Harnessing the Power of Connected: Honeywell @ITS New Delhi

Honeywell Presents at the Recent India Technology Summit in New Delhi

At the first India Technology Summit (ITS) Honeywell ITS on 31st May 2017 at New Delhi, Honeywell introduced its suite of solutions under the Honeywell Connected Plant (HCP). HCP’s transformative solutions enable manufacturers and process industries leverage data and insights to improve the efficiency and profitability of their operations. The presentations at this event revolved around the core theme of the power of connected, which is also Honeywell’s tagline, focusing on the key technological trends - Cloud, mobility, Big Data, Analytics, 3D visualization, high fidelity simulation, and cybersecurity. At the inaugural session, Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Additional Joint Secretary, MoPNG; Patrick Santillo, Counselor U.S. Embassy; and Vikas Chadha, President, Honeywell India spoke about how technologies are powering connectivity.

G. Ganapathiraman, Country Manager, ARC Advisory Group India, was invited for this event, and he said that through his interactions with the attendees (close to 150) and organizers he learned how the IIoT is revolutionizing business operations the world over. According to Steve Gimre, Managing Director, Honeywell UOP India, IIoT is the industrial revolution of the 21st century and Make in India is at the heart of Honeywell’s business strategy. The HCP proposition focuses on technologies and industrial solutions to help organizations harness the power of IIoT.

In sync with this Ashish Gaikwad, Managing Director HAIL (Honeywell Automation India Limited) and Country Leader Honeywell Process Solutions spoke about India being at the cusp of a digital revolution and how imperative it is for industry to adopt world-class technologies that improve safety, reliability, and efficiency in an increasingly competitive global environment. Presently 50 percent of the 25,000 engineers are working on software. The lexis is changing - Honeywell is moving from “industrial” to “Software Industrial.” Honeywell’s offerings in a connected world combine domain knowledge, automation and software capabilities, and collaborative partner networks. Jason Urso, CTO, HPS highlighted the six industry challenges and interestingly wove it with Honeywell’s solutions to customers/end users.

• Challenge: Reduce project CapEx
• Solution: Concept of LEAP (Lean Execution of Automation Projects) – a paradigm shift in the way automation projects are executed - was explained in detail. This covers: Universal input/output modules; virtualization; and Cloud engineering.
• Challenge: Improve production level
• Solution: Use Advanced Process Control (APC).
• Challenge: Sustain plant performance
• Solution: Experion Orion console provides control room displays, visualization, flexible legends, single archives, multi-touch facility, integration of alarm management, advanced controls, and operation data.
• Challenge: Ensure seamless supply chain
• Solution: This can be done by proper planning and scheduling and removing bottlenecks at every stage.
• Challenge: Enhance safety performance
• Solution: Operators are overwhelmed with data. DYNAMO Alarm Suite converts alarms into actionable data, with dynamic alarm suppression capabilities.
• Challenge: Skills scarcity and asset obsolescence
• Solution: Train operators using UniSim high fidelity model/simulator for training. Training and practice are fundamental to top performance in industry.

The Connected Plant

The connected plant and concept of Digital Twin adopted by Honeywell was another important topic of discussion. A connected plant reduces total cost of ownership as it provides higher operational flexibility, reduces IT infrastructure cost, and improves uptime. Digital twins occur at the intersection of physical engineering and data science, and their value is measurable: reduced asset downtime, lower maintenance costs, improved plant and factory efficiency, reduced cycle times, and increased productivity.

Honeywell builds a cloud-based model for the actual plant using thermodynamic/physics models. When an operator has an issue a single dashboard connects the operator, site engineers, UOP engineers, process engineer, and also partner suppliers such as compressors’ OEMS. This methodology helps provide real-time solutions to the customers. In the cloud UniSim+ Process Design Suite are uploaded and are compared all the time with actual input status of the physical plant. Honeywell believes in providing Outcome Enabled Service and helps end users achieve Guaranteed Peak Performance 24x7. In the context of refineries the benefits accrued were quantifiable in terms of process reliability, production efficiency, and supply chain optimization.

Technologies that transform industrial processes come with some degree of cyber risk. HPS has a connected Industrial Cybersecurity Risk Manager, which proactively monitors, manages, measures, and reduces the complexity of cybersecurity risk. Cybersecurity certification must be made mandatory before adoption of IIoT- because greater connectivity increases cyber risks, said the panellists.

Honeywell’s ITS event drove home the point that in a transforming business environment organizations must collaborate and remain connected.