enough; we needed something right on.”
operators. Our control room operators don’t
Invensys’ dedication continues from project through support
have to work 40 percent overtime to cover when people are unavailable because of vacation time or sick leave. We now have highly trained operators available for the
“After a recent turbine control system upgrade the plant struggled to put the unit
The Invensys SimSci-Esscor simulator team
central control room, fully confident in being
online. There was a considerable amount of
retains its “customer first” philosophy of
able to step in when needed.”
computer handshaking happening invisible
remaining dedicated through the life of the
to the operators. It wasn’t happening like
simulator investment.
it should have so we decided to try it on
Experienced operators also now routinely sharpen their skills in dealing with plant
the simulator, and when we did that, sure
“We started with Invensys at a point when
problems and alerts, as well as test scenarios
enough, we witnessed what we should have
we tried to fine tune the simulator to the
to develop more efficient operational
been seeing in real life,” said Rematt. “And
best areas that we could in comparison to
procedures. Testing procedures in the
then we actually applied it to our own device
the plant and overall it took a long period
simulator reduce the risk and anxiety
and we were able to get the turbine online
of time and dedication from Invensys,” said
associated with changing or modifying
the very first time. Prior to that we had two
Borsa. “They went above and beyond all
control room procedures in the power plant.
to three failed attempts but after we saw it
expectations in terms of trying to work with
While GenOn spearheads reclamation of
on the simulator, how it should really go, we
us to try to make this simulator that would
green space in Pennsylvania using its CFB
took that onto the floor and applied that and
be well worth the investment. It took a lot of
boilers, Invensys has served as a key partner
it worked the first time.”
hours and dedication on everyone’s part.”
in helping the company achieve excellence
Control development on the simulator delivers real-world solutions
GenOn clearly saw the need to enable its
the operational and cost efficiencies of the
workforce so that employees would be in
power station.
in preparing the workforce while maximising
a position to make confident, informed decisions. A combination of skills, tools
The simulator was additionally used to
and system design were brought together
develop controls to mitigate relief valve
in a manner that accelerated process
operation due to pump overpressure issues.
improvements from capturing, transferring
After running through several tests and
and institutionalising best practices.
March/April 2013 | 41
Product profile: IntelaTrac for improved situation awareness With about 50% or more of most plants left
or equipment problems. If problems are
non-instrumented, who’s going to pick up
found, IntelaTrac can immediately guide
the pieces when (not if) they go wrong? And
workers through additional steps or actions
what about the instrumented parts? SCADA
to properly identify and address the
systems are not well known for sniffing
developing issue.
out burning oil. Effective maintenance relies heavily on human observational skills
IntelaTrac’s exception-based, web reports
provided these observations can be logged
keep everyone on the team up-to-speed on
and form an integral part of the greater
the current state of plant operations.
SCADA and maintenance picture. IntelaTrac’s web services-based API
In a nutshell ...
The industry-leading mobile workforce and decision support system
connectivity ensures the lowest total cost
mobile workforce management solution
IntelaTrac® accelerates and sustains
to a wide range of industries.
operational process improvements and is a
Enforce best operating procedures
IntelaTrac is an enterprise-level software
of ownership by adding a highly extensible mobile platform.
and hardware solution that delivers a
key component of an effective Operations IntelaTrac enables manufacturers and
Management System. IntelaTrac helps
Best practices are only meaningful if they are
processors to achieve reliable, safe and
insure that best operating and regulatory
consistently and broadly applied across an
profitable operations through consistent
procedures are followed at all times, data
enterprise. IntelaTrac rounds are presented to
execution of best practices by the field
is collected on non-instrumented plant
mobile workers and each step can be tracked
workforce − accelerating and sustaining
assets, critical environmental, health and
to ensure compliance and accountability.
mainstream process improvements.
safety inspections are performed on schedule and mobile operators have the information at
Business value
most effective manner possible. • Key success factor for field operational excellence
Stranded or non-instrumented assets often represent 40—60% of your asset base but
Helping your front line manage your bottom line
• Helps steward the consistent execution of best practices
Strategy for stranded assets
their fingertips to operate plant assets in the
are too often “invisible” to management. IntelaTrac provides a cost effective strategy for monitoring and reporting back on the
Operational Excellence starts with operators.
performance of stranded assets.
IntelaTrac brings the field operator into the • Provides strategy for monitoring stranded assets
automation loop by utilising a combination of workforce management software, mobile
Respond faster and improve your competitiveness
handheld computers, monitoring devices and • Supports rapid response to changing business conditions • Key success factor for equipment
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) equipment
For the first time you can execute pre-
tags or bar codes. This mobile framework results
defined strategies when your business or
in a significantly improved decision support
environmental conditions change allowing
system for managing plant assets.
you to improve your organisational agility
reliability • Helps assimilate new field workers
42 | www.protocolmag.co.za
and competitiveness. IntelaTrac’s Dynamic Workers are easily guided through a
Procedures allow pre-configured procedures
question and answer process which helps
to be automatically passed to your field
uncover hidden bottlenecks and process
operators so they can begin securing a facility
Product profile: IntelaTrac for improved situation awareness
inspection rounds. This means best practices
on work order status, work requests and
can be easily documented and used by
current operating conditions can be made
all field workers, even the most junior of
available to your field workers in real time.
operators—insulating plants or facilities from
Maintenance workers will have the detailed
a sudden loss of operating knowledge.
information at their fingertips so they can get the job done in the shortest possible
Unifying your field workforce with your plant automation system
time.
Better field management of capital projects
Now the state-of-the-art Wonderware System Platform can share data with your
Even with the best team, managing the
IntelaTrac equipped mobile workforce. The
installation and commissioning of new capital
myriad of plant automation data can now be
projects and turnarounds can be challenging.
funnelled to your mobile workers keeping
How do you know when specific field tasks
them up-to-date on current operational
have been accomplished? And if things change
conditions. You can also use the Mobile
and they always do, how do you ensure that
or ramping up production on a moment’s
IntelaTrac system to push field collected
everyone is on the same page? IntelaTrac can
notice. Teams know exactly what to do and
data back up into the automation system
provide the vital mobile infrastructure, including
when. Lag time and confusion are minimised.
so it can be exposed in operator displays
RFID location verification technology, that you
or to engineers or managers utilising plant
can exploit to keep everyone informed and
information portals.
working the task list.
Improving the efficiency of your maintenance organisation
Server components/ integration software
As conditions change IntelaTrac’s highly extensible and open mobile platform can also deliver mobile procedures directly from a wide range of plant systems. The mobile worker then executes these specific tasks
• IntelaTrac Database Server: Microsoft
and forwards any collected information back to the host system. Plant systems
IntelaTrac is a natural tool for improving the
SQL Server based database management
never designed with a mobile capability,
efficiency of maintenance activities. Mobile
server
such as historians, LIMS systems, MES
IntelaTrac can be loaded with a complete list
systems and CMMS/EMS systems can now
of daily maintenance tasks (including step-
incorporate mobile task execution and field
by-step instructions) so critical maintenance
data collection.
can be done right the first time.
Achieve greater process reliability and asset effectiveness
If a wireless network is present, information
• IntelaTrac Synchronisation Server: Mobile device communication server • IntelaTrac Web Server: Web report server
IntelaTrac empowers field workers to be part of the reliability solution, it helps drive collective behaviour and a culture of asset ownership between operations and maintenance. Equipment condition data such as vibration or temperature can be easily collected by field operators using the IntelaTrac mobile solution as they do their regular operating rounds. Stranded or Non-instrumented plant assets can now be efficiently monitored.
Better manage workforce turnover IntelaTrac’s innovative on-the-job training approach gets your newest field workers up to speed—FAST. IntelaTrac allows experienced workers to incorporate their knowledge into operating and
March/April 2013 | 43
Typical configuration
• Integration Modules: Software modules that integrate third party enterprise and
Mobile devices and peripherals
plant systems to IntelaTrac (SAP PM, IBM Maximo, OSIsoft PI System, AspenTech
IntelaTrac supports a broad selection
IP21, Syntex IMPACT and others)
of Windows Mobile based handheld computers from Motorola/Symbol, Intermec,
Desktop IntelaTrac clients
Bartec and others. Supported peripherals include; RFID and barcode readers, vibration
• IntelaTrac Procedure Builder: Desktop application for configuring and scheduling field procedures and data collection tasks • IntelaTrac Auditor Plus: Desktop application for viewing the status of field rounds, exceptions and notes • IntelaTrac Web Report Manager: Web client that allows users to view and configure web based reports
Mobile IntelaTrac client Mobile IntelaTrac: Windows Mobile client that provides a “best in class” browser style user interface for IntelaTrac procedures and data collection tasks on mobile devices
44 | www.protocolmag.co.za
probes, temperature guns and wireless communication devices.
Plant operational excellence at Infineum thanks to Wonderware IntelaTrac
Plant operational excellence at Infineum thanks to Wonderware IntelaTrac
In a nutshell ... Goals • Increase plant’s availability by anticipating any potentially damaging situations • Optimise operators’ efficiency and reliability during inspection activity • Limit production downtimes to scheduled maintenance only
Challenges • The proximity of the plants to inhabited areas makes it essential for the sites to be safe and reliable at all times • Detection of critical indicators, e.g. vibrations or the presence of foreign particles, which automatic instruments do not usually detect effectively • Maximise the value of the time and experience of the field operators
Results • The Wonderware solution has enabled the plant to achieve a plant availability factor of over 90% • The system has allowed the operational procedures for visual inspections of equipment to be optimised and standardised, thanks to the removal of paper reports and the intuitive nature of the handheld Vado Ligure, Italy – Every time we start the
established ten years ago through the
devices
car, our gaze falls almost without fail to
merger of Paramins (the additives division
the fuel gauge, since fuel is the essential
of what was then Exxon Chemical) and Shell
• Wonderware IntelaTrac’s features now
element for making a vehicle run. We only
Additives. In Italy, the factory in Vado Ligure
allow operators to identify potential
think about oil when the indicator light
(near Savona) is the Infineum Group’s main
problems which were previously
comes on and we rarely stop to think about
European supply centre for additives in
neglected, thus avoiding the need for
the additives that help optimise engine
lubricant oils.
any emergency intervention
function. And yet, engine oil and additives are fundamental elements in ensuring that the cars and other means of transport we
Human supervision in an automated industry
use to travel around everyday are working properly.
When working in the petrochemical sector, it becomes essential to combine safety
The production of these additives for
and productivity by anticipating potentially
lubricant oils is the core business of
damaging situations. In addition, unforeseen
the Infineum Group. The company was
problems have immediate and financially
March/April 2013 | 45
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March/April 2013 | 47
costs and could overload the DCS. Human
when narrowed down, the choice was still
supervision therefore, remains fundamentally
complicated since the success of the whole
important even in an industry that is
project depended on the selected platform.
becoming more and more automated. “As we were faced with two possibilities,” Traditionally, operators use paper for
explained Enrico Bertossi, Infineum’s Global
reporting even though it is prone to
Manufacturing Excellence Program Advisor,
transcription errors. These reports then
“the real and concrete references presented
had to be transferred manually, therefore
by the System Integrator, Rex, played a
increasing the amount of time required to
crucial role in the decision-making process.”
obtain useful information. Moreover, some
significant repercussions for production and
inspections are not carried out from the
Another factor was the need to achieve
correct location, thus limiting the accuracy of
integration with SAP, the business
the observations.
system Infineum uses for planning plant
therefore, to the business. Inspections using the Manufacturing Efficiency Index, carried out by management
maintenance operations. The only tool
Collecting critical operational information quickly and efficiently
in the years following the merger showed an
able to meet these requirements was Wonderware IntelaTrac, the mobile workforce and decision support system by Invensys Operations Management.
average plant availability of 80%. This is not
As part of the Global Manufacturing
an acceptable value for a highly automated
Excellence Program to increase plant
This solution is designed to enable workflow,
firm looking to the future.
availability and optimise operators’ work,
procedural and general task management
the Infineum Group decided to equip its
activities required to achieve reliable
In response to this, Infineum launched the
staff with devices capable of collecting
operations. These capabilities are enhanced
Global Manufacturing Excellence Program
critical operational information in a quick
by the tool’s key feature: allowing on-site
in 2004, with the aim of maximising plant
and efficient manner. The group needed to
operators to input information and receive
reliability, achieving availability of over
identify a reliable tool that optimises direct
support at any location within the plant,
90% and limiting production downtimes to
inspection activities.
without the need of a physical connection.
therefore been concentrated on two specific
This was not a simple search, since each
The decision was made easier by the fact
fronts: preventative maintenance and
plant has its own particular features. This
that - “IntelaTrac was priced less than the
operational management.
makes it impossible to standardise the
other supplier,” said Bertossi.
scheduled maintenance only. Efforts have
inspection processes. The whole search was In this context, it is easy to understand the
made even more complicated due to the
importance of maintenance at large scale
regulations in each country.
Staff approval of IntelaTrac usability
the periodic monitoring of the plant carried
For this reason, it was necessary to start by
“All our expectations were confirmed
out by field operations personnel.
establishing a new method of inspection
immediately after the application
procedures. The operators themselves were
deployment. We were able to obtain the
However, these professionals, thanks
directly involved in this task, leveraging their
approval of all system users after only 6
to their regular rounds, are in fact the
specific experience to identify the correct
months of development,” said Mauro
people who know the site best. They are
steps.
Tassistro, Infineum’s Applications Team
plants. Seemingly less important, however, is
Leader in Italy.
able to recognise abnormal or potentially dangerous situations that are not detected
The organisational planning also required
by plant instruments.
the adoption of instruments that will enable
Tassistro himself has an overall view of the
operators to work optimally so that they
whole project, since the system architecture
could concentrate on their field of expertise
is centralised in Italy, but has continuous
The plant’s production process is constantly
connection to the plants in France, Germany,
monitored by electronic instruments and
North America and Singapore.
detects any deviation from the ideal working
Infineum tested multiple solutions, but most
parameters. All this information is fed back
of them ended up being unsuitable to the
to the DCS in real time. However, certain
complexities of the plant’s production. An
These plants present extremely different
specific factors such as noise, vibrations or
intense software selection process began,
situations in terms of both production and
the presence of dirt or small internal leaks,
intended to identify a single platform
staff operating methods. However, the
are not efficiently measured or detected by
capable of adapting to the specific needs of
approval of users, who appreciated the ease-
automatic instruments.
all production plants.
of-use and maintainability of the system, was
Installing additional measuring
At the end of this search, only two products
instrumentation would lead to higher
were found to fulfil these requirements. Even
one of the critical factors in choosing the
48 | www.protocolmag.co.za
IntelaTrac based monitoring system.
Plant operational excellence at Infineum thanks to Wonderware IntelaTrac
Field operators previously used paper forms for reporting during their rounds. This was difficult, especially during adverse weather conditions. By contrast, Wonderware IntelaTrac installed on a handheld device is simple and intuitive, allowing operators to concentrate more on their traditional tasks. As an added benefit, the integration with RFID technology means data relating to a specific observation can only be input when the operator is in the correct position. This procedure prevents errors. In addition, the practical use of the IntelaTrac interface made these operators really appreciate the technology being developed, since they understood the benefit for their day-to-day work. “The decision to involve users from the very start of the project has enhanced the
Nothing escapes Wonderware IntelaTrac
advantages provided by an innovative tool like IntelaTrac,” emphasised Tassistro.
overlooked, which could have potentially led to the progressive deterioration of some pieces of equipment that would
“Using IntelaTrac has enabled the plant to
subsequently need emergency maintenance
achieve a plant availability factor of over
intervention.
“Staff approval is the result of the solution’s
90%. It has integrated perfectly with the
usability in the plants. In addition,
other innovations added to our equipment,”
Finally, the use of inspection support tools
installation was completed in just a few
said Tassistro.
has also increased on-site operators’ sense
months, therefore minimising the impact
of responsibility, as they feel more involved
on staff operations and avoiding any
The platform developed by Invensys
in ensuring that the entire plant is run
interference with production,” confirmed
Operations Management has allowed the
properly and correctly.
Bertossi.
identification of certain situations, usually
March/April 2013 | 49
From labour worker to performance manager Simon Windust, Invensys
defer maintenance and prevent operations
• Data is presented with no key identifier so
problems while safely running the business.
as data grows exponentially it becomes
Introduction
irrelevant or more confusing Therefore, a need to provide appropriate
The introduction of automation control
information to individuals is required to
throughout the years has been partially
increase their contribution and involvement
justified through lower personnel costs.
within the overall business. This creates an
As repetitive operations were completed
improved working environment, encourages
accurately and routinely using process
team spirit and increases an individual’s
control equipment, the need for manual
performance.
• User Interfaces that are difficult to work • Difficult to find the valuable data • Poorly grouped data that is not easily understood
operators was removed. However, this also meant the knowledge of the process,
However, the required information varies for
methods to improve and issues to overcome
each individual and must be presented in a
• Navigation that requires time and adds
were gradually reduced with the removal
precise manner with options and associated
of each operator. As each operator was
risks. The overall business driver is to:
Limited knowledge
of the business or part of any collective
Improve the supply of innovative and
• Understanding how to use the data is
responsibility to improve productivity, the
consistent product quality
further confusion
dissociated from the overall operation dependent upon a user’s background and inherent knowledge of the process
understanding of the effect of losing key personnel was not matched to the effect on
Supply the required quantities of product in
the business.
the correct location and in a timely manner to satisfy demand
• If data is not time consistent, the operator action may be incorrect
Advances in communications and network • Lack of consistent and high-level
technology have presented all roles
Deliver product at a competitive price while
within an organisation with vast arrays of
maintaining effective margins and respecting
knowledge throughout the plant to advise
data. These data must be appropriately
safety and environmental requirements
individuals on their actions
summarised and assessed to allow agile
The barriers our clients face
Inconsistent information
businesses must quickly react to external
Today, there is a need to allow each
• Different legacy automation and hardware
issues in real time, understand the affect
individual’s role to contribute to the benefit
on production processes and make correct
of the business. This is limited by:
business operations across multiple plant and geographical areas. Furthermore,
systems • Legacy applications that are not replaced
decisions. • Confusing data
The business driver
within the business and operations environment
• Limited knowledge When an operation is performing within defined boundaries, everyone is satisfied,
• Complicated report routing that does not • Inconsistent information
but when problems arise, large financial losses can occur. Therefore, the optimal
deliver to the correct personnel within the organisation
• External influences
solution and how it can directly affect the
• Inability to identify the point of no return,
business bottom-line must be understood.
Confusing data
In addition, the ability to capitalise on
• Inconsistent forms of existing data
adding additional cost to out-of-spec product
opportunities as they occur and provide
provided by disparate devices are
prompt action allows individuals to
distributed throughout the organisation to
positively affect the overall performance
physically different locations
of the business. For example, the ability to
50 | www.protocolmag.co.za
• Unstructured capture of batch data that provides additional cost
External influences
From labour worker to performance manager
• Unaware of today’s technological possibilities
individual to be in control of the operation. This can be provided by:
• Recommendation of available options for the next step and the risks/rewards associated with each option
• Engineering mindset does not empower
• Ability to present summarised data that is
people, only places them within
appropriate to the individual’s role within
structured boxes
the company. For example:
• Unified information model across the enterprise that enables knowledge sharing (e.g. industry Wiki) and provides
• Labour unions limiting the flexibility of personnel
Forecast trends (instead of unknown
online training
future “events”) • Clarification of an individual’s decision
• Unclear decision rights that limit individual’s decision boundaries • Tradition and organisational inertia to flexible workforce
Context with targets and constraints (instead of additional numbers) Better comparisons of client,
boundaries and where/who to delegate if outside of their defined authority
Summary
operations and maintenance schedules Individuals can contribute to the success
• Existing work cultures that must be aligned and evolved as mergers and
Better comparisons across shifts and sites
roll-ups occur
of the business when presented with information appropriate to their role and the best way to use that data. The aim is to:
Personalisation of information and
Clients’ ideal state related to this driver
contextual to role and skill set • Data must be concise and present the
This new way of doing business allows
optimum next step to the product/
operations to make decisions based on
process/solution. Timely information
profitability not expediency and provides
logically grouped for quick assimilation.
a total alignment of objectives within the enterprise from top to bottom.
• Within the appropriate time frame, and • At a lower risk This contributes to a performance culture
• A go/no go or pass/fail indication with the ability to drill-down and investigate
There is a need to reduce decision time
• Provide correct decisions
that creates world-class excellence and adds to shareholder value.
further if required
to match incoming events and allow an
March/April 2013 | 51
52 | www.protocolmag.co.za
Empowering people to contribute with DPM DPM or Dynamic Performance Management / Measurement is a system
optimise throughput. Because production personnel need maintenance
of measurement and a concept that extends business performance
information and some financial feedback if they are to remain profitable
measurement beyond traditional accounting to the realities of real-time
and competitive.
production. It was developed after more than 300 CEOs underlined the inability of their office systems to provide the information required to
DPM precisely defines the critical performance measurement information
address problems in a timely manner.
that IT must provide to support decisions at all levels of the organisation. There’s no more guesswork as to what people may want to know or
Capitalising on the fact that access to enterprise–wide information
swamping them with information ‘just in case’. DPM can also reduce
is no longer a problem, DPM focuses on supplying individuals the
measurements to the common denominator of money – including real-
exact information they need to monitor and adjust their activities
time profit and loss. This provides personnel with a measurement of their
and performance in terms of the company’s profit-making strategy
performance in terms of a measurement unit that’s real to everyone and
and that means stepping across the artificial boundaries of ERP, MES
encourages them to better “own” their processes – just like professional
and automation. Why? Because CFOs need some production and
knowledge workers are supposed to do.
financial information as well as a good reason if they are to authorise or veto the installation of new plant. Because production managers
The proof of the effectiveness of DPM can be seen in the following
need scheduling, customer and production information if they are to
success story from SASOL.
March/April 2013 | 53
Dynamic Performance Measurement system improves energy and electricity consumption at SASOL Energy and electricity savings progressed and improved throughout the second and third months, saving R3,5 million in the first 2 months.
Goals
Solutions and Products
• Monitor energy costs and usage in real time to better optimise the
• Dynamic Performance Measurement
energy within the plant
Results • Identify the amount of energy needed to meet internal requirements and minimise its impact on the local electrical grid.
• Savings of 6% in energy and 4% in electricity costs within the first month
Challenges • Saved R3,5 million within the first 2 months from two out of the five • Energy costs and electricity usage has a very large impact on
targeted plants and over R8,7 million during the course of the year
business performance • Over 2% reduction in variable costs associated with energy feedstocks and electricity
54 | www.protocolmag.co.za
Dynamic Performance Measurement system improves energy and electricity consumption at SASOL
plant operation and strategy audit. They interviewed Sasol personnel from all aspects of plant operations, starting with plant managers and continuing with the operators and other pertinent personnel in the operation. Invensys’ structured methodology was used to determine the correct measures of performance and to break down key plant performance measures into lowerlevel functional entities so that they can be managed effectively. The component solutions were then recombined into an overall structure. The Invensys-measured process helped to reconcile differences in how raw materials consumption was measured between the engineering and accounting staffs. The engineering production division measured coal consumption using mechanical devices (based on the number of revolutions Figure 1: Real-time business intelligence / financial system
made by a wheel flow meter), while the accounting division based its measurements
With increased cost pressures due to a
maximising output to minimising cost. The
on weighing devices at the mine and silo
reduction in some of its commodity-based
price of steam for internal and external
measurements that resulted in significant
business, the Sasol Corporation required
customers is based on an algorithm that
weight differences. Therefore, reconciliation
a new solution to minimise costs. Sasol
approximates a fair market price at current
was required to arrive at a working solution.
introduced a new technology within the
conditions. Steam stations are contractually
The process was also used to help identify a
plant environment to manage its energy
obligated to operate with 160 tons per
water source cost that had previously been
costs and usage due to its large impact
hour of spare steam, which is approximately
incorrectly allocated.
on business performance. This new
equal to the steam output from one boiler. If
solution must monitor energy costs and
plants cannot meet the demand for steam,
usage in real time, allowing management,
they must reduce supply to the electrical
operators, and engineers to better optimise
generation customers, who buy electricity
Sasol has made a significant investment in
the energy within the plant, identify the
directly from the grid. Excessive power
its automation and IT infrastructure. Each
amount of energy needed to meet internal
usage from the grid can be costly.
steam station has a dedicated Distributed
requirements, and minimise its impact on
Automation and IT systems
Control System (DCS) for control,
the local electrical grid.
Collaboration
Producing steam for internal and external consumption
The Invensys Business Performance Services
to have some unused capacity. The unused
consulting team worked closely with Sasol
computing capacity in each DCS provided
personnel (from the Sasol One Site in
Sasol an opportunity to host applications
The Sasol plant draws process water from
Sasolburg, South Africa) to develop real-time
beyond the basic process control such as
a nearby river to produce steam in two
dynamic performance measurements (DPM)
implementation and execution host for
steam stations and an automatic thermal
at Steam Plants 1 and 2. To determine the
real-time performance measurements and
reformer (ATR) area that is used for internal
underlying real-time performance measures
business intelligence feedback.
and external consumer consumption. The
and calculate costs and profits, DPMs and
process water is treated in one plant and
real-time financial metrics were created
The historian server collects critical data
mixed with condensate that is recovered
for each process unit and area within the
from each DCS and other production layer
from additional plants. Previously, steam
two plants. Management and operator
systems. Most connections between the
demand for external customers was
dashboards, that utilise DPMs and real-time
DCS and IT layer are through bi-directional
extremely high, especially for customers
financial data, were also created to provide
communications. Process data moves
involved in coal reformation. During
management, operations and engineering
from the DCS to the historian server and
which, maximising output was the key to
with critical information in real time to
is then transmitted back to the DCS for
the profitability strategy. However, as the
enable better and more informed business
management-level reports and dashboards.
demand for coal decreased and imported
decisions.
historisation and graphical interface. At the start of the project, each DCS was found
natural gas increased, steam demand declined, shifting the strategy from
Monthly financial reports provide an overall Initially, the consulting team conducted a
representation of the steam generation
March/April 2013 | 55
Figure 2: Real-time financial information flows through to SAP business and the entire Infrachem Syngas
generating cost, including labour, consists of
(the time from when a breakdown
steam and utilities businesses. These
four major components: coal, electricity, fuel
occurred to when the repair was
financial reports are generated using
as well as and oil and water. Additionally,
completed and the equipment was back
Hyperion Financial Management reporting
emission levels were monitored and
in operation)
capabilities that utilise key financial
improved to enhance Sasol’s environmental
data from various sources. Managerial,
footprint.
operations, and maintenance reports utilise input from the operational data store (ODS) system, SAP, and other manually entered
• Maintenance schedule deviations (important for improving the maintenance
Maintenance and human resources metrics
sources to provide custom reports to meet
planning process
Implementing DPMs
current requirements. Daily, production
Additionally, the steam stations management
supervisors use these reports to review the
rolled out a maintenance initiative that was
DPM algorithms, real-time financial models
production performance from the previous
designed to improve the availability of key
and unit levels were implemented in the
day.
assets and avoid emergency shutdowns.
two DCSs. Using existing plant-level assets
This was accomplished by improved
for implementation; cost factors on the
planning, increased predictive-reactive
plant floor can be tracked in real time. The
maintenance ratios, setting proper priorities
execution of these algorithms typically
Modelled in the DCS, DPMs were developed
for maintenance activities, and reduced
takes place in the microprocessors in the
for each individual boiler, steam station, and
cost. Real-time performance measurements
DCS. These algorithms are executed at a
the steam generation. Three station-level
focused on the following within the
frequency that is in close proximity to the
DPMs were developed: steam cost, steam
maintenance area:
cycle time of the process, with the historical
Development of DPMs
quality, and production rate. Each individual boiler is required to produce the lowest-
collection performed at a similar frequency. • Reactive-predictive maintenance ratio
cost steam at the proper pressure and temperature specifications, maintain reliable
at the station and plant levels using the • Boiler availability
production, while managing production rates. For each boiler, the variable steam
56 | www.protocolmag.co.za
Unit-level metrics are then aggregated functionality of the historian. The totalling can be performed at various periods,
• Emergency maintenance reaction time
including the shift, day and month.
Dynamic Performance Measurement system improves energy and electricity consumption at SASOL
Real-time financial data with allocated costs
impact on Sasol’s business performance.
engineering, management, operations, and
are tracked using the ValuMax activity-based
Integrating this type of strategy is helping
maintenance) to discuss the overall business
costing system and provide an immediate
to improve Sasol’s business and build the
– seeing it in a holistic view. This type of
representation of product costs across the
knowledge and skill base of its operators
interaction creates understanding across
portfolio. The same real-time financial data
and engineers. Providing operations
business functions, enables proper strategic
is projected to eventually be integrated
personnel with a tool that provides feedback
performance measures to be developed
into SAP as the fidelity and applicability of
as to which boiler produces the least
across functions, and helps create new
the data is better understood. The figure
expensive incremental steam enhances
and valuable business processes aimed at
below provides a general overview of the
performance of each steam station.
improving the bottom line.
system for Steam Stations 1 and 2. Strategic
For example, operators can make spare and
Invensys’ Real-Time Energy Usage
performance measurement, operational
spinning steam decisions based on economic
Monitoring Solution was a key tool for
KPIs, and Real-Time Finance (RTA) models
information. Spinning is the available spare
helping Sasol in achieving positive results
were developed and processed in the
steam capacity when the feed rate on an idle
on this project. Producing steam in Steam
existing automation system.
mill is increased. Spare steam is the amount
Stations 1 and 2 resulted in a 6% savings in
of potential steam available by starting the
energy and 4% savings in electricity costs
third mill of a boiler running on just two
within the first month (approximately R2
mills. Operators increase steam output on an
million savings in the first month). Energy
Once the performance measurement
instantaneous or immediate basis according
and electricity savings progressed and
models were installed, they were historicised
to demand changes.
improved throughout the second and third
real-time business intelligence/finance
Developing a baseline
to provide a performance profile of each unit, and station. This baseline enabled
months, saving R3,5 million in the first 2
Positive results
an economic comparison of boilers
months from two out of the five-targeted plants. The annualised direct benefit of
under various conditions. Using improved
As Sasol’s division continues to improve its
this project was initially expected to be a
procedures and training, improvement
operation and drive business value for the
2% reduction in variable costs associated
initiatives, projects, and operational
company, it will acquire new products and
with energy feedstocks and electricity. The
improvements can be financially tracked
process technologies to help achieve their
results have far exceeded these estimates.
and validated. Creating this type of baseline
goals. Sasol Infrachem management views
In collaboration with Invensys, Sasol will
enables the development of data for
development of its employees as one of the
incorporate future business information with
financial and accounting validation.
company’s most critical tasks. Government
process data and identify other areas of
regulations and key personnel nearing
improvement through advanced multivariate
Training Sasol operators and engineers
retirement underscore the importance of
statistical analysis, continuous improvement
to think and act strategically are key
skills and knowledge development.
programmes such as Six Sigma, and other
opportunities for improved results.
business value-adding activities.
Dashboards provide operations personnel
The DPM methodology brings together
clear and simple feedback to individual
various functional areas (such as accounting,
March/April 2013 | 57
Situation awareness – vital for a sentient enterprise Denis du Buisson – editor, Protocol Magazine
Introduction
weather, the condition of the track and the responsiveness of the horse when prompted
Situation awareness has many complex
to go faster. In this simplistic example, the
definitions but it seems that it all comes
jockey is more aware of the situation in
down to being able to answer these
which they find themselves than the horse.
questions:
However, it’s important to note that the jockey is an active participant to the process
• Do you know what’s really going on?
of racing. He doesn’t leave the horse to his own devices just because the horse knows
• What can affect the outcome?
what to do. If the jockey just sat there and didn’t drive the process, there’s a good
• Are you prepared to cope with what could happen?
chance that the pair wouldn’t win any races – after all, there’s nothing in it for the horse.
A blinkered horse racing down the track
Situation awareness is one of the critical
is aware of the commands of the jockey
components of decision-making (figure
on his back and the horses immediately
1) and highlights the importance of not
in front of him. The blinkers are there to
wearing blinkers and focusing only on a
focus his attention on these main facts only
narrow field of view. This is especially true
so that the objective of winning the race
of people operating complex systems in
can be achieved without distraction. The
the domains of air traffic control, nuclear-
jockey, on the other hand, is aware of the
based power generation and advanced
betting odds, which horses are coming up
manufacturing and mining systems to name
behind, which horses he should pass, the
a few. Low situation awareness can cause
Figure 1: Components of the decision-making process. The result of actions taken become part of the decision-maker’s experience to be repeated in the future if successful or discarded if not.
58 | www.protocolmag.co.za
Situation awareness – vital for a sentient enterprise
Figure 2: Example of increased situational awareness from the point of view of an operator on the shop floor.
catastrophic plant failures and even loss
complacent. And then something goes
that’s ever been able to solve a multiple
of life. In a review of commercial aviation
wrong.
objective optimisation problem is a human.
accidents, 88 percent of those with human
So, the Lights Out Manufacturing approach,
error involved a problem with situation
A PLC will keep a valve open to fill a tank
which advocates total automation and
awareness (Endsley 1994).
to its prescribed upper limit unaware that
the elimination of humans, will have to
the tank in question has sprung a leak. An
find another way of optimising multiple,
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with focus.
operator looking at the HMI screen will see
simultaneous objectives. We’ve been trying
When former world chess champion Gary
that the valve is logically open because the
to eliminate operators for years – now’s the
Kasparov was planning his next move,
tank isn’t full – so everything is OK. At this
time to empower them.
there was nothing else but focus. But at the
point, there’s no difference between the
same time he had to be aware of dozens of
operator and the PLC – until liquid starts
As we all know, humans are a company’s
possible consequences of that move as well
sloshing around the operator’s feet.
most valuable assets but they are rarely
as his opponent’s many likely countermoves.
empowered to use their natural talents
So his situational awareness of the job at
By adding sensors, the PLC could be
which have been suppressed by an
hand was extremely high yet he probably
provided with more situational awareness
abundance of automation. That’s not to say
couldn’t describe the decor in the room.
and would therefore become a more
that automation is bad – on the contrary,
valuable asset. So, situation awareness
it’s what keeps us in the 21st century. But
Situation awareness makes the difference
involves the broadening of one’s scope
the increasing dependence on automation
between being “on top of it” or blaming
of observation and humans who have this
systems and their recommendations has led
circumstances for failure. More importantly,
ability are more valuable to the company
operators and others to become passive
it makes the difference between mindless
than those who don’t.
observers of process control rather than
automation and sentient control.
active participants. Computers do what they’re told and
Situation awareness and production automation
watching them do it without extracting
PLCs or SCADA systems can’t smell burning
valuable information can be a mindless
insulation or see smoke – but a mobile
and futile occupation. Humans can do what
workforce can. Computers can’t reconcile
The manual control of processes demands
computers can’t do and that’s to observe the
production capability with market demands
the full attention of operators since they
broader operational landscape and to make
– but production managers can.
have to be ever mindful of what’s happening
decisions based on a multitude of variables.
where and when. As automation crept
It’s been shown that automation systems
in, operators were increasingly distanced
Running a plant doesn’t mean only aiming
designed so as to involve a greater level
from the production processes in their
towards one objective. A plant will have
of human interaction are preferable to
care. Today, fully-automated processes
numerous objectives that all have to
fully-automated systems and that operators
need virtually no operator involvement at
be achieved simultaneously and in an
were better able to assume manual control
all, with the result that operators trust the
optimum manner – and the objectives will
when needed. This increased level of
automation systems implicitly and become
be changing dynamically. The only entity
participation requires that operators have
March/April 2013 | 59
an increased knowledge of the processes
regularly tracked the performance of the
being monitored as well as the automation
sales personnel against their targets while
systems that control them. They should
at the same time designing functionality
be encouraged to build what-if scenarios
for the software we were developing – but
and to plan what to do when they observe
that was my “day job”. I also made it my
certain trends or events in as well as outside
job to periodically and casually talk to the
the scope of normal monitoring. Much of
sales people in their environment rather
this can be done with scripted workflows
than in my office. This provided a wealth of
but a lot more will eventually be compiled
information that would never have come
as a result of scripting successful corrective
to light during sales meetings and that
actions taken on the spur of the moment by
underscored their needs to be competitive
alert operators who could think outside the
in the marketplace. I would relay this to the
box (and for which they should be justifiably
R&D team who would immediately start
rewarded).
making provisions for these enhancements in their production schedules while also
How many financial managers are aware of
In a way, operators are showing this
making me aware of their needs outside
the inner workings and needs of their factory
initiative every day when they evaluate the
of formal R&D meetings. Eventually, we
floors and on what basis do they sanction
importance of alarms. A multitude of false
dispensed with meetings altogether and
or veto a purchase request? How do
alarms will lead operators to mistrust the
enjoyed a 67% market share – all due to
accountants account for loss of production?
system and take matters into their own
humans being able to juggle and evaluate
After all, anyone in charge of the company’s
hands. This means prioritising alarms and
more variables simultaneously than a
money should be intimately aware of how
that, in turn, leads to thinking about the
machine and being more aware of everyday
that money is created in the first place and
consequences of temporarily ignoring
realities than with traditional management
realise that money is only a by-product of
certain alarms while attending to those that
approaches.
creativity. The lack of situation awareness has
indicate real safety problems or production downtime. This kind of initiative and situation awareness
turned many capable people into spectators I didn’t know it at the time but I was
rather than contributors of solutions and
practising situation awareness and it really
ideas.
worked.
Conclusion
can lead to far greater things when applied to process improvement across the
Management is not immune from situation
enterprise.
UNawareness. Looking at reports and graphs
If we humans are not going to contribute
on a computer screen all day is all very well
more than computers, what’s to become
provided all the required information is
of us? Computers may be programmed to
available, contextualised and presented in a
beat us at chess or automate entire factories
useful format that will lead to decisions and
but they can’t independently decide on
In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a
actions. The proliferation of smart phones
anything. That’s our speciality. But we can’t
little-known management style called
and tablets has made access to information
make informed decisions without being
“Management by Walking About” (MWA).
incredibly simple. No one can hide behind
aware of all the circumstances, parameters
At the time, I was director of sales as
the excuse of “I didn’t know that.” But
and consequences of these decisions. It’s
well as research and development at a
computer screens rarely tell the whole story.
only a high degree of situational awareness
South African company involved with the
If they did, then why did we have a global
at all times that allows us to make the best
development of CAD/CAM systems. I
financial crisis in 2008 which we’re still
decisions and originate the best ideas in an
trying to put behind us? Computer screens,
increasingly complex world. The alternative
tablets and smart phone are regarded
is to be replaced by a laptop with the
as an end result by spectators but simply
situational awareness of a sofa.
Situation awareness and the business
We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
60 | www.protocolmag.co.za
decision-facilitating tools by participators and originators.
The Human-Machine Interface HMIs are the primary means of interaction between humans and expensive, often dangerous machinery which churn out the company’s wealth. But, various HMI implementations will not all obey the same display rules which makes the migration of operators between systems difficult if not dangerous and contributes to lengthier training cycles. It’s with this in mind that Bill Hollifield introduces a new paradigm for HMIs that will improve performance while increasing the situational awareness of operators. We then take a look at how the security and access control of Lonmin’s extensive SCADA assets have been dramatically improved using biometrics before seeing how a properly designed alarm management system can relieve operator stress and improve process management.
March/April 2013 | 61
The high-performance HMI Process graphics to maximise operator effectiveness
About the author
• HMI improvement is justified
Bill R. Hollifield (bhollifield@pas.com),
by giving operators the tools to
PAS Principal Alarm Management
successfully run the plant.
and HMI Consultant, is a 37-year industry veteran with international
• Information needs to be displayed in meaningful and actionable ways rather than as “raw data.”
experience in all aspects of alarm management and HMI development for the petrochemical, power generation, pipeline, and mining
• Learn new concepts to improve HMI
industries.
design. Bill is co-author of The Alarm Almost three decades ago, we control
Bill R Hollifield, PAS Principal Alarm Management and HMI Consultant
Management Handbook, The
engineers were given a new task for
High Performance HMI Handbook,
which we were ill-prepared. We installed
and The Electric Power Research
control systems with the capability to display
Institute (EPRI) guideline on Alarm
real-time process control graphics for the
Management. He is a member of
operator. But the screens were blank and we
the American Petroleum Institute’s
were responsible to fill them up.
API RP-1167 Alarm Management
was reprinted from the November/
We had no available guidelines as to
the ISA18 Alarm Management
December 2012 issue of InTech magazine by
what constituted a “good” graphic. So,
committee, the ISA101 HMI
permission, Copyright © ISA 2012.
we did the best we could with what we
committee, and the Engineering
Recommended Practice committee,
The high performance HMI by Bill Hollifield
knew—which wasn’t much! As a result, we
Equipment and Materials Users
set in place a low-performance paradigm
Association (EEMUA) Industry Review
of what a control system human-machine
Group. Bill is a regular presenter on
interface (HMI) should look like, and inertia
these topics in such venues as API,
has done the rest. Mostly for convenience,
ISA, and Electric Power symposiums.
we chose to depict the process as a P&ID
He has a BSME from Louisiana Tech
view covered in live numbers. We stuck with
University and an MBA from the
that paradigm even as graphic capabilities of
University of Houston.
DCS/SCADA systems improved, mostly migrating rather than redesigning the displays. Now, tens of thousands
better abnormal situation detection and
of operators throughout the world are
response and reduced training time for new
controlling multi-billion dollar processes by
operators. Many industrial companies have
looking at primitive cartoons designed at a
graphic improvement efforts underway.
time when we really did not know what we were doing.
High performance displays depict information. Information is data, in context,
62 | www.protocolmag.co.za
Poorly performing HMIs have been cited
made useful. HPHMI graphics show not only
as significant contributing factors to major
the process value, but where it is relative
accidents. The principles for designing
to “what’s good.” Abnormal conditions
proper process graphics are now available.
are designed to stand out clearly. Colour is
A high-performance HMI (HPHMI) has many
used consistently, effectively, and sparingly.
advantages, including improved operator
Graphics are designed with a proper
situation awareness and process surveillance,
hierarchy.
The high-performance HMI
Figure 1: A typical 1990s graphic screen based on a P&ID
Displaying information In figure 1, much money has been spent on the instrumentation. But can you answer the simple question, “Is this process running at peak efficiency, or very poorly?” To know that, one must have specific training and months of experience in normal and abnormal situations. The operator must compare each number to a memorised mental map acquired through experience and upsets. This is a difficult cognitive process. Most operators have well over a thousand such numbers and status indications spread out over dozens of graphics. Detecting abnormal conditions is difficult.
Figure 2: Analogue depiction of information
In the figure 2 depiction, a compressor’s
With a single two-second glance at this
By coding information into the display,
instruments are displayed in a different
bank of properly designed analogue
the operator can effectively scan
fashion. The normal or desired range of
indicators, the operators can tell if any values
dozens of values in a few seconds. This
each value is clearly depicted using the light
are outside of the normal range, by how
supports surveillance of the process and
blue range. The value’s proximity to alarm
much, and the proximity of the measurement
early detection of abnormalities. We
ranges and automated interlock thresholds
to both alarms and interlock activation.
do not wait for an alarm to indicate a
is shown. (We normally expect operators to
Humans intuitively understand analogue
problem. The best knowledge of desirable
also memorise which sensors are
depictions. The abnormally high discharge
operating conditions is coded into the
interlock initiators). Values in alarm are
temperature shown is easy to detect even
display and in view all the time, not buried
depicted with a redundantly-coded alarm
though it is not yet in alarm. Alarm
in written procedures. Variability in the
priority indicator.
conditions stand out.
proficiency and knowledge of individual
March/April 2013 | 63
Figure 3: A Level 1 Overview display
operators is reduced. Operator training
meaning energised. Who is right? Neither!
be shown by a redundantly coded
time is also significantly reduced, since
Figure 3 indicates poor colour-coding vs.
(shape, colour, text) element indicating
important knowledge is not acquired hit-or-
proper practice.
the alarm’s presence and priority. A
miss through experience. This is important
click on the alarm indicator can call
because most companies will lose well
The red-green colouring shown
up its rationalisation information.
over half of their experienced operators
is (improperly) the only difference
Alarm colours are not used for non-
and engineers in the next 10 years.
depicting equipment status. Since red is
alarm purposes. Bright colours are
usually used as an alarm colour, it should
used to draw attention to abnormal
not be used for something as trivial as
situations, not show normal ones. A gray
depicting an “off” condition. Being “off”
background and muted colours minimise
It is important to eliminate the common
is usually a normal and appropriate status;
screen glare and reflection, facilitating a
overuse and misuse of colour. One
a process running normally should not be
brightly lit control room. A colour palette
important principle is that colour alone
showing red. Brightness coding is a better
and the proper uses of each colour
is not used as the sole discriminator of
practice—imagine that a light bulb is inside
are determined in advance. HPHMI is
an important status condition. The same
the pump. A status word is placed next
not either eliminating colour or just
colours designated for alarms must not
to the equipment to ensure clarity. This
converting graphics to greyscale.
also be used for other trivial purposes,
paradigm can be usefully extended into
minimising their significance.
tables and other depictions.
Graphic hierarchy
The most common and worst
Alarms are commonly indicated
Displays should be designed in a
colour principle violation is the red
by simply changing the colour of a
hierarchy providing progressive exposure of
(off)—green (on) equipment paradigm.
process value or its background, a
detail. Displays designed from a stack of
The power industry reverses this, with red
poor practice. Alarm conditions should
P&IDs will not have this; they will be “flat”–
Use and abuse of colour
64 | www.protocolmag.co.za
The high-performance HMI
individual sensors, or components. Screens, such as “Point Detail,” are Level 4. Developing a hierarchy does not have to be a complex and expensive effort. For existing systems, most of the benefits of HPHMI can be obtained by creating about 20 new displays—typically a Level 1, a dozen or so Level 2s, and a few new Abnormal Situation displays. The existing graphics are designated Level 3. This will be somewhat inconsistent, but most existing graphics are already inconsistent. Over time, the Level 3s can be improved. There are dozens of additional depiction improvements and HMI topics addressed in detail in “The High Performance HMI Handbook,” available through ISA Publishing.
Proving these concepts In 2009, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) conducted a major test Figure 4: Depicting status and alarms with redundant coding and proper colour usage
of these HMI concepts. A report was produced, “Operator Human Machine
like a computer hard disk with one folder for
operator tasks associated with that process
Interface Case Study: The Evaluation
all the files.
part. This cannot be accomplished by simply
of Existing ‘Traditional’ Operator
replicating a P&ID. A typical operator might
Graphics Versus High-Performance Graphics
have about a dozen Level 2 graphics.
in a Coal-Fired Power Plant Simulator, ID
Hierarchy begins with a Level 1 Process Area Overview. This is a big picture display
1017637.”
showing the operator’s entire span of
Clicking on any value or element brings up
control. It is an overall indicator of how
the detailed faceplate for that particular
The power plant chosen had used a
the process is running. It depicts the
element, through which adjustments are
plant-training simulator for more than
most important information and the key
made. In this example, the faceplate is
a dozen years. In the test, several
performance indicators. The Overview is
an element appearing in the upper-right
operators detected and resolved various
a good use of a large-format wall screen.
reserved area. Faceplates should not
abnormal scenarios using both their familiar
Control interactions are not made from this
obscure the primary portion of the graphic.
existing graphics and new, HPHMI graphics.
display.
Two alarms are in effect on this reactor.
The HPHMI provided significantly-improved
A Level 1 Overview display of a large, coal-
Embedded trends with indications of the
operator’s reaction to the overall test is best
fired power plant is shown in figure 3. At a
desirable range are used in all HPHMI
summed up in this quote: “Once you got
glance the operator can detect if the various
graphics. Control system “trend on
used to these new graphics, going back to
parts of the process are running well. We
demand” capability works poorly in actual
the old ones would be hell.”
sometimes hear, “But it doesn’t look like a
practice.
operator performance in several areas. The
power plant!” Should your auto instrument panel look like your engine?
As an example of the power of Level 3 Process Unit Detail graphics address
inertia, many plant scenarios require
a single piece of equipment or control
an immediate half-rate reduction, or
Every process consists of smaller,
scheme. These are used for a detailed
“runback.” Done incorrectly, the plant
separate unit operations. A few
diagnosis of problems. An augmented
can drop to an undesirable zero output.
examples might include a compressor,
P&ID type of depiction is often desirable
To accomplish this stressful and difficult
reactor, pipeline segment, distillation train,
for Level 3 displays. Most of the existing
task, operators were trained for a
furnace, generator, or feed system. A Level 2
graphics in the world can be considered as
decade in using their normal graphics
Process Unit display (figure 5) is the primary
improvable Level 3 graphics.
for runback. This involved using a dozen
graphic for detailed surveillance and control
different screens, some to adjust only
manipulations. It contains all the information
Level 4 Process Diagnostic displays provide
a single item. Prior to this test, it had
and controls required to perform most
the most detail of subsystems,
not occurred to the plant to design any
March/April 2013 | 65
Figure 5: Example Level 2 display of a reactor
special-purpose screens for use during
• Step 4: Task analysis identifies
histories, HPHMI can produce significant
the runback, containing all the controls
which controls must be monitored
cost savings. The HMI is the primary tool
and trends needed for that task. For the
and manipulated to achieve the
for the operator to successfully run the
test, a pair of HPHMI runback screens
performance and goal objectives,
process. The operator must succeed for
were created, used, and evaluated as far
determining the content of each Level 2
the plant to succeed. Alarm systems are
superior for runback accomplishment.
and 3 graphic.
receiving considerable attention but are only a small part of the operator’s HMI. Rather
The High-Performance HMI work process
• Step 5: Design high performance
ask, “Was there a justification for installing
addressing the identified tasks.
a poor HMI in the first place?” Let’s fix what
There is a proven seven-step methodology for the development of a high performance HMI: • Step 1: Adopt a high performance HMI philosophy and style guide with proper
than justify creating a good HMI, we would
graphics, following the HMI philosophy,
is broken. • Step 6: Install, commission, and provide training on the new HMI. • Step 7: Control, maintain and periodically reassess the HMI performance.
principles.
Conclusion Our sophisticated control systems are currently operated via ineffective and problematic HMIs, designed
Justification for HMI change • Step 2: Assess and benchmark
without adequate knowledge. Operator performance can be greatly enhanced
existing graphics against the HMI
Inertia, not cost, is the primary force
by HMIs reflecting proper principles. A high
philosophy.
preventing HMI improvement. Operators are
performance HMI is practical, achievable
usually on board immediately when shown
and affordable.
• Step 3: Determine specific
examples of HPHMI concepts. They see the
performance and goal objectives/
value compared to their existing screens
targets for process control, such as safety
covered in raw numbers. Surprisingly, the
parameters, production rate, efficiency,
engineers tend to be the most resistant
cost, and quality.
to change. Based on actual incident
66 | www.protocolmag.co.za
Lonmin uses biometrics to secure SCADA access
Lonmin uses biometrics to secure SCADA access
“This project gave us security, improved login, less admin and an audit trail all in one and in a remarkably short time.” Eduan Marais, MES Application Development Analyst, Lonmin Marikana
Goals
Solutions and Products
• 100% success rate when authorised users log into the InTouch
• Wonderware InTouch HMI/SCADA
software. • In-house developed solution • Impossible to bypass the security by logging in as someone else.
Results • Eliminate the need for usernames and passwords • Software savings • Auditable trail of users and usage • Faster log-ins • Replace the password with a fingerprint template • Proper identification of users
Challenges • Less admin work • Keeping pace with Microsoft’s changes in security and developing a custom-made solution that would merge these changes with biometric access to InTouch
March/April 2013 | 67
Most manufacturing and mining operations
• Simplify the logging-in process by
could not continue without SCADA
replacing the password with a fingerprint
systems that are usually responsible for the
template. This would also eliminate
most complex and sensitive parts of their
the need for resetting passwords and
production processes. While on-line hacking
unlocking accounts.
is always a threat (viz. the Stuxnet virus of 2010), in-house threats are also ever-present
Challenges
as is the operation of systems by unqualified or unauthorised personnel. Lonmin took
In Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and
steps to mitigate these risks.
earlier versions of the Windows operating system, services and applications run in the
Lonmin at a glance Lonmin is one of the world’s largest
Lonmin’s Marikana plant is a giant
same session as that started by the first user
undertaking by any standards. With well over
who logged onto the console. This session
20 000 employees and a goal of producing
is called Session 0. With the release of
800 000 oz of platinum in the near future, the
Windows 7, Microsoft implemented changes
company can’t afford production delays or
to isolate services from user applications,
mishaps.
making it harder for malicious software to
primary producers of Platinum Group
run with elevated privileges, which would
Metals (PGMs) which are essential
Lonmin has always looked for ways of
enable them to do a lot of harm. Doing
for many industrial applications,
improving the efficiency of its production
this made Windows a much more secure
especially catalytic converters for
processes by adopting the latest and
operating system.
the control of internal combustion
best technologies and approaches. The
engine emissions. PGMs also have a
plant uses dozens of SCADA/HMI as well
“This, however, meant that we could not
widespread use in jewellery.
as view stations based on Wonderware
implement the Biometrix intelligence as a
InTouch software throughout the facility
standard Windows service as was requested,
and management saw an urgent need to
as it would simply not talk to InTouch,” says
in the North West and Limpopo
eliminate unauthorised access to these vital
Eduan Marais, MES Application Development
provinces of South Africa and
production assets by replacing InTouch’s
Analyst at Lonmin Marikana. “So I developed
comprise 14 extraction shafts, 9
password-based security with fingerprint
the solution in a Windows forms application,
concentration plants as well as
recognition technology.
but ran it as if it was a service. It starts as a
• Lonmin’s operations are based
extensive smelting and refining facilities.
minimised task in the taskbar that can’t be
Project goals
closed, so it is practically invisible, but we still had the luxury of interfacing with InTouch and
• Resources include 175 million troy
• Ensure 100% success rate when
ounces of PGMs and 43 million
authorised users log into the InTouch
ounces of reserves
software.
communicating with users via dialogues if necessary.” Wonderware allows communication via DDE.
• The number of full time employees is around 27,800 (year ending 30
• Users must not be able to bypass the security by logging in as someone else.
September 2011)
LSE and the JSE
Studio 2010 anymore. An external driver was found on the Internet, called nDDE, which
• Eliminate the need for usernames and • Lonmin has a primary listing on
However, DDE is not available to Visual
was incorporated into the solution to enable
passwords which users often swap with
DDE communication between InTouch and
one another leading to potentially
the fingerprint reader.
dangerous situations such as unauthorised • 719,000 ounces of platinum in
access to various functions
concentrate (1.436m ounces of total PGMs) produced and 721,000 ounces of Platinum sold (year
“Since the fingerprint reader does not require a password, we had a problem as
• Provide an auditable trail of who used what and when
ending 30 September 2011)
InTouch uses a username and password for ID authentication,” says Marais. “A management decision was taken to standardise on the password. This made
“This biometric approach is very secure and surprisingly fast!” Johan Louw, Automation Specialist, Process Systems, Lonmin Marikana
68 | www.protocolmag.co.za
sense because users no longer had the option to log in via the normal InTouch login screen, making personal passwords meaningless. And so the password was reset to be the same for all users.” A username is saved to a fingerprint template on enrolment. Once the user
Contents
Figure 1: The fingerprint encryption process
uses the fingerprint reader to log into the application, the username associated with the fingerprint is returned, together with the standardised password. This is passed to InTouch via nDDE followed by the normal ID authentication procedure to log the user onto InTouch. This all happens in a few milliseconds.
Implementation From development to implementation on the first workstation took 2 months. The administrators were then trained and users were scheduled to capture their fingerprints (a process that takes about 30 seconds per user). Once the fingerprints were captured, users were able to continue operations as normal. The fingerprint software decrypts the user’s fingerprint and then verifies it against
Figure 2: System topology
the database to return the matching username. Remote monitoring is possible
can work together to implement a solution
usernames and passwords, it is now
via external software such as DAMEWARE.
that is useful to both.”
possible to know with certainty who was
The fingerprint software will pop up an error if the authentication fails and anyone
actually logged in and when. This is also
Benefits
monitoring remotely will be made aware of the fact.
a problem since it is now possible to talk • Software savings – by developing the application in-house, savings of around
“Since this application runs in the
R1000 per workstation as well as the
background, users do not have to click
elimination of yearly licence fees were
anywhere. The application monitors the
realised
fingerprint reader continuously and once a finger is detected, the software does the
important when tracing the root cause of to the right people who were involved at the time. • Less admin work - Since usernames and passwords are no longer used, administrators do not have the tedious
• Faster log-ins – No more typographical
rest,” says Marais. “It’s important to note
errors causing locked accounts that
that the integration was done in such a way
must then be unlocked by the system
that no other systems had to change. Proper
administrator. Forgotten usernames and
research saved us a lot of time, as we did
passwords are also no longer an issue
task of resetting passwords and unlocking accounts due to finger trouble
not fall into the traps that exist with this type of implementation. This project also highlighted the fact that IT and production
• Proper identification of users – Since users can no longer use one another’s
March/April 2013 | 69
Why is alarm management required in modern plants? Stan DeVries, Director, Energy Management Solutions, Invensys Operations Management
conditions in a manufacturing process. Alarm systems should alert the operator to a possible problem, provide warning early enough to allow remediation, guide the operator to the problem, its cause and corrective action, and confirm or deny
Introduction
In the last 11 minutes before the explosion the two operators had to recognise, acknowledge and act on 275 alarms!
the effectiveness of the operators’ efforts. However, a large number of existing alarm
All modern process control systems provide
systems do not perform well.
alarm systems to assist process operators in
the mental model held by the operator and this model changes significantly over
managing abnormal situations. Nevertheless,
First, before the plant is operating, it is
time. If human factors are not considered
the integrity and effectiveness of alarm
difficult to make a good or optimal design
during design, then these starkly different
systems can either provide assistance or
and configuration of the alarm system. For
operator roles ensure a continuation of
be a hindrance to the process operators
example, too many alarms are configured;
overload situations and further incidents. It
in responding to these situations. Through
unreasonable alarm limits or dead bands are
is becoming increasingly difficult for any one
the efforts of the Abnormal Situation
set; improper alarm orders are arranged; too
operator to understand both the complete
Management Consortium, EEMUA, and
many unimportant alarms during start-up/
process and the actions of the computer
other professional groups, a large amount
shutdown are triggered, etc. This is because
control system. In fact, the potential for
of best practice information exists to aid
the plant status is not well known or there is
problems is increasing in modern plants.
the control system engineer in designing
a shortage of more powerful alarm functions.
Finally, industrial plants are constantly
effective alarm systems. However, due
Second, the plant characteristics may
seeking to improve operations to achieve
to various reasons, most existing control
change with time, possibly resulting in an
better economic results. As a result, the
systems must be redesigned/re-engineered
improper configuration. Third, demands on
alarm system in particular is a significant
in order to take advantage of these newer
operators are increasing through:
obstacle to further improvement.
• The need for process operation close to
Nevertheless, the importance and necessity
system capabilities and best practices. The re-design/re-engineering of alarm systems in these control systems is a responsible
maximum efficiency
first step in responding to the increasing frequency of industrial incidents and to begin
asking “Is our existing Alarm System • Higher costs of process interruptions
to address the billions of dollars that these incidents cost manufacturers annually. By any
white paper presents a new alarm philosophy
based on the following questions: • Are all alarms necessary, requiring • Lower safety margins (which give less
• How many alarms occur during normal • Environmental regulations (which may
Indeed, all DCSs have a sophisticated alarm
operator action?
opportunity to recover from upsets)
and approach to achieve these objectives.
Alarm problems in Distributed Control Systems
sufficient?” The answer is usually, “No,”
• More complex processes
comparison, the re-design/re-engineering efforts are well worth the investment. This
of improvement is often questioned by
operation?
prohibit venting to atmosphere, direct discharge to waterways or landfills)
• How many occur during a plant upset?
• Fewer operators
• How many standing alarms are there?
• Higher staff turnover (resulting in less
• Is there ever an overwhelming event
and HMI system for operators to monitor and control plant status. These are powerful platforms for users to design and configure
experienced operators)
accompanied by alarm ‘floods’?
effective alarm systems. The DCS alarm system can be a vital, productive tool for
For example, increasing sophistication of
managing industrial process control plants,
control systems and processes means that
numbers of alarms acknowledged in quick
and can be configured to identify and notify
systems are being operated in multiple
succession or are audible alarms regularly
personnel of a wide variety of abnormal
modes by complex computer control, with
turned off?
70 | www.protocolmag.co.za
• Are there nuisance alarms, are large
Why is alarm management required in modern plants?
• Is alarm prioritisation reasonable? • Do operators know what to do with each alarm? • Have there been any critical incidents or near misses where operators missed alarms or made the wrong response? • Is there a written policy/strategy on alarms? Plants may make significant investments to improve their overall operations by 2-3% for the year only to lose two years’ profits to one unscheduled shutdown. In fact, a typical plant loses more than 5% of its total capacity every year due to slow downs and an approximately equal amount due to off-spec product, quality giveaway and other lost opportunities, not to mention any unscheduled unit outages the plant may incur. These costs are often underestimated. Individual plants typically compute lost opportunities only as a function of production targets and margins. For
Figure 1: DCS alarm system and Alarm Management System
example, if a typical plant were to recover the 5% productivity loss cited above, the increase in profit would not be 5% but nearly 50-60%. Given that most fixed and variable costs have already been covered, nearly all
In the last 11 minutes before the explosion the two operators had to recognise, acknowledge and act on 275 alarms!
Alarm Management is about safety, the environment, optimising operations and increasing corporate profits. One important philosophy is that the
of the additional revenue would be profit!
Alarm management
operator must have some action for any specific alarm. If the action is not
Furthermore, accidents like the following example underline the need to do
Alarm Management is imperative to
required, the alarm should be removed.
something for alarm systems:
assessing, improving and optimising plant
Further, reducing or eliminating alarm
alarms, thereby increasing the effectiveness
floods liberates an operator to respond to
The 1994 explosion and fires at the Texaco
of plant operators by only notifying them of
plant demands, enabling them to avoid
Milford Haven refinery injured twenty-six
a need for their intervention.
shutdowns and keep the plant running at optimal performance. In addition, the
people and caused damage of around R662million as well as significant production loss. Key factors that emerged from the
What is an Alarm Management System?
• There were too many alarms and they were poorly prioritised • The control room displays did not help
-- can dramatically reduce alarms temporarily during a specific period so the operators
Health and Safety Executive’s (HSEs) investigation were:
advanced alarming -- like alarm shelving
Most plant personnel equate alarm
can focus on important alarms and reduce
management with reducing alarms; however,
start-up/shutdown time.
this is only one piece of the puzzle. The whole puzzle involves providing operators
The relationship between a DCS alarm
with enough information to prevent
system and an Alarm Management System is
abnormal situations and to prevent the
shown in Figure 1.
the operators to understand what was
escalation of those abnormal situations that
happening
cannot be prevented.
The alarm system of the DCS is the executer of all alarm functions. However, the Alarm
• There had been inadequate training for
A poor alarm system results in billions
Management System is the monitor and
dealing with a stressful and sustained
of dollars lost every year to accidents,
optimiser for the DCS alarm system, which is
plant upset
equipment damage, unplanned plant or unit
used to reduce nuisance alarms, rationalise
outages, off-spec production, regulatory
related alarms, avoid alarm floods and so on.
fines and huge intangible costs related
In addition, some advanced alarm functions
to environmental and safety infractions.
like alarm shelving and alarm suppression
March/April 2013 | 71
management procedures and project goals, such as target alarm rates. Alarm analysis The alarm analysis module identifies potential areas for alarm system performance improvement. This module automatically collects configuration data, alarm messages and the operator action journal from the DCS. The data can be automatically captured and imported without any manual intervention. Main Analysis includes: • Alarm system performance (alarms per time period, frequent alarms, chattering alarms, priority distribution, alarm summary, etc.) • Alarm system settings (alarms set by priority, disabled/inhibited alarms, etc.) • Process changes (alarm enable states, alarm priorities, etc.) The results of the analysis reports can be
Figure 2: Alarm Management System
used to improve and monitor alarm system can be added to the existing DCS alarm
Alarm philosophy development
performance.
The modern alarm philosophy is introduced
Performance metrics manager
system to make it more effective. As a result, it is possible to reduce
to plant operations. The alarm philosophy
unscheduled plant shutdowns, improve
is the collection of guiding principles and
This module enables business personnel
performance and mitigate the risk of
targets by which users configure alarms
at all levels to make informed and timely
incidents and excursions and hence to
and measure alarm performance. Most
decisions by providing timely and accurate
enhance reliability and profitability by
philosophies cover the following criteria at a
access to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
improving the performance of the existing
minimum:
alarm system.
The performance metrics manager provides • What is an alarm?
How does an alarm management system work?
comparable metrics through benchmarking and normalisation for alarms and operator
• How are priorities set based on criticality and time to respond?
interactions independent of control systems and database formats.
The DCS alarm system can be optimised and enhanced by an Alarm Management System. An Alarm Management System
• General alarm considerations, e.g., how to
and service attempt to identify unnecessary alarms, improper alarm set values and where improvements can be made to the current
This module is a report mechanism. Report • Alarm performance criteria and resolution activities?
procedures for dealing with alarms, which can be shown in figure 2.
Report manager
deal with BAD I/O alarms? sections may be created from specific components and then included in a report that may be scheduled for automatic Most plants do not have a robust Alarm
execution and publishing. In addition, each
Philosophy. All alarms are defined on an
report execution may trigger an e-mail
As shown, the Alarm Management System
ad hoc basis. This is the root cause of
notification that can be customised to any
and service is not a one-time project; it is
most alarm problems. An effective Alarm
number of e-mail recipients.
a redesign/re-engineering and a life-long
Philosophy outlines key concepts and
process. Therefore the performance of the
governing rules for alarm strategy, e.g.,
alarm system is continuously being improved
what constitutes an alarm and what risk
and optimised. The key functions and
categories pertain to your site operations.
This module provides real-time viewing of
services are summarised as follows:
It outlines roles and responsibilities, change
alarm messages from the alarm system on
72 | www.protocolmag.co.za
Real-Time alarm viewer
Why is alarm management required in modern plants?
Case study: Salt River Project
The achievements in Santan are:
Series systems, the alarms are collected from
Salt River Project (SRP) is the 3rd largest
• Start-up time and effort is reduced from 2
one or more printer ports on a Foxboro I/A
US public power utility with 6,500 MW
operators up to 4 hours to 1 operator less
workstation. A serial to Ethernet converter is
generated and supplied to 900,000
than 2 hours
used to send the alarm messages on a LAN
customers with annual revenue of R21.3
to the Alarm Management Server. This is
billion. It was named “Utility of the Year”
the same LAN used for transferring data for
in 2004 by Electric, Light & Power. Invensys
nuisance alarms were picked out and
statistical analysis.
performed Alarm Management at two SRP
deleted.
any authorised client PC connected to the Alarm Management Server. For Foxboro I/A
• 40% of configured alarms and resulting
power generation plants: The achievements in Navajo are:
The alarm messages can be sorted and filtered in any column to facilitate analysis and make the elimination of alarm printers
• Santan – 9 gas fired combined cycle units with 1,100 MW
possible. Advanced alarm management
• Initial priority distribution (Priority 1: 98%, Priorities 2 through 4: 2%) is updated to a
• Navajo – 1 of 3 coal-fired once through
final priority distribution (Priority 1: 11%,
supercritical units with 800 MW each
Priority 2: 14%, Priority 3: 75%, Priority 4: Information Only, Priority 5: Non-critical
This module provides more enhanced
The existing situation is characterised by the
alarm functions for the DCS alarm system to
following comment: “We were getting alarm
reduce alarm floods:
horns all the time; at start-up, shutdown and
• Alarm shelving
bad I/O) • 44% of the configured alarms and
day to day operation. In one 18-hour period,
resulting nuisance alarms were picked out
operators were confronted with 5000 alarms,
and deleted
every one of which required intervention of • Grouped alarms
some sort and 98 percent were designated
Conclusion
top priority. The plant had to designate an operator just for alarm management,” said
Unreasonably and improperly configured
Ron Bewsey, SRP I&E Supervisor and I/A
alarm systems make contributions to
• Alarm load shedding
Administrator.
accidents at a non-trivial rate. Although
• Pattern recognition
Therefore, in the first phase, the main tasks
incidents, too often they amplify the
are to increase operator available time to
consequences of these incidents. Nuisance
improve plant performance and reduce
alarms, alarm floods and improperly
the alarm rate and the chance of missing
prioritised alarms all contribute to operator
important alarms. The project scope is:
confusion, and thus increase accident
• Alarm priority reduction
alarm systems are intended to minimise
• Alarm suppression (redundant voted alarms, eclipsing alarms, etc.)
frequency. DCS Alarm systems can be
Alarm suppression provides significant benefits in removing standing alarms when a plant unit is shut down, provided
• Initial alarm system performance assessment • Alarm philosophy workshop
of all the alarms is likely to be appropriate.
restores the alarm system to a healthy and helpful state by eliminating nuisance alarms,
as part of the shutdown process and the equipment is fully isolated, then suppression
Alarm Management System and service. This re-design/re-engineering procedure
that the meaning of ‘shut down’ is clearly understood. If inventory has been removed
improved and optimised through the
• Alarm philosophy and design functional spec
reducing alarm floods and ensuring that the necessary alarms are properly prioritised and documented.
However, if the plant may restart on short
• Alarm rationalisation
notice, with key inventories in place, then there will be a number of alarms that should
• Alarm rationalisation implementation
not be suppressed during a plant shut down. In addition, in batch industries like
• Advanced alarming – future
pharmaceutical plants, alarm set points or whether an alarm is configured typically
• Alarm rationalisation service team
change depending on the batch phase. If it is not part of the automation, it may generate alarm floods. Similarly, alarm conditions may change during different recipes, which may also result in alarm floods. State-based alarm techniques are used in these situations to suppress those alarm floods.
March/April 2013 | 73
MES and the human factor We’ve seen how, with the assistance of
hands-on training and couching, production
ArchestrA Workflow, it’s people that make
pressures and staff turnover all impact on the
things happen rather than technology.
experiential knowledge gained by decision
Well, without your staff’s assistance and
makers in the production environment.
collaboration, your sweeping MES initiatives
Consequential symptoms observed in
may just not deliver what you expected
production processes include:
unless the humans in the loop are involved. Dr Kobus van der Merwe explains how cognitive decision-making can help.
• Non-repeatable production rate and product quality
Background
• Variance in energy efficiency
This article focuses specifically on decision-
• Certain shift performing better than
making related to the production process
others
(i.e. where certain feed material is converted into an intermediate or final product).
• Premature equipment failure
All functions within the organisation are effectively put in place in supporting
Dr. Kobus van der Merwe of Industrial Management Enhancement
• Inability to meet production targets.
it. Examples of such processes are metallurgical beneficiation processes (pyro-
These symptoms are stimulating questions
and hydro-metallurgical), power generation,
regarding the effectiveness of technology
or sugar milling and refining to name a few.
solutions deployed within manufacturing plants as one would like to expect consistent
MES is presented as a solution containing
high performance in the presence of
an ‘accumulation of methods and tools used
technology. This article aims to highlight
to accomplish production’ of the mentioned
some of the ‘not-so-obvious’ aspects to
product(s). This provides a platform
consider when attempting to maximise
facilitating effective utilisation of assets and
the returns on technology and asset
resources, inventory control and analysis
investments.
by improving decision-making. The latter is achieved by presenting contextualised
Performance measurement
information on a near real-time basis. MES therefore recognises the potential
MES is structured to provide contextualised
contribution of decision making towards
information regarding various aspects of the
plant performance.
manufacturing process. Using the ISA-95 structure as reference, Level 3 measurements
As decision making is a function of the
are those that report the level of compliance
human’s cognitive process, it generates
with predefined business processes and
special challenges. It is generally accepted
procedures – for example, feed/recipe
that people with more experience
composition, production throughput in
generate higher quality decisions more
various parts of the plant, product quality,
often. Differences in levels of education,
production cost per unit, maintenance
culture, process complexity, exposure to
downtime, maintenance cost, energy
Figure 1: Controlling compliance with business processes and operating procedures
74 | www.protocolmag.co.za
MES and the human factor
consumption per ton, inventory levels, etc.
often by making higher quality decisions compared to an inexperienced young
Since process performance variability
person (that’s why a person under 25 years
persists in the presence of MES, it is
of age pays a higher short-term vehicle
necessary to gain insight into root causes
insurance premium!). The same reasoning
of variance. The consequences of decision
can be applied to technical and operational
making at the process level is quantified by
personnel within manufacturing.
Level 0, 1 and 2 measurements (using the ISA-95 structure as reference).
In order to make some evaluation, the decision maker has to formulate a mental
The approach followed by the Performance
picture of the problem. Once this reference
Variance Management methodology is to
point is established it is possible to
gain insight into the root causes of process
determine impact and probability of a
variance and link them to data/information
specific action. Decision makers will also
requirements that enable decision makers
evaluate the quality of their choice in terms
to counter inefficiencies. In other words,
of the gain or loss against the reference
the outcome of a project defines what
point.
About Industrial Management Enhancement
information should be applied; it identifies
Experience is gained through repeated
Experience has shown that most production
the gaps that exist within the existing
pattern observations and subsequent
plants operate in an unstable or high risk state
performance management system and
interpretation. For example, by experience
for 60% or more of the time.
process. It is in this context that Performance
we know that certain parts of the roads we
Variance Management has been adding
travel are more prone to accidents. This
Operational risk encompasses the potential loss
value to MES installations and delivering
experience was gained by observing how
due to the breakdown of controls. Breakdown
improved process performance.
other drivers behave and by the frequency
of control results in unpredictable and unstable
of accidents. In order to make reliable
production processes. By implication, this
The next section focuses on the decision
decisions while travelling this stretch of road,
condition results in an inability to meet
making process’ characteristics and
we adapt our reference point continuously.
production targets.
provides illustration of the application within
This adaptation is necessary since our
manufacturing. Figure 2 illustrates how
position relative to other vehicles and
IME delivers Operational Performance
technical enhancements provide step-wise
conditions changes. Decisions we make
Management solutions to the process and
increases in efficiency whereas quality of
while driving are therefore governed by the
manufacturing industry. A structured and proven
decision making contributes progressively
consequential impact. Circumstances are
methodology is utilised to construct process
over time. This graphic illustrates how
also interpreted by the cognitive process to
status maps and to analyse and troubleshoot
knowledge and deep understanding of the
provide feedback regarding the probability
the process to quantify Operational Risks.
underlying production process, systems,
of success.
Projects are characterised by high returns, a
information is required and how the
processes and assets contribute towards
strong emphasis on training and development,
higher levels of efficiency. To achieve the
It is also worth considering the impact (value)
latter, one has to leverage the capability and
and probability of choice for a moment.
develop operational personnel.
Impact or value of choice can only be
and solutions facilitating asset sweating.
evaluated if it is quantifiable. The absence
Decision-making
of experience and knowledge relating to the environment within which such decisions
Decision-making plays a central role in
are made, will have a negative impact
plant performance even in the presence of
on the quality of choice. This applies to
automation. Quality of decision making is a
the probability of realising the expected
function of the knowledge and experience
outcome as well.
of decision makers. The cognitive process supporting the decision-making process
This explains why people tend to revert
is influenced by a number of factors – in
to what they perceive as ‘tried and tested’
general, however, people’s choices are made
methods of operation. It is common to find
to maximise some kind of expectation [1].
that plants are operated in a specific manner by specific operators. Operators will walk
This implies that most people try and make
onto the plant at the start of shift and alter
good or optimal decisions. For example,
certain set points irrespective of the current
all people intend driving safely to their
state of the plant. This behaviour is a result
destination. We can expect that more
of their mental models (or opinions) built up
experienced vehicle drivers will do so more
through experience.
March/April 2013 | 75
Figure 2 - Quality of decision-making
It is commonly accepted that experience
incorrectly accepted as fact.
and knowledge is built up over time. As
• Visualise inter-relationships in a practical and easy-to-use format. This
mentioned earlier, experience is gained
Human behaviour within the manufacturing
representation quantifies the current
through observation and interpretation.
plant is governed by the criteria against
circumstances (process state) and
Due to the limited capacity of the human’s
which their performance is measured
therefore provides a mental picture of the
cognitive process, it will apply a filter if
(this actually applies to all areas of life!).
current state.
presented with large quantities of data. The
The need therefore exists to identify
latter is more prevalent under situations
current gaps within the performance
exposing higher levels of complexity. This
management process that leads to
process conditions – this implies providing
filtering results in bias since the same
suboptimal performance – in many cases it
guidance to steer the process towards
filtering tends to be applied every time
is the result of using incorrect performance
optimal performance and / or maintaining
similar situations occur.
measurements. Furthermore, it is necessary
the current state.
• Provide a practical method to manage
to provide a platform for decision makers The production plant is considered a
to generate quality decisions. Within
complex environment where it’s been
the process environment, it is therefore
with ‘good’ and ‘bad’ performance.
observed that changing set points to effect
necessary to:
This serves as documented ‘evidence’
certain changes (which didn’t materialise) is common practice. Latter observations imply that the decision maker wasn’t able
of performance state and assists the • Deliver unbiased insight into the production process states –
to distinguish between different process conditions and subsequently applied a decision which only seemed to be correct
• Encapsulate process states associated
inexperienced decision maker to recognise performance states. By implication it delivers information that
Quantify and describe the respective process states
reduces the time that decision makers need to gain relevant experience.
based on biased interpretation. The presence of biased interpretation is also
Determine for how long the process
confirmed by the fact that the choice of
remains in respective process states.
people development. A well-structured
action by different decision makers will differ.
This quantifies the chances of realising
process needs to be followed to align
Bias and differences in mental models are
the expected financial performance.
everyone to unbiased information
well illustrated when attempting to find
For example, if the plant is operating
describing process states and methods
explanation for process inefficiency during a
for only 30% of the time within the
to manage the plant towards repetitive
morning meeting! There are many opinions
targeted range the chances of realising
performance.
and unfortunately the opinion of the person
the anticipated financial performance
with the loudest voice is more than often
is low.
76 | www.protocolmag.co.za
• Facilitate change management and
MES and the human factor
Summary
Reference
The above requirements are addressed
Newell, B.R., D.A. Lagnado, and S.D. R.,
through the Process Variance Management
Straight Choices - The psychology of
methodology. Results facilitate effective
decision making. 2007: Psychology Press.
interpretation of existing measurements and / or result in the development of new
For more information contact:
measurements utilised for performance
Dr. Kobus van der Merwe
management. It leverages the functionality offered by MES to improve decision making.
Industrial Management Enhancement
Technology can add exceptional value to
Mobile: +27 (0)82 656 5601
a manufacturing process and MES is no exception. A prerequisite is to design the
Mailto: Kobus@imeSolutions.co.za
content to facilitate appropriate behaviour. Behaviour alignment is achieved by common understanding of process states and conditions, interpretation, and subsequent decision making. This article provided some background on the cognitive process and its characteristics in the context of decision-making. Future articles will address aspects relating to change management, reviewing existing business processes and operating procedures, training and development, continual improvement and how people can be encouraged to improve financial performance while leveraging existing technology and infrastructure.
March/April 2013 | 77
Human differentiator dictionary Best Practice – This refers to a technique,
information services, etc.), authority and trust
method, process, activity, incentive or reward
to make decisions. This “puts out the fire”
which conventional wisdom regards as more
at its source leaving higher level process
effective at delivering a particular outcome
owners free to improve the processes in
than any other technique, method, process,
their charge.
etc. when applied to a particular condition or circumstance. The idea is that with proper
EYESIM – High-level simulation software
processes, checks and testing, a desired
from SimSci-Esscor for the training of plant
outcome can be delivered with fewer
personnel. EYESIM provides complete
problems and unforeseen complications.
plant crew training to improve skills that
Best practices can also be defined as the
are safety-critical by enabling operators to
most efficient (least amount of effort) and
perform tasks in a simulated environment,
effective (best results) way of accomplishing
allowing them to react quickly and correctly, facilitating reactions in high stress
a task, based on repeatable procedures that have proven themselves over time for large
Business Process Management (BPM)
conditions, and instilling standards for team
numbers of people.
– This refers to a holistic management
training and communications.
approach focused on aligning all aspects A given best practice is only applicable to
of an organisation with the wants and
IntelaTrac – Wonderware’s IntelaTrac
particular condition or circumstance and
needs of clients. It promotes business
software manages the processes
may have to be modified or adapted for
effectiveness and efficiency while striving
and procedures used to ensure that
similar circumstances. In addition, a “best”
for innovation, flexibility and integration
organisations consistently execute all field
practice can evolve to become better as
with technology. BPM attempts to improve
tasks required to achieve reliable operations.
improvements are discovered.
processes continuously. It can therefore
Through the use of mobile computers, the
be described as a “process optimisation
workforce can provide feedback on the
Biometrics - Biometrics (or biometric
process.” It is argued that BPM enables
non-instrumented portions of the plant and
authentication) refers to the identification
organisations to be more efficient, more
receive maintenance information or other
of humans by their characteristics or traits.
effective and more capable of change than a
guidance in return.
Biometrics is used in computer science as a
functionally focused, traditional hierarchical
form of identification and access control. It
management approach. An empirical study
is also used to identify individuals in groups
by Kohlbacher (2009) indicates that BPM
that are under surveillance.
helps organisations to gain higher customer
(1) A process typically describes the act of
satisfaction, product quality, delivery speed
taking something through an established
and to reduce time-to-market.
and usually routine set of procedures to
BizTalk - Microsoft BizTalk Server, often
Process –
convert it from one form to another such
referred to as simply “BizTalk”, is an Enterprise Service Bus. Through the
Decision-making – The ability to choose
as in manufacturing where aluminium is
use of “adapters” which are tailored to
one course of action rather than any other
turned into aircraft or processing paperwork
communicate with different software
based on available information, knowledge,
to grant a mortgage loan, or converting
systems used in a large enterprise, it
experience and situation awareness.
computer data into usable information. A process involves steps and decisions in
enables companies to automate business Difference between workflow and process –
the way work is accomplished. A process
A workflow is a series of connected activities
monitors and controls workflows to
In a common scenario, BizTalk enables
that are intended to achieve a certain
make sure that each step in the workflow
companies to integrate and manage
result. This is however, a free-wheeling
(sub-process) conforms to set performance
automated business processes by
arrangement that often lacks the required
criteria. Depending on conditions, process
exchanging business documents such as
checks and balances. A process, on the
objectives may change, leading to a
purchase orders and invoices between
other hand, defines, monitors and controls
change in their operational requirements
disparate applications, within or across
a workflow to ensure that it achieves its
and performance criteria. This will result
organisational boundaries. Human-centric
objective(s) by conforming to its prescribed
in a new or modified process to meet the
processes cannot be implemented directly
operational and performance requirements.
new objectives. Because of the “feedback,
processes.
learn, redesign” loop, processes tend to be
with BizTalk Server and need additional solutions like Microsoft SharePoint server.
78 | www.protocolmag.co.za
Empowerment – Providing someone
largely self-correcting (e.g. the process of
with the necessary tools (e.g. training,
evolution).
Human differentiator dictionary
(2) A process is a series of controlled and
Situational awareness (SA) involves being
Workflow - A workflow consists of a
measurable actions that involves feedback,
aware of what is happening in the vicinity,
sequence of connected steps. It is a
learning mechanisms and contingency plans
in order to understand how information,
depiction of a sequence of operations,
to transform energy and / or matter from
events, and one’s own actions will impact
declared as work of a person, a group of
one form into another (e.g. a manufacturing
goals and objectives, both immediately and
persons, an organisation of staff, or one
process transforms raw materials into
in the near future. One with an adept sense
or more simple or complex mechanisms.
finished goods. A sales process transforms
of situational awareness generally has a
Workflow may be seen as any abstraction
prospects into customers.)
high degree of knowledge with respect to
of real work. For control purposes, workflow
inputs and outputs of a system, i.e. an innate
may be a view on real work under a
SharePoint - Microsoft SharePoint is a
“feel” for situations, people, and events that
chosen aspect, thus serving as a virtual
family of software products developed by
play out due to variables the subject can
representation of actual work. The flow
Microsoft for collaboration, file sharing and
control. Lacking or inadequate situational
being described often refers to a document
Web publishing. This family of products
awareness has been identified as one of
that is being transferred from one step to
includes: Microsoft SharePoint Server,
the primary factors in accidents attributed
another.
Microsoft SharePoint Foundation, Microsoft
to human error. Thus, situational awareness
Search Server, Microsoft SharePoint
is especially important in work domains
A workflow is a model to represent real
Designer and Microsoft SharePoint
where the information flow can be quite
work for further assessment (e.g., for
Workspace.
high and poor decisions may lead to serious
describing a reliably repeatable sequence of
consequences (e.g., piloting an airplane,
operations). More abstractly, a workflow is a
Microsoft SharePoint is a Web technology
functioning as a soldier, or treating critically
pattern of activity enabled by a systematic
based server that can be used to build
ill or injured patients).
organisation of resources, defined roles and
portals, collaboration sites and also content
mass, energy and information flows, into a
management sites. It is very versatile in a
Having complete, accurate and up-to-the-
work process that can be documented and
number of features and supports various
minute SA is essential where technological
learned. Workflows are designed to achieve
enterprise and Web scenarios. It is also
and situational complexity on the human
processing intents of some sort, such as
popular for document management
decision-maker are a concern. Situation
physical transformation, service provision, or
solutions. SharePoint can also be used as a
awareness has been recognised as a critical,
information processing.
building platform to build systems atop its
yet often elusive, foundation for successful
framework.
decision-making across a broad range of
Acknowledgement: Some of the above
complex and dynamic systems, including
material is sourced from Wikipedia
Situational awareness - Situational
aviation and air traffic control, emergency
awareness is the perception of environmental
response and military command and control
elements with respect to time and/or space,
operations and offshore oil and nuclear
the comprehension of their meaning, and
power plant management.
the projection of their status after some variable has changed, such as time, or some
Situational awareness is often studied in the
other variable, such as a predetermined
context of leadership and roles involving
event. It is also a field of study concerned
time-critical applications, however it is
with perception of the environment critical
often referenced in other fields as well.
to decision-makers in complex, dynamic
For example, in the study of influence,
areas from aviation, air traffic control, power
situational awareness is found to be a critical
plant operations, military command and
component. This is further extended into
control, and emergency services such as fire
the animal kingdom, where very often the
fighting and policing; to more ordinary but
alpha pair demonstrates superior situation
nevertheless complex tasks such as driving an
awareness with respect to the well being of
automobile or bicycle.
those within the animal pack.
March/April 2013 | 79
Events: X-CHANGE 2013
The human differentiator: Driving measureable, real-time performance improvements by improving the value of the contribution your people make to your business
of its kind in Southern Africa. System
from technical to more business-oriented
integrators, hardware and software suppliers,
and you will be able to choose those
end-users and international industrial
best suited to your current operational or
automation authorities come together to
business needs.
X-CHANGE 2013 will focus on how
Celebrating the conference’s 21st anniversary, X-CHANGE 2013 will be held from 21st to 24th April at Sun City and promises to once again add great value to the lives of industrial automation professionals country-wide.
X-CHANGE ideas, network and collaborate at what is widely regarded as South Africa’s
Technology stream
premier industrial event. Every year, Invensys Operations
Invensys can help empower your operational and business personnel to excel through the use of innovative technology. While there’s no lack of technology, it’s humans, at the end of the day, that are the differentiators between its success or failure. We know. We’ve been involved with enriching the
Management introduces new and significant products to its wide range of solutions. This is your opportunity to see what these products will do for your bottom line as the presentations highlight the features, advantages and benefits of each solution as applicable to your industry. This year, there are significant functionality upgrades and enhancements to your favourite applications
contributions of people for over a century.
So, we invite everyone who has something
as well as some new ones that continue to
That’s a lot of experience.
to share or something they want to learn
populate the Invensys InFusion enterprise
to X-CHANGE 2013. If you’ve never been
control system space (e.g. Intelligent
The road to success depends on a definitive
to X-CHANGE before, you’re in for a most
Marshalling, plug-in DCS migration,
automation and information strategy as well
pleasant and informative surprise. If you’re a
virtualisation, MES Quality Management
as some notable landmarks. These include
regular, on the other hand, we don’t have to
System, handling multiple ArchestrA
the Invensys Enterprise Control System
sell you on the idea and welcome you back.
galaxies, Overview Client and many more).
X-CHANGE 2013 presentation streams
Solutions stream
and its many integrated applications, the safeguard of past investments, integration with existing corporate assets, providing continuously current technology, supplying
The solutions stream takes a broader look
outstanding customer support and an
The presentation streams have been designed
at ways of addressing your enterprise
enviable track record of delivering optimised
to highlight and address the information needs
manufacturing intelligence needs, improving
industrial information and operational
of executives, system engineers, production
asset effectiveness, streamlining your
solutions to most of the world’s leading
managers, plant managers and engineers
manufacturing execution system for operational
companies.
involved in the mining and manufacturing
performance excellence, getting you started on
industries. That’s because they all need
the road to enterprise integration, empowering
X-CHANGE is your definitive window to
different information in the right context and at
your workforce, corporate energy management,
the industrial automation and information
the right time – all the time.
safety and reliability, business optimisation
landscape and brings together more industry professionals than any other event
80 | www.protocolmag.co.za
and other topics on which the health of your The contents of the presentations range
enterprise depends.
Events: X-CHANGE 2013
Invensys Operations Management stream
System is helping mining and manufacturing companies map some of the world’s leading
Invensys Operations Management Open
solutions to their needs in a practical way. From valves to virtualisation and from
All user presentations are entered into the
We have found that one of the most valuable
sensors to simulation, Invensys Operations
Invensys Operations Management Open
ways to assess a product and its suitability is to
Management does it all. Invensys
competition
speak to the people who use it. The Invensys
Wonderware is only one of nine Invensys Operations Management business units, so
Operations Management Open was introduced
Keynote speakers
it’s no wonder that the range of solutions
to encourage both end users and system integrators to document their experiences of
available to you has grown phenomenally
We are fortunate in having access to some
successful implementations using Invensys
and very rapidly since the company started
of the leading local and international
Wonderware solutions. These are customers
operations in South Africa in 2011.
authorities on subjects as far ranging as how
who have used the products extensively and
to survive profitably in the current world
their first hand experiences offer insights not
This stream will demonstrate how hardware
economic climate to the adoption of new
available from any other source.
and software solution from Avantis,
approaches to information and control in
Eurotherm, Foxboro, InFusion, SimSci-
mining and manufacturing. Once they leave
All user presentations are entered into
Esscor Skelta and Triconex all contribute to
their pedestals, you can have casual chats
the Invensys Operations Management
providing a seamless information continuum
with them or book sessions where you have
Open competition where prizes are
from sensor to boardroom.
the chance of discussing your production
awarded for the best presentations in
and business issues one-on- one.
various categories such as best SCADA/
User presentations stream
HMI, MES, EMI or Enterprise Integration Their wide and varied industry experience
implementation. The presentations are then
End-users and system integrators present
will save you from reinventing the wheel and
documented in the form of articles and,
the successful implementation of projects
cut through complexity to give you fresh,
after approval, sent to various magazines
using Invensys solutions. From SCADA to
practical insights that you can apply when
for publication. These articles also appear
MES and Manufacturing Intelligence to
you get back to the office.
on the Invensys Wonderware web site and
enterprise integration, come and see how
bi-monthly Protocol magazine as well as
the concept of Invensys’ Enterprise Control
Invensys Operations Management’s annual international booklet of success stories.
March/April 2013 | 81
Delegates whose presentations are
best be applied in your environment.
accepted for X-CHANGE automatically qualify to attend the conference free of
prescribed material for us to write a success story of the implementation
Spouse programme
charge!
of Invensys solutions in an interesting application
Such conferences are always better (If you are interested in submitting a
when shared with your partner – who
Ask anyone who has ever attended
presentation, please see the booking
may, however, not share your enthusiasm
X-CHANGE in the last 20 years – you
information below.)
regarding the benefits of advanced
won’t be disappointed – and neither were
technology. That’s why a rich programme of
they!
Expo
entertainment has been planned for your partner ranging from sporting activities to
System integrators as well as hardware and
sightseeing and game-spotting (depending
software partners use this unique venue to
on the venue) among many other events.
showcase their wares and achievements. They do so because nowhere else is there such
On-line bookings
an opportunity to talk to a more qualified audience eager to see what they have to offer.
Visit www.x-change.co.za if you want to do any of the following:
(Should you wish to exhibit your solutions, please see the booking information below.)
• Book your attendance at X-CHANGE 2013
Hands-on training • Book a stand at the Expo At X-CHANGE 2013 you can look forward to practical hands-on training sessions
• Enter the Invensys Operations
where you get to test-drive the products for
Management Open and have a chance of
yourself. These practical sessions will allow
attending the conference free of charge
you to evaluate how and where they may
by doing a presentation and providing
82 | www.protocolmag.co.za
s e c i v r t e r S o p p u S d an
March/April 2013 | 83
Invensys Sentinel Services In a Nutshell ... Invensys offers advanced remote services technology that enhances our ability to deliver higher availability and reliability of plant assets to your company.
Key benefits • Increased uptime • Frees you to focus on looking after production rather than control systems
Key features • 24/7/365 remote monitoring and notification of issues
Who’s supervising the supervisors?
We achieve this by installing special “agent software” on each Wonderware server located at your sites. These agents monitor
You trust your Invensys Wonderware
the system on a 24x7 basis to ensure that
Industrial IT solutions to supervise your
critical resources are performing within best
wealth-creating processes but who’s
practice norms.
• Detect and rectify issues or problems before they become mission-affecting • Provide better management of system resources to improve asset performance
supervising them? Let Invensys Sentinel • Streamline diagnosis process
Services (ISS) be your SCADA’s SCADA
If an unacceptable threshold is reached, an
by remotely and constantly monitoring
alarm is raised and Invensys engineers are
and reporting 24/7 on the KPIs of your
alerted before an issue develops. Remote
Wonderware-based systems so that
connectivity is also designed to ensure
potential problems can be nipped in the
that, if there is a problem, Invensys experts
bud. This will give you the peace of mind
can work with you to make appropriate
you need to focus on improving your
adjustments to correct the issue and return
company’s bottom line rather than looking
your system to normal operation quickly and
after systems.
easily.
Using technology to provide world-class support
The process
Reporting
• Fast and systematic event resolution eliminates trial and error and cuts costs • Clear and regular reports provide insight into possible improvements
Our event management system monitors
A key aspect of Invensys Sentinel Services is
Peak performance in our operating plants is a
anomalies or events that occur in the
feedback to you. As a result, we ensure that
continuous process that is being threatened
Wonderware customer environment and
we provide monthly system health status
on a daily basis. As skills scarcity increases,
focuses on detecting issues and generating
reports which include:
most production technicians are stretched
meaningful notifications. These notifications
to the limit with their daily tasks. Little time is
are reported to the Invensys Command
left to maintain the running software systems
Centre which offers a single point of contact
and very few can find the time to develop and
for customer incidents and requests.
maintain specialist knowledge to diagnose
• Overall health status for the month • Critical, major, medium and minor system issues and errors for that month
faults on these systems. • Changes or corrections made to fix As a result, Invensys offers ISS whose job is
errors that occurred in the Wonderware
to monitor the performance of your Invensys
environment
Wonderware assets — continuously.
84 | www.protocolmag.co.za
Invensys Sentinel Services
• Proposals for Wonderware system modifications to ensure that the system
Optional value-added services
conforms to best practice standards
Contact us For more information please contact:
• Anti-virus reporting
Monitored events
Zaine Domingo, ISS Product Manager — Invensys Operations Management
• Wonderware and Microsoft patch Monitoring includes examining the KPIs
management
of the Wonderware System Platform and Historian, hardware performance, event logs,
T +27 (0)11 607 8191 | 0800 INVENSYS | zaine.domingo@invensys.co.za
• Operating system platform support
Wonderware machines (where applicable) among others. There is also a monthly audit of OS, Windows and Wonderware version control, Wonderware licence status, IP configuration and more.
March/April 2013 | 85
Customer FIRST Maximise asset performance
to meet contractual obligations to your customers and the loss of business that
Downtime costs businesses millions of Rand
Comprehensive Services
- Customer FIRST support gives you options to maximise productivity by keeping your operations running smoothly.
In a nutshell ...
may ensue. • Customer FIRST also gives you access to Invensys technical resources to
Customer FIRST is not just technical
help you ensure that your system is
support, it’s a comprehensive
Outages, both planned and unplanned,
back to capacity in as short a time as
programme to help you manage your
are costly; businesses increasingly need to
possible. Our world-class global service
systems and protect your investments.
employ effective pre-emptive strategies
organisation is available locally, so the
to reduce risks and employ efficient and
help you need is never far away.
Real Value
effective resourcing strategies to ensure that non-productive time is kept to a minimum.
Asset performance is not just about
Customer FIRST members enjoy the
maximising availability though; you need
many benefits of a closer collaborative
Customer FIRST is not just technical support,
to ensure that your assets are working to
relationship with Invensys.
it’s a comprehensive programme to help
their maximum potential. You also need
you manage your systems and maximise the
to minimise the risk to your business of
performance of your assets.
missed schedules, poor quality or regulatory violations, with the business consequences
Downtime hurts - Customer FIRST can help
• Responsive services • Depth of expertise
that may follow. • Proactive planning Customer FIRST gives you proactive remote
Even the most reliable equipment requires
health monitoring services to spot warning
downtime, perhaps for routine maintenance,
signs before problems occur and advanced
preventative maintenance, upgrades or
consulting services to tune your systems to
replacement. You need to ensure that
maximum performance.
downtime is kept to a minimum and to
• Continuous performance monitoring • Emergency contingency provisioning • Deep discounts on hardware
as a result.
Customer first – our mission: your success
• Software and services
• Customer FIRST provides you with
ensure that there is minimal production loss
Customer FIRST membership gives you
These important elements make the
access to great hardware maintenance,
access to award-winning technical support,
Customer FIRST membership an
software maintenance and comprehensive
hardware and software maintenance
essential part of your business success.
lifecycle management services to help
services, lifecycle management and remote
you optimise your planned downtime and
Services, training and consulting services
minimise unplanned downtime events.
and much more. The programme provides you with comprehensive services and flexible
Recovery time is critical and any delays
options to choose exactly the right kind of
in acquiring either replacement parts, or
programme to suit your business needs and
the expertise required to quickly resolve
help you to maximise asset performance.
problems, can have a significant financial impact on your business.
Contact information
• Customer FIRST provides you with timely
Support Telephone Number:
access to critical spare parts with the
0861-WONDER (0861-966337) or
ability to manage spares more easily and
0800-INVENSYS (Toll Free)
ensure the reliability of your systems. E-mail: What’s more, extended downtime presents other risks to your business such as failing
86 | www.protocolmag.co.za
support@wonderware.co.za or
support@invensys.co.za
2013 Training Schedule
2013 Training Schedule (Johannesburg)
i
Did you know that your bottom line is directly proportional to the effectiveness of your workforce?
As the owner of some of the world’s most popular, advanced and versatile
Historian (includes Historian Client)
NOTE:
• 13 – 16 May
The dates shown apply to training
industrial automation, information and MES software solutions, you’ll want to get the most from your investment and that includes getting the best training
at our offices in Bedfordview, • 18 – 21 June
in the business. We routinely train about 600 professionals like you every year not
presented on demand. A minimum of • 19 – 22 August
only on how to use our solutions but how to turn our product features into real
Johannesburg. Regional training is six delegates is required to arrange a course.
InBatch Regional training venues:
business benefits. • 4 – 8 February
InTouch Part 1 Fundamentals (includes New Graphics)
Bundled courses
Morningside.
• 27 – 31 May
In addition to the above, we offer the
Cape Town: Durbanville Conference
following bundled courses at reduced rates:
Centre.
For maintenance and engineering personnel:
Port Elizabeth: Pickering Park
Durban: Khaya Lembali,
• 1 – 5 July • 29 July – 2 August
InTouch Part 2 Advanced (includes New Graphics)
• InTouch only (includes InTouch
• 3 –6 June
• InTouch and Historian (includes InTouch
Fundamentals and InTouch Advanced)
Fundamentals, InTouch Advanced and • 8 – 11 July
Conference Centre, Newton Park.
For non-technical personnel (operators, managers, supervisors):
Historian) • Historian (includes ActiveFactory basics
System Platform – Application Server (includes new graphics)
• System Platform – Application Server
for non-technical staff)
(includes InTouch Fundamentals, InTouch Advanced, Historian, System Platform and
For all your training requirements, contact
Application Server)
Emmi du Preez at
• 11 – 15 March
emmi.dupreez@wonderware.co.za or
For system integrators: • 6 – 10 May
training@invensys.co.za or call Emmi on 011 607 8286.
• System Platform – Application Server • 24 – 28 June
(includes InTouch Fundamentals, InTouch Advanced, Historian, System Platform and
• 22 – 26 July
Application Server)
March/April 2013 | 87
Use Protocol Magazine to generate business opportunities Protocol magazine continues to be well
you’re a solution supplier) or recognition
The Guideline is in the form of prompts to
received on a bi-monthly basis by 6500
(if you’re an end-user)
which you supply the answers to the best of your ability. This, together with the graphical
industry professionals like you, at every level of the country’s leading mining and manufacturing companies. You can
• It must generate market awareness of your capabilities
information required, will be used to write the article which will be sent back to you for editing, approval, etc.
leverage this highly-qualified readership to be heard.
• It must do all that at a reasonable cost
How do you promote yourself right now?
Protocol magazine meets all these criteria.
The Permission to Publish form must be signed by the end-user of the installation and system integrator / solution vendor
Some of the things you might be doing could include inserting opinion pieces,
If you’re an end-user, your stakeholders are
(if applicable) before work on the article is
adverts, editorials and other material
most interested to know how well you’re
started. This ensures that all the work that
into South Africa’s leading manufacturing
looking after their interests by lowering costs
goes into compiling the story will not be
and mining magazines. A good choice
and improving efficiency. Your colleagues
wasted.
since these are excellent and professional
in the industry are keen to see how you’ve
publications that land on decision-makers’
implemented Wonderware solutions so that
You are free to use the completed success
desks every month.
they can evaluate if these will have the same
story in any marketing sense you wish and
benefits in their environments.
you have hundreds of examples on our web site and in past issues of A2ware and
What Protocol offers is all the advantages of a professional magazine with a large
If you’re a system integrator, end-users
circulation but the cherry on the cake is
want to know what you’ve done so that they
that all the readers of Protocol have one
can consider you as a solution supplier for
thing in common – Wonderware solutions
their next project.
FutureLinx.
Opinion Pieces: Once again, there’s no cost involved and
in the areas of SCADA, MES, EMI, BPM and enterprise integration – in fact, anything to
If you’re a hardware or software vendor,
you don’t have to worry about probably
do with industrial and corporate production
end-users and system integrators want to
not having majored in English. Decide on a
IT. Everything in Protocol is aimed at helping
know about how well your offerings work
central theme and the idea(s) you want to
end users get more from their Wonderware
in the Wonderware environment and how
put across, then jot down all the reinforcing
investment and trigger them to look at new
they can help them do a better and more
arguments you can think of (as well as
possibilities. Nobody wants to reinvent a
cost-effective job.
references if applicable). Also include any supporting graphics you feel will better
costly development or investigation wheel to stopping that happening.
What medium will work best for you?
Let’s think for a minute about your perfect
Success stories:
and what you have to offer will go a long way
illustrate the point. Send your draft article to your account manager
you:
They won’t cost you a cent and you don’t have to write them. Simply send an e-mail
• It must convey your message in a
to your account manager stating that you
professional manner to a large, targeted
have the makings of a good story and why
and qualified audience
you think it is so. You will then be sent a
• It must generate incremental business (if
88 | www.protocolmag.co.za
and, if necessary, we’ll make the necessary edits before returning it to you for approval.
promotion vehicle and what it should do for
Comments to the editor, Q&As, Product and/or service information:
Guideline and a Permission to Publish form
Send your submissions to Denis your
to complete and return.
account manager and they (as well as the
Use Protocol Magazine to generate business opportunities
answers) will be published in the next issue
So what are we really saying?
(if interesting and relevant).
and we have made it as easy as possible for As an end-user or supplier of Invensys
Material formats
In other words, what you have to say matters you to say it!
Wonderware and associated solutions, you form part of the world’s largest ecosystem
You will be talking to people with the same
Text – In Microsoft Word format
of professionals in the fields of industrial
reality as you and who have the same
Graphics – In PowerPoint, Bitmap or JPEG
automation and the delivery of actionable
problems and concerns.
format (the last two in the highest possible
intelligence from the shop floor to the top
resolution you have)
floor.
Advertising:
That makes you pretty special.
For all your advertising requirements –
That makes what you have to say significant
including the drafting of effective adverts
and important.
So, what we’re really saying is, use Protocol magazine to say what you believe needs to be said.
from scratch – contact Heather Simpkins at The Marketing Suite.
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Did you know that if you don’t talk to anyone, they’re not likely to talk to you or send orders? March/April 2013 | 89
On the lighter side Only in Africa...
Here’s some more brain itching powder guaranteed to make your eyes water:
• Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy someone else to shoot at. • Wisdom comes with age. Death comes
• I think I might be getting over my
with age. Therefore, wisdom is dangerous.
insomnia. The other day my foot fell asleep.
• I’ve got about as much self control as two rabbits on a first date.
• Absence of proof is not proof of absence. • My wife ran off with my best friend last • Reality is nothing but a collective hunch. • I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this,
week. I miss him! • We are all time travellers moving at the speed of exactly 60 minutes per hour.
and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don’t
• When in doubt, poke it with a stick.
even invite me. • Okay, brain. You don’t like me and I don’t • I’m at the age where food has taken the
like you, but let’s get through this thing
place of sex in my life. In fact, I’ve just had
and then I can continue killing you with
a mirror put over my kitchen table.
beer.
• The will to be stupid is a very powerful
• The children of Israel wandered around
force, but there are always alternatives.
the desert for 40 years. Even in biblical times, men wouldn’t ask for directions.
• Expediting is doing at the office what, if your wife does it at home, you call nagging. • If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered
• No man is an island, but some of us have pretty long peninsulas. • Give a person a fish and you feed him for
mind, what is the significance of an empty
a day, teach a person to use the Internet
desk?
and they won’t bother you for weeks.
• When dealing with the insane, the best method is to pretend to be sane. • I’ll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box
• So many stupid people and so few asteroids. • The roundest knight at King Arthur’s table was Sir Cumference.
when there’s evidence of any thinking going on inside it.
• I know Karate! ...and several other Japanese words.
• A man’s respect for law and order exists in precise relationship to the size of his pay check. • Girl who do back spring on bedspring have offspring next spring.
• Bulimia: twice the taste, none of the calories. • What’s all the fuss about same-sex marriages ? I’ve been married for years and I keep having the same sex.
• Every 4 seconds a woman has a baby. We must find this woman and stop her.
90 | www.protocolmag.co.za
• A true friend stabs you in the front.
On the lighter side
• Always guard your rear while you’re in the hospital...You’re in enema territory.
• Contrary to general belief, I do not
Only in Africa...
believe that friends are necessarily the people you like best, they are merely the
• The family that sticks together should
people who got there first.
bathe more often. • Programming today is a race between • If I was a ghost on “Ghost Whisperer” the
software engineers striving to build bigger
first thing I would ask Jennifer Love Hewitt
and better idiot-proof programmes, and
is “are those real?”
the universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the universe is
• Marriage certificate is just another word
winning.
for a work permit. • What’s another word for Thesaurus? • Keep the dream alive: Hit the snooze button.
• What do you have when you have two little balls in your hand? A man’s
• Liberty without learning is always in peril;
undivided attention.
learning without liberty is always in vain. • I do not have a psychiatrist and I do not • If there is anything the nonconformist
want one, for the simple reason that if he
hates worse than a conformist, it’s another
listened to me long enough, he might
nonconformist who doesn’t conform to
become disturbed.
the prevailing standard of nonconformity. • As I grow older, I regret to say that a • I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going
detestable habit of thinking seems to be getting hold of me.
and hook up with them later. • Never knock on Death’s door: ring the bell • The greatest mystery is not that we
and run away! Death really hates that!
have been flung at random between the profusion of matter and of the stars, but that within this prison we can draw from
• What we call ‘progress’ is the exchange of one nuisance for another nuisance.
ourselves images powerful enough to deny our nothingness.
• When I am abroad, I always make it a rule never to criticise or attack the government
• That is the saving grace of humour, if you fail no one is laughing at you.
of my own country. The country I’m visiting usually does a better job than I ever could.
• Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business. • It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man. • My grandmother is over eighty and still doesn’t need glasses. She drinks right out of the bottle.
March/April 2013 | 91
Protocol Crossword #59 When you’ve completed the crossword, the letters in the coloured boxes state that which you must be alert to if you are to have situation awareness. Note: This magazine contains the answers to a number of the clues. E-mail your answer to: editor@wonderware.co.za. The sender of the first correct answer received will get a hamper of Invensys Wonderware goodies.
Clues across: 1. That which keeps us in control (9,9) (follow the arrow around the corner) 9. Proper ________ _______________ helps operators cope and trust the control system (5,10) (follow the
73. True North (2)
63. Denotes that things are fine (2)
74. Underlying technology of all Wonderware products
65. Girl’s name (4)
(9)
66. World Technologies Association (3)
75. Notion (4)
67. John ___ (was he the senior investigating officer at the Lockerbie air disaster or what?) (3)
arrow around the corner)
Clues down:
13. Delete (5)
1. Invensys solution for looking after your Wonderware
14. Square, flat-bottom boats (5)
assets 24/7 (8,8)
16. A single article (4)
2. Infra-red (2)
17. How well something like operations are doing (11)
3. Faucet (3)
20. Sodium symbol (2)
4. Utilise (3)
21. Thanks
5. ___ Lingus (Irish airline) (3)
23. It’s all around us (3)
6. Standards organisation (3)
24. Charged particle (3)
7. Edible pods of Asian plant also known as “ladies’
25. The king of HMIs (7)
fingers” (4)
28. Latest (6)
8. The chosen one (7)
30. Was consumed (5)
10. Prevarication (3)
32. We’re all doing it (5)
11. Preposition (2)
34. Software available from SimSci-Esscor (6)
12. Second most populous city in Nevada (4)
38. Tiny (3)
15. Tin symbol (2)
39. Denotes maiden name (3)
18. Criminal habits? (4,5)
40. A thin plate, sheet, or layer (6)
19. One of the things that separates humans from
41. Backbone (5)
computers (10)
44. Hovercraft cushions (6)
22. Indefinite article (2)
45. Cut (5)
24. Trip agenda (9)
46. He ______ out a meagre living (4)
26. Swarming (7)
47. Verdi opera (4)
27. Hectare (2)
48. American girls (4)
29. Specific Gravity (2)
50. Iron oxide (4)
31. Copy siblings (4)
52. Reorder Lead Time (3)
33. Neon symbol (2)
54 Roman six (2)
35. Tibetan ox (3)
56. Not applicable (2)
36. Title (3)
57. Nerd (4)
37. Mobile workforce solution from Wonderware (10)
59. Toy (4)
42. Identical pod dwellers (4)
61. Input/Output (2)
43. Donkey’s name (3)
62. Hopping amphibians (5)
49. Indefinite article (2)
64. Cape Town registration (2)
50. Holiday place (6)
66. Human-level process control ArchestrA ___________
51. United Kingdom (2)
(8)
53. Find (6)
69. This issue of Protocol is about this factor (5)
55. Jupiter moon (2)
70. Over and above (5)
58. Event-Driven Language (3)
71. SA six-wheeled armoured vehicle (5)
60. Circular openings at the apex of domes (5)
92 | www.protocolmag.co.za
68. Conflict (3) 69. The man (2) 72. Thanks (2)
Answer to Protocol crossword #58: Question: What is the name of the ArchestrA-based human-level process enabler? Answer: WORKFLOW
Measurement Under Control
Achieving competitive and efficient process plant operation is an increasingly tough challenge in today’s fast moving business environment. Selecting the most reliable and longest life measurement instrumentation is more important than ever. Invensys Foxboro offers time proven innovative measurement solutions that make this possible, leading the way with longer life pH, redox and conductivity measurement sensors and instrumentation.
View our full range of measurement tools and instrumentation at: www.invensys.co.za or call 0800 INVENSYS for more information
March/April 2013 | 3
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