Control Talk - When the Virtual Plant Came, the Window to the Future Opened

In the January 2011 issue of Control, Greg McMillan and Stan Weiner discuss the use and application of the virtual plant in The Virtual Plant - Better than the Real Thing.

I've known Stan and Greg for over 20 years now.  I first met both of them while a young systems engineer, working on the control systems for Monsanto projects. As technology fellows at Monsanto, Stan and Greg had the responsibility to make sure the investment their company made in process automation delivered business results.  Both of them can tell stories of nightmarish startups and control system deployments that were plagued with configuration mistakes, bad control design, or operators that didn't know the process or the controls.  At Monsanto during their tenure, the use of dynamic simulation for control system testing, FAT, and operator training become mandatory.  The simulation systems of the time were invaluable tools for saving time and money on process automation projects.  However, like all advances in technology, the solutions available today (like our MiMiC Simulation Software) are easier to use, more powerful, and cost effective.  As Stan says in the article , "Then came the virtual plan, and the window to the future opened".  

As discussed in the article, there is no better time than now for process manufacturers to consider this technology.  Operations managers at process plants have greater challenges than ever before.  Worker safety, environmental stewardship, process uptime, and conservation of plant resources have been common goals for plant operations for the last several decades.  However, today additional challenges are stretching the limits of plant operations making the job of running a process plant more difficult than any other time in history. 

These additional challenges include:

• An increased demand for experienced operators due to retirement of experience operators and the difficulty in finding skilled plant operators.
• Increased government oversight and regulation adding a management burden on top of tight margins.
• A legal environment where operations management can be held liable for their actions or inactions on operational issues.
• Increasing global competitive pressure on product prices and operating margins.

Operations managers have a powerful tool available to help combat these challenges.  The Virtual Plant is an enabling technology that allows process plants to address these issues and other operational challenges.

It would be very hard to find two better authorities on the successful use of process automation than Stan Weiner and Greg McMillan.  Process operations managers would be well advised to heed their advise and look into deploying a virtual plant of their own.

Other resources for learning more about the virtual plant:

• Greg McMillan's Blog - Modeling and Control, Dynamic World of Process Control
• The Promise of the Virtual Plant
• Business Case for the Virtual Plant Using MiMiC Simulation Software

I look forward to your comments, questions, or suggestions.
Hope to hear from you soon.

Mart Berutti, 01/27/11