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.

Production employees operate dashboards with reports, batch reports and production logs on screens.

When connecting 13 plants to the global platform (AVEVA PI Historian) for archiving process data, it was important that the process data could be used in the future to generate batch reports (manufacturing records). Questions such as the extent to which the reporting requirements would work with the new tool needed to be answered. For this reason, a pilot project was launched as a proof of concept to replace the BDR about three years ago. CTE’s IT data experts reviewed all of the customer’s requirements for the new, planned solution. Two specific software tools were involved: Assetintellect, which is used for the operator interface, and RtReports, which is used for the batch report. The batch report draws on the information processed 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 adopting 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 a huge benefit. The old system was very cumbersome when it came to capturing new measurement data and data points. It required specialized prior knowledge and could no longer meet the growing demands of quality assurance (production logging, documentation). Parts of the system used to generate batch reports will no longer be developed or supported in the future. The PIMS (Plant Information Management System) The existing batch reporting solution could no longer be kept up to date due to deprecated interfaces, and the reporting component is "out of lifecycle."

Heterogeneous system landscape ensures complex workflow

It’s no surprise that, due to the heterogeneous system landscape, the engineering workflow in the old system was time-consuming and error-prone. With the implementation of AVEVA PI, the existing workflow can be simplified and automated to reduce sources of error. “As a result, new measurement points can be connected more quickly and cost-effectively,” explains Sascha Zeller. “Of course, during the transition phase, there is a concentrated risk associated with administering the complex system. Only a few people are capable of handling the entire engineering process for adjustments, new connections, or expansions. But after the migration, users can work with Excel analyses and other data applications without much effort. That’s where the added value lies. For our customers, it’s more cost-effective to receive in-depth support from time to time.”

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

Preliminary work, such as creating high-level design and specification documents, goes without saying. The installation and configuration of the collectors were later carried out based on these documents. Defining the structure of the tag list, as well as the naming conventions for the PI tags and the PBS structure (AF elements and attributes), were further steps in the process. CTE is an expert in GMP environment. Our data management professionals understood how important it is to incorporate 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 evolved over time: what started out as a simple data repository has gradually become a system environment that can be adapted and expanded, with SOP A set of rules and clear definitions was developed. “The requirements were expanded and re-evaluated within the context of a validatable environment,” explains Sascha Zeller. If the systems differ in terms of structure, process, and hardware, the integration becomes more complex. New insights emerged during the rollout of the integration strategy to the various facilities: “We were confronted with different challenges, and each location required a different focus on the data. That’s why we had to continuously incorporate new specifications and weave 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."

CTE is now an AVEVA system integrator

We at ControlTech Engineering AG are official system integrators for AVEVA! This partnership enables us to offer our customers advanced solutions in the field of industrial automation and data management.

We have many years of expert knowledge and can help our customers accelerate their digital transformations. The AVEVA software platforms are leading the process industry for the acquisition, storage, analysis and visualization of real-time data from industrial plants.

Our offer includes:

Integration of AVEVA PI systems to optimize data collection and analysis.
Customized solutions for specific industry requirements in the pharmaceutical, chemical, energy, environmental and food sectors.
Full support and service from planning to implementation and maintenance.