3RD PARTY ASSET MANAGERS SEE THE VALUE OF DATA ACCESS AUTOMATION

Timatch Resources (licensee) operate 5 treatment plants in Malaysia. Each of the five plants use Rockwell FactoryTalk Historian as the process data repository. Three of the plants have instances of IBM Maximo and provide system access to the other two remote plants so that all 5 plants are asset management alive.

Parasyn was chosen to implement a multi-facility / multi-instance rollout of MTELL’s MIMOSA Interop Server (MIS). The initial project’s objectives was to automatically capture equipment metering and events from the historian repository, and push that into Maximo thus providing a seamless reporting function. The future purpose is for enhanced predictive analytics leveraging the condition based monitoring framework.

Standards versus Unique Plant

Despite the best intentions and text book conventions, each major asset is operated and managed in a unique way, albeit minor in terms of differences. The unique functionality or customisations for each plant should not be lost to conventions and standards for the sake of standards. To ensure front end process information related to plant operations is retained, up front design and operational performance evaluation criteria is determined, and then mapped appropriately to the asset management system for operational effectiveness. In this case this meant linking Rockwell FactoryTalk Historian “points” or “tags” to EAM assets in the EAM gateway configuration environment. This is not a software programmers task, and once setup ensures “for ever after” that process information just shows up in the enterprise Asset Management system without massaging spreadsheets, exporting data, validating information and making end-of-the-month calls to pressure operational staff to “get the numbers in on time”.

Organising Technology and people

Parasyn’s scope of work included the provision of EAM Software and the engineering, administrative and management services to configure, test and deploy the solution.

The stage 1 solution is a basic solution to transfer data between the Rockwell Factory Talk system (Historian) and the IBM Maximo Asset management System. To implement with confidence, Parasyn set up the environments, loaded and tested software, confirming the data transfer and the asset model.

Parasyn worked with local partner DP Controls to implement the first plant. Parasyn assisted DP Controls to roll-out all subsequent sites.  This rollout methodology ensured that Timatch and DP Controls developed engineering capability to perform low level maintenance tasks providing level 1 support.

Technology Selection

The MTELL Server enables plant-floor systems (such as condition monitoring) to communicate with EAM systems to provide a “single version of the truth.” The MTELL industry leading MIMOSA-based interoperability platform enables connections to best of breed condition monitoring and asset health systems such as vibration analysis, ultrasonic, transient or on-line. With MIS, all systems tie into an open standards-based platform, enabling an EAM system (such as IBM Maximo) to generate actionable work advisories. All messages are translated into the web services-based MIMOSA ™ messaging protocol, which lowers the risk and cost of implementation.

MTELL enables interoperability between plant operations and maintenance (EAM) systems, including communications across multiple sites including headquarters, consequently:

  • A central system (e.g., at headquarters) can integrate plants that use different EAM systems (for example where some plants use SAP PM and others use Maximo)
  • Enables new maintenance & operations strategies for cost deductions
  • Improves planning & coordination between Operations and Maintenance
  • The ID-based mapping framework provides a consistent taxonomy. This assures reliable analysis across facilities, for example all pump failure patterns, even where different plants uses different pump identifiers.

The Mtell  ties diverse components together, delivering a comprehensive solution for connecting plant floor systems to EAM systems.

The MTELL Feature Highlights

  • Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
  • Supports all major CMMS/EAM systems and multiple versions thereof
  • Connects plant systems using OPC, Modbus, plant historian and web service connectors
  • XML web services interface for interoperability with maintenance systemsDeveloper friendly – full power exposed to IT personnel and systems integrators
  • Enables connectivity to all best of breed systems for asset health monitoring, condition-based maintenance, and asset performance monitoring
  • Completely extensible foundation with .NET SDK’s and sample code, enabling IT personnel to write extensions and custom components
  • Provides an easy to use GUI for the management of ID mappings between real-time plant floor tags and EAM assets

Where does this technology apply

Process Control Systems typically focus on operational effectiveness from an operators stand point. Enterprise Asset Management systems focus on management of assets in isolation of operations.  When the whole of business gets involved (by design), wider decisions are made beyond the reach of plant operators. There is no doubt that with the “internet of everything” reaching into everyone’s work space, the companies who intimately understand their plant first, supported by empirical information, will make the better decisions first. It may not seem like there isn’t much you don’t know about how your plant works, until you analyse statistically, mathematically and with high levels of confidence and know; “this is how my plant really operates under these conditions”, “operators act impulsively introducing this much variability” and “now we can predict equipment failure before the downtime clock has started”.

The first step to begin this essential binding of the operational business with the asset business to provide superior whole of business decision making is to “get data automated”. Data manipulation is a thing of the past. Get clever with SCADA Systems or Process Automation Solutions by taking full control of asset performance. Once the data collection is automated better business decisions will flow. Adding predictive analytics is yet another progressive step in this journey of excellence.