Does this sound familiar? You come in to work only to find that a critical piece of equipment looks like it’s about to fail. Production has been throttled to buy a little time, but you need to determine – quickly – how to get back to full capacity. Where do you search for the equipment data? How do you figure out why this particular equipment was installed? Where can you learn about its maintenance history? When you do find this information, can you trust it? The remedy here is the interoperability of Openplant and Comos.
The author: Monica Schnitger President, Schnitger Corporation
Under an agreement announced at the Hanover Fair, Bentley Systems and Siemens Industrial Automation are extending their strategic partnership to advance interoperability and data availability for the process industries by integrating Openplant and Comos. When complete, this interoperability will ensure that designers, engineers, constructors and operators have all the relevant information for an asset – both 3D and conceptual/2D – in a form that is easily accessible, comprehensive and accurate across the lifecycle of the plant.
Openplant is Bentley Systems’ next-generation plant design solution, built from the ground up and based on the ISO 15926 data model. Openplant’s 2D and 3D design and engineering analysis tools are used to model pipe networks, equipment, structural supports, cable trays and raceways, while the broader Bentley portfolio is intended for designing roads, buildings and other features of the plant site. The resulting plant model is a valuable aid far beyond design, for downstream activities such as construction and operation, and is an important asset of the overall project.
Comos is often used alongside 3D plant modelling solutions to manage design data, tying together P&IDs, electrical and instrumentation, control systems and other information in a single, consistent hub to give design engineers and operating personnel the appropriate data at each phase of a plant’s lifecycle. When Comos is integrated with Simatic PCS 7 for automation, Siemens provides a complete process, instrumentation and control system workflow, from system design to automation, operation and maintenance.
The interoperating Openplant and Comos applications will enable plant designers and owners/operators to validate Comos P&IDs, electrical schematics and other data against the 3D model in Openplant and then manage markups from 3D back to Comos, creating an effective round-tripping mechanism. Legacy models as well as models from third party systems can be incorporated in the design workflow through i-model containers. This maintains the value of existing asset data and enables new designs to be jump-started. Later phases of this project will allow Comos users to undertake offline editing of P&IDs and other schematics.
Openplant users will ultimately be able to integrate their electrical and instrumentation design workflows with Comos, and see those designs correlated more directly to plant management. With this agreement, Bentley and Siemens are creating a bridge for plant data that spans from conceptual engineering to operation and maintenance.
Downtime isn’t an option
It was long believed that much of the value created in the design process is lost in the handover to operations. The interoperability between Openplant and Comos forges a much closer connection between the conceptual design of a production process and the controlling instrumentation of an operating plant. This coupling will enable owners and operators to recapture some of the lost value and create new value through the smoother flow of information during the plant’s operational life.
What to do if …
Back to your dilemma: that malfunctioning piece of equipment. In an integrated Comos/ Openplant environment, you begin trouble-shooting with Comos process and performance catalogue data and the most recent diagnostics from Simatic PCS 7. You use Bentley Navigator to explore the 3D model of the plant, perhaps including a recent laser scan point cloud, to fully understand the physical layout. You use Comos P&ID or Openplant PowerPID to refine your idea for the fix. You design in Openplant Modeler to ensure that your fix works in the physical, 3D world. You iterate between 2D and 3D to ensure consistency, since a disconnect between the 2D concept and the 3D, purchased and installed equipment could be disastrous. Along the way, you may collaborate visually with Bentley Navigator or at the data level via the Comos Platform. You may even send models to iPads or other mobile devices to work with suppliers et cetera on the plant floor. At the end of the day, you’ve created a viable solution that takes into account the conceptual, physical and attribute data for your process. You get the line back to 100 % operating efficiency as quickly as possible.
With this interoperability project, Bentley Systems and Siemens will provide engineering firms and operators in the process industries with access to a complete, consistent and accurate digital plant asset.
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