PIMS renewal: an investment in the future
At DSM-Firmenich, ControlTech Engineering AG has replaced an old system for collecting and monitoring data and generating reports (BDR) with a new solution. The project has now been running for three years. Initially as a pilot project, process data from numerous buildings at the Grenzach and Sisseln sites has since been connected.
For the connection of 13 plants to the global platform (AVEVA PI Historian) for archiving process data, it was important that the process data could be used to generate the batch report (production log) in the future. Questions such as the extent to which the reporting requirements would work with the new tool had to be answered. For this reason, a pilot project was launched as a proof of concept to replace the BDR around three years ago. The IT data experts at CTE reviewed all the requirements formulated by the customer for the new, planned solution. This involved two specific software tools: Assetintellect, which is used for the operator user interface, and RtReports, which is used for the BatchReport. The batch report draws on the information prepared in Asset Framework and Event Frames. Would the corresponding functionalities meet the requirements?
ControlTech Engineering used its expertise to evaluate more modern platforms. The choice fell on AVEVA PI, which prepares data for reporting and integration with other systems.
By using such solutions in general, companies can gain better insights into their operational processes, increase efficiency, reduce costs and improve product quality. Compared to the previous system, AVEVA PI is a huge gain. This is because the old system was very cumbersome in terms of recording new measurement data and data points. It required special prior knowledge and no longer met the increasing requirements of quality assurance (production logging, documentation). Parts of the system for generating batch reports will no longer be developed and supported in future. The PIMS (Plant Information Management System) used in the existing batch report solution could no longer be kept up to date in future due to discontinued interfaces, and the reporting component is "out of lifecycle".
Heterogeneous system landscape ensures complex workflow
It is not surprising that the engineering workflow in the old system was complex and error-prone due to the heterogeneous system landscape. With the implementation of AVEVA PI, the existing workflow can be simplified and automated to reduce sources of error. "As a result, new measuring points can be connected faster and more cost-effectively," explains Sascha Zeller. "Of course, there is a cluster risk during the transition phase when administering the complex system. Only a few people can engineer holistically for adaptations, new connections or extensions. But after the migration, users can work with Excel analyses and other data reuse without much effort. This is where the additional benefit lies. It is more cost-effective for our customers to receive in-depth support in the meantime.
AVEVA PI as an integrated software platform for Data Historian
The pilot project has been completed, the connections have been made and the old data has been moved. In the next step, we will implement all functions for data preparation 'Batch Report Ready' validated in the target system AVEVA PI.
The former OSIsoft and now AVEVA PI software platform is a leader in industries such as pharma, chemical and biotech. It is designed for data management in the process industry and is often used in industrial plants to collect, store, visualize and analyze data from various sources. The ability to process large amounts of real-time data from different systems and sensors makes it extremely flexible. The data can be used for monitoring and controlling equipment, analyzing performance, quality control or predicting maintenance needs. This variability in terms of data connection from and to the new process data long-term memory (Historian, PIMS) as well as the temporal and structural contextualization is ideal for DSM-Firmenich's heterogeneous customer environment.
A systematic approach helps
Preparatory work such as the creation of higher-level design and specification documents goes without saying. The installation and configuration of the collectors were later carried out on this basis. The structure of the tag list and the naming convention for the PI tags and PBS structure (AF elements and attributes) were further steps in the process. CTE is very familiar with the GMP environment. Our data management professionals knew how important it was to include compliance and QA with regard to GMP-compliant documentation.
After the approval of the specification documents by QA, the individual companies were connected to the new platform one after the other, the individual data flows were checked in accordance with the approved test procedure and transferred to the productive system via Test Environment .
Looking back, the project has changed over time: From a pure data barrel, it has gradually developed into a system environment that can be used for adaptations and extensions, with SOP rules and clear definitions. "The requirements were expanded and re-evaluated in advance within the aspect of the validatable environment," explains Sascha Zeller. If the systems are different in terms of structure, process and hardware, the connection becomes more complex. During the roll-out of the connection strategy to the various plants, new findings emerged: "We were confronted with different challenges and a different focus on the data was required everywhere. We therefore had to constantly take new specifications into account and incorporate them into the documentation. At the same time, we tried to maintain the generic documentation approach - that was a major challenge."
At the same time, the extra mile taken by the CTE experts also provides new knowledge. The many years of diverse experience gained through PIMS project implementations for various customers in validated and non-validated environments makes CTE a competent partner for Data Historian. Sascha Zeller: "Our best practice in terms of specification, configuration within the given functionalities of the system and workflows guaranteed a successful system implementation that was fully accepted by the end user."
