Processing, December 2020

assessments to be invaluable This can start with something as simple as having an outside expert visit a plant to interview operations quality supply chain maintenance reliability and safety teams to identify their top challenges Once the business needs are identified a more detailed assessment can look deeper into areas like data work ows system interfaces data sources data consumer personas homegrown solutions and IT OT networks e goal is to identify what changes are needed to achieve a desired improvement in business performance As part of this process detailed analysis is essential to understanding if the desired improvement is in fact feasible Good governance Digital initiatives need leaders who can not only manage the overall implementation but also ensure its success by building influence in their organization gaining sponsorship from executives and driving the adoption of new technologies Oftentimes culture and acceptance of the status quo are the biggest impediments to success For example building consensus around the value of new technologies is critical Digital initiatives can fizzle out if plant operators or other teams do not agree on their value Additionally the use of custom homegrown digital solutions can often hinder the adoption of digital technology Often our clients struggle with developing and maintaining enterprise software solutions which can result in hidden risks and higher costs Change management is also vital Digital technology is poised to transform how chemical plants operate at a time when processors are struggling to protect retain and attract skilled workers Leadership is needed to rede ne work ows identify new skills needed and hire and train workers For example with a proper digital strategy operations training can be enhanced with digital job aids AR VR experiences and videos served up on mobile devices Here the training program certi cation and apprenticeship program durations can be reduced A data strategy A recent Rockwell Automation survey found that six in 10 business leaders in the chemical industry said the ability to aggregate data across multiple systems is a challenge a ecting their digital initiatives Data access and availability was also a challenge for nearly half of respondents Many specialty batch chemical processors for example Enabling technologies like real time analytics and dashboards can help quickly identify problems such as quality cycle time variation and raw material usage deviations still collect and manage batch data manually They first need to identify what data they want to collect and how Next they need to contextualize the data and aggregate it into actionable insights Here enabling technologies like real time analytics and dashboards can help quickly identify problems such as quality cycle time variation and raw material usage deviations More advanced solutions like predictive analytics can also help detect and alert operations before potential issues can impact production Meanwhile many continuous high volume processors have been using advanced control and optimization AC O and point solution analytics for years As a result their priority should be deploying scalable solutions like an IoT platform that can integrate their MES asset performance management ERP nance and maintenance systems to create a holistic data model that can help improve decision making across their business Lighthouse assets Starting a digital initiative with a test or lighthouse asset can give chemical processors key learnings before they roll out a digital initiative across their installed base ey can learn for example if their digital initiative delivers the estimated value And they can identify what elements of the initiative can be standardized and quickly replicated across other plants or regions Another key nding can be that a digital initiative simply does not work or does not deliver the expected value It can be a di cult discovery but accepting failure in a single asset can help processors cut their losses and instead move on to the next improvement opportunity Scalable implementations Early technology decisions can help make digital initiatives more easily scalable For example one chemical processor that developed its own MES in house found that the system could not be expanded or updated after the person who developed it left the company Commercial o the shelf COTS solutions are developed for scalability and supported by a global service team can help processors avoid this problem Continuous benchmarking is also important to help chemical processors understand the value of their initiatives as they are scaled out Processors should measure the performance of each asset before and after an initiative is implemented Comprehensive cybersecurity As the demands for data driven operations increase there are more entry points for potential cyber threats e cyberworld can no longer be viewed separate from the physical world forcing processors to include cyberrisks into their periodic risk assessments Chemical processors need to secure their operations to protect what matters most to them and to make sure they adhere to regulations like CFATS Every chemical processor should be using basic cybersecurity hygiene As de ned in the NIST cybersecurity framework this involves identifying an organizations attack surface using security measures to protect against risks vigilantly monitoring for and detecting threats and having response and recovery plans in place for potential incidents Processors should also confirm that their partners and vendors support their overall cybersecurity For example they should make sure their automation vendors are striving for compliance with ISA IEC 62443 the worlds only consensus based cybersecurity standard for industrial control applications New possibilities eres nearly no limit to how digital technologies can help chemical processors get more from their aging assets and limited workforces Solutions like analytics can help workers better monitor operations and make more proactive decisions to get ahead of problems such as if a mixer is headed toward failure or a batch is trending o spec And digital twins can help technicians more quickly repair assets through digital work instructions and guided maintenance For those just beginning their digital journeys using the lessons learned from other digital transformations can help them realize this new era of possibilities with fewer missteps or missed opportunities David Stonehouse leads Rockwell Automations global consulting services team In this role he works with companies to understand the potential value of digitization and analytics across their manufacturing network ensures that it is aligned with the firms strategy and that a sustainable path forward is developed Stonehouse has over 25 years of experience as an operations leader and management consultant His operations experience includes plant manager general manager multisite management and global supply chain leadership Gordon Bordelon is the chemical industry manager for North America at Rockwell Automation He is an experienced chemical business development and technical consultant in both continuous and batch chemical manufacturing Bordelon has worked as an end user and as a solutions provider in petrochemical life sciences and specialty chemical industries utilizing a wide array of control technologies and process improvement methodologies He is based in South Carolina Rockwell Automation www rockwellautomation com DECEMBER 2020 www processingmagazine com 21 Courtesy of Rockwell Automation