Solution Approach for Digital Twin of a Process Plant

This chapter presents how to conceptualize the solution approach for a digital twin of a process plant, after the requirements, the state-of-the-art, and business needs are explored. The servitization process is a fundamental means for manufacturing companies that would find new business opportunities and involve new customer segments, increasing their market share. In a working environment where only a few standard procedures exist, ideation gets special importance. Based on a solution search, the product-service development is conducted from the initial requirements to the final customer service. For this purpose, a productive solution is re-used and adapted for a new industry with specific customer requirements. Although the procedure starts again with a scan of the process plant and ends with an editable CAD model for the re-design of objects in question, it has fundamental changes in its structure and singular steps and can be considered as an entirely new solution within a platform. Based on the process engineering introduction to pipeline construction, an object tree that maps the basis for the concept is created. The solution is drawn as a process chain with several steps which work like a 3D search of the components of the digital twin in the point cloud. A four-step methodology for the semi-automatic generation of digital twins from the point cloud of the plant is explored. The Zachman framework is then applied according to an already-used approach which determines the functional description of the legacy system. Different actors (customer, capture partner, cooperation partner) in designed service during the emergence of a digital twin are described, in particular their roles, and influence on the customer, and how they supply corresponding data and information. The object recognition process and the impact factors on the immediate and expected final results are explained. Translation of the piping system description from the neutral to the proprietary environment (e.g., AVEVA) is emphasized with relevance to the following engineering design which is briefly explained on the AVEVA’s E3D mode of operation. Additional complexity is given in this approach by collaborative execution with an engineering partner. Therefore, the work share with this partner is described in detail.