Journey to the Refinery of the Future

Summary

Thanks to an introduction by technology supplier, PTC, ARC Advisory Group recently had the opportunity to visit Texmark’s large petrochemical processing facility in Galena Park, Texas to discuss that company’s digital transformation journey.  Transformative work is being accomplished at this mature facility through a partnership of technology providers focused on developing the refinery of the future.  A key takeaway from this visit is that the successes on the “people” side of the equation are what really pull this effort together.

The goal of this Refinery of the Future (RotF) project is to develop, test, and deploy the appropriate Industrial IoT technologies to enhance the most important operational functions identified within Texmark’s process manufacturing environment.  The project brings together several technology partners (the RotF Partner Consortium) that have made investments to help solve pressing, real-world business problems in the downstream sector and prove why Industrial IoT matters.  This vision combines advanced technologies, including analytics software and sensored devices to generate real-time insights, provide more complete automation and oversight, and reduce the risk of human error.

ARC’s visit to the Texmark facility reveals some key activities/strategies needed to succeed in digital transformation:

• Identify your key pain points, or the “why?”
• Partner, partner, partner
• Get all stakeholders involved and invested from the start

Feeling the Pain

Like most manufacturers, the call to action came from economic pain.  For Texmark, this “pain” initially came from its liability insurance partner.  After an insurance audit, the partner encouraged Texmark improve its maintenance practices with repeatable, auditable policies and procedures.   Texmark obliged, but the efforts made were not enough.  Despite incremental improvements, Texmark witnessed a sizeable increase in its deductible.  This prompted a bit of soul searching and a call for help to various business connections. 

Looking to Technology Partners for Help

Texmark worked further with the insurance company to better understand the liabilities it needed to address.  It knew it couldn’t achieve success on its own.  The company looked to new and existing technology partners to help overcome its asset management-related challenges.  Due to its aging control system, Texmark contacted its existing technology partner,  Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) for help.  HPE extended an invitation to its IoT Innovation Lab in Tomball, TX. 

Texmark CEO, Doug Smith, shared that he envisioned that a select team of two to three people would make the trip.  Linda Salinas, VP of Operations, chose to bring members from maintenance, operations, the lab, engineering, and administration groups. The company rented a bus and the team traveled to the HPE lab. 

At the lab, the team was introduced to a Flowserve Industrial IoT pump demonstration.  The demonstration presented a fully instrumented pump with data analytics and collaborative tools.  As the team went through the demonstration, different members from Operations and Maintenance began to see how the technology enabled workers to be more effective with their time.   This dynamic created an instant acceptance of the technology.  This mix of key personnel from all aspects of the company became key in the adoption of technology. Why? All the impacted departments now understood the vision and bought into it.  

HPE then conducted a series of workshops with Texmark personnel to define use cases based on the challenges Texmark employees faced.   These use cases were segregated into five categories:

• Predictive Maintenance & Analytics:  Providing access to real-time assessments on asset performance to enable proactive maintenance planning
• Video as a Sensor:  Enabling automatic notification of suspect activity on plant property, including trespassing, theft, and unwelcome/hazardous wildlife
• Worker Safety & Security:  Integrating instruments capable of collecting and processing video, audio, & biometric data to assess the health and operational condition of workers in the field
• Connected Worker:  Striving to bring plant operators/operations into the 21st century with intrinsically safe devices that deliver actionable plant data in real time
• Asset Integrity Management:  Allowing for optimized inspection, repair, and workload planning by providing asset maintenance, performance, and location/tracking information

Making Refinery of the Future Happen

Based on the workshop findings, HPE pulled together other technology providers to create a consortium to implement the vision.  One aspect of the approach is the focus on a minimally viable solution; in other words, “no Cadillacs.” Texmark began with building out foundational technologies and implementing a wireless mesh network.  New servers, sensors, and software were also implemented.  The full list of partners/consortium members includes HPE, CB Technologies, Aruba, Deloitte, Intel, PTC, National Instruments, OSIsoft, Flowserve, Allied Reliability, SparkCognition, GuardHat, and RealWear. Under the direction of CB Technologies, these partners contribute to the different solution frameworks, enabling the simultaneous deployment and unification of a wide range of hardware, software, and operational technology (OT).

Mr. Smith recounted an anecdotal incident for ARC.  During tank car loading, the team is required to photographically journal or record that the hatches are fastened and valves shut.  Unfortunately, in this case, the digital camera malfunctioned and the team didn’t have a replacement camera. However, one member recognized that the part of the mobility solution had a built-in camera that could be used instead.  This is an example of how the technology works hand in hand with the people, especially at the endpoints. Accordingly, Texmark has found how important it is to have the technology available for the workforce, since it enables people to explore how to better apply the solutions to their everyday work or find new ways to utilize the tools.

Conclusion

The Texmark story highlights several trends that ARC research has unveiled concerning successful digital transformation efforts.  Entrenched companies can be stuck in old cultures with outdated mindsets.  History repeatedly proves that companies slow to adapt will fade out.  In our consultations with end users, ARC finds that plenty of technology is available to accomplish all types of goals.  However, end users frequently hit walls when they try to scale across the company. Digital transformation provides the pathway to success for industrial  organizations.  Yet, mistakes, false starts, and dead-end investments are all too common.  To modernize effectively, organizations need a digital transformation-specific planning method to ensure initiatives are aligned with business goals, grounded in operational realities, and designed to scale.  Texmark accomplished this through the workshops.

Those going through digital transformation quickly realize that managing the human element can be the most difficult aspect.  However, as they work through their journey, people will begin to better understand the human-centric benefits.  Enabled by technology, the workforce will become more empowered to identify challenges, adapt to circumstances, and find new ways to solve problems.

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Keywords: Texmark, PTC, Refinery of the Future, Digital Transformation, Industrial IoT, Industry 4.0, ARC Advisory Group.