SIMIT Takes a Holistic Approach to Process Simulation

Keywords: Simulation, Digital Twin, Process Automation, Optimization, Siemens, SIMIT, Virtual Commissioning

Summary

The process industry environment is difficult as backlogs drop, demand is weak, and the business climate remains uncertain. Owner-operators are seeking solutions to help cut costs in areas where margins are already thin. 

Simulation software has become a strategic weapon in all phases during the lifecycle of process automation to cut costs and reduce engineering time in all phases of process automation systems. Modern, sophisticated simulation platforms support simulation across the spectrum of process systems, from the concept and design phase, through construction and commissioning, and continue to add value throughout the operational lifecycle of process assets. 

This ARC View looks at the value and benefits of taking a holistic view of simulation in design, constructing and operating process plants. 

Key Takeaways

• The market for simulation software is robust, acknowledging the growing importance and acceptance of simulation and digital twins in the process industries. 
• Owner-operators are recognizing the added value of investments in simulation tools as the technology becomes an essential part of the development and optimization of process equipment and production plants.
• Leading simulation platforms take a holistic approach to simulation along the entire lifecycle of process assets.

The Value of Simulation in the Process Industries 

Simulation tools and digital twins can deliver significant value through the entire asset lifecycle of process plants, from design to construction and commissioning to operations and maintenance. Today’s simulation solutions address a wide range of stakeholders, from designers (frontend engineering design and detailed design) to construction contractors and owner-operators (operations and maintenance). Simulation software also addresses information management issues resulting from siloed business processes and related inefficiencies. 

Simulation of production processes is used to layout, test, and optimize workflows. Sophisticated algorithms help to eliminate bottlenecks early in the game. In the future, when it’s time to reconfigure or expand the plant, digital twins of current plant equipment can be employed to run new scenarios based on existing and planned equipment and capabilities.

Simulating the operation of the process automation system can deliver huge benefits during all phases of a process asset’s lifecycle. Coupled with data from engineering design software and process control systems, realistic and useful simulations are possible using historical or even live process data.

Challenges of Owner-Operators

Today’s process automation solutions are powerful, sophisticated systems based on open standards that allow data to be shared much more freely than in the past. Distributed control systems (DCS) are complemented by a growing offering of industry software solutions that collect, evaluate raw data emanating from the process and apply it continuously to improve daily operations. 

One challenge of owner-operators today is to derive more value out of existing investments in plant systems. While tools are often available to optimize process steps, working on a running process is often neither practical nor safe. The solution is to perform the optimization on a simulation of the process using a digital twin. The closer it resembles the actual process, the more likely the simulation will produce actionable results.

SIMIT: A Comprehensive Simulation Solution from R&D to Operator Training

Siemens is a leading supplier of solutions for both process and discrete industries with a broad offering that ranges from automation systems to a comprehensive portfolio of software solutions. SIMATIC PSC 7 and SIMATIC PCS neo are Siemens’ distributed control systems that form the core of the company’s process automation offering. 

The company’s solution for automation simulation is called SIMIT, which is used to create a simulation model that acts as a digital twin of a process plant and can be used to test automation projects and commission systems, machines, and processes. The simulation model created with SIMIT can also be used as an Operator Training System (OTS) to create realistic training environments for operators.

Siemens’ offering for a high-fidelity simulation model starts with a general process modeling system (gPROMS), a tool for digital twins that captures fundamental knowledge about a process. A gPROMS model is used with state-of-the-art mathematical techniques to analyze and optimize the process design or operation. COMOS is Siemens’ engineering tool for plant design and operation, while SIMIT helps users simulate their process automation systems using existing engineering data. 

Mobile Worker is a maintenance management tool that consolidates information from different data sources such as CAx, ERP, and sensors and makes them available to mobile workers. Finally, XHQ is an operations intelligence solution that aggregates, integrates, analyzes, and visualizes information, with connectivity to multiple types of backend data sources.

Construction and Commissioning 

During construction and commissioning, the user creates a comprehensive digital twin with SIMIT that serves as a virtual representation of the real system and uses either real or virtual controllers for detailed acceptance tests and for virtual commissioning of the process control system. By simulating these phases, users can correct many issues well in advance of real on-site commissioning.

Virtual Commissioning

Real commissioning is expensive and may take place under extreme time pressure. At this stage, the automation system may not be easily adaptable, real hardware may be needed for testing, and calculating the amount of effort may be difficult. Virtual commissioning is the answer to these challenges. Because it allows automation systems to be tested in a simulated environment before they go into operation. Today’s simulation tools include virtual commissioning and even extend to operator training. 

Operations 

For operations, simulating with a digital twin can validate changes in the control system before it is installed in the real system. For Siemens users, planning information from Siemens COMOS (engineering design) can be reused in SIMATIC PCS 7 and SIMATIC PCS neo process control systems.

Using the simulation model as a digital twin, users can perform change validation of plant modifications, review recipe control and check interfaces to third party systems. Changes are first imported and tested in the simulation model, ensuring plant availability and minimizing the risks for updates.

Operator Training

SIMIT allows operator training in a virtual, but realistic environment. Operator training using simulation tools offers a variety of benefits. Most importantly, operators can be trained and ready to run new systems before commissioning is completed. Modifications in operations or procedures during commissioning can be absorbed by future operators in real time. Once a system is in operation, new operators can be trained under realistic conditions either “offline” using existing scenarios, or “online” using real process data, but without compromising production or posing any risk to personnel, the environment, or the system. 

Conclusion

Owner-operators face enormous cost pressure in industries with already thin margins and falling backlogs, driving the urgency to reduce costs, capture market share, and improve competitiveness. Quick fixes like implementing analytics on top of running processes or introducing artificial intelligence into the planning process may help, but the most valuable tool may not be new technology, but rather the holistic application of a familiar technology: simulation. 

Today’s simulation tools take a holistic approach to simulation that extends from design, construction and commissioning to operations and maintenance. Together with the digital twins they create, simulation tools can deliver significant value by lowering costs and shortening engineering time in the early stages of designing new plant automation systems. 

SIMIT, the simulation platform from Siemens, is a comprehensive solution for applying simulation to test process automation systems and commission systems, and for operational tasks such as maintenance and operator training.
 

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