Technology

Digital transformation techniques by AVEVA

Greg Pada, vice president, head of engineering business at AVEVA. (Image source: AVEVA)

Greg Pada, vice president, head of engineering business at AVEVA, writes about overcoming business complexities with collaborative, data-centric engineering and design industrial cooperation. He says that this de-risks design and build processes to unlock value and sustainability gains for capital projects.

Against a complex backdrop of supply chain issues, geopolitical tensions and environmental crises, engineers are being tasked with designing and building a sustainable future for generations to come. They must execute capital projects within razor-thin margins, prevent cost overruns, adhere to tight schedules, and navigate intricate workflows. These challenges face brownfield and new projects alike and must increasingly factor in newer challenges such as lower-carbon processes and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Challenges

Digital transformation technologies, particularly industrial intelligence tools, can help. Within an integrated, intelligent ecosystem, internal and external teams can come together to transform value chains into agile, profitable and sustainable networks. Across geographies, industrial teams are already collaborating on common problems with colleagues from within their companies and from partner organisations.

However, they must frequently contend with data silos and a diverse mix of tools and disciplines. An open, agnostic digital backbone can help break down these barriers. Such a connected ecosystem enhances real-time collaboration and builds communities that can access the same intelligence to build solutions for complex, multifaceted problems together. With increased transparency, the design, build and handover stages of capital projects become less risky. In turn, businesses can reduce time to market for new products.

Secure data sharing is the game-changer. In a connected industrial ecosystem, engineering data becomes accessible to teams at all levels, regardless of where they are based—often with tools such as the digital twin.

Digital twins

While maintaining security and confidentiality requirements, these united workflows foster a flexible, collaborative work culture and help attract new talent. Business stakeholders likewise gain timely access to the information they need, promoting efficient collaboration. Several industrial enterprises are realising tangible benefits from just such connected, data-centric approaches to design and build.

Engineering processes become simpler. Teams at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, the US-based energy innovator, work to deliver clean, limitless power to the world. By sharing essential 1D, 2D, and 3D engineering data in the cloud, remote and hybrid teams can design and build simultaneously. As they develop data models, they can add complex details specifying how each component relates to the next.

This has improved accuracy, reduced re-work and slashed project times, while eliminating IT overheads. Real-time collaboration helps optimise industrial operations. Yinson Production helps the energy services industry improve safety and sustainability with its autonomous floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units. The maritime contractor is involved across the entire project lifecycle, from engineering and build to operations and decommissioning.

Examples

As business has expanded, Yinson has required more control of its data and the ability to structure it better. Using a cloud-based data management system together with a digital engineering suite, Yinson teams can now collaborate around real-time data dashboards and view operational assets in context. This speeds up maintenance and execution, all within the same solution. With the software, greenhouse gas emissions are now monitored daily instead of monthly, putting Yinson on track for reductions of 30% by 2030.

As we can see, connected data solutions offer the competitive advantages needed amid an increasingly complex engineering landscape. They can help avoid the time and budget delays that are common to capital projects, while improving project sustainability.
Accenture estimates that 95% of all billion-dollar projects are delivered late or over budget.
EPC 4.0—digital transformation of EPC companies using industry 4.0 technologies—fosters innovation and empowers teams to deliver projects on time and within budget.

Their benefits encompass cost-effectiveness, sustainability, and innovation, all of which are vital for the growth and prosperity of EPCs and owner operators in today’s competitive market. As markets continue to grow more challenging, building a collaborative environment to support data-centric engineering and design teams is the way forward for simplified engineering.

In short, enabling collaboration across the industrial ecosystem can transform business outcomes for people, profit and planet.

Msheireb Properties and Schneider Electric partner to enhance smart city capabilities in Doha

Schneider Electric will conduct a three-month Proof of Concept (POC) project. (Image source: Schneider Electric)

Msheireb Properties, Qatar’s sustainable property developer, and Schneider Electric have signed an MoU to explore enhancing the smart city capabilities of Msheireb Downtown Doha (MDD).

The collaboration will leverage Schneider Electric's expertise in digital automation and energy management. As part of the agreement, Schneider Electric will conduct a three-month Proof of Concept (POC) project to demonstrate the capabilities of its Smart City Integration platforms.

MEP facilities

The POC will explore applications for traffic management, proactive and predictive maintenance of facilities for corporate tenants, predictive analysis for MEP facilities, and corrective decision-making to address issues for individual residents before complaints arise.

The partnership between Msheireb Properties and Schneider Electric marks the latest effort in the real estate developer’s ongoing commitment to enhancing and expanding its sustainable infrastructure in Qatar.

Present at the MoU signing ceremony were Eng. Ali Al Kuwari, CEO, and Eng. Faisal AlMalki, COO of Msheireb Properties, alongside Manish Pant, Schneider Electric’s Executive Vice President for International Operations, and Louie Jarouche, Schneider Electric’s Country Manager for Qatar & Kuwait.

"We are excited to partner with Schneider Electric to further enhance the smart city capabilities of Msheireb Downtown Doha. Urban environments are some of the biggest drivers of energy consumption and carbon emissions globally, a trend that is only expected to grow in the coming decades," said Al Kuwari. "This collaboration aligns with our vision to stay on the cutting edge of tech innovation and adoption of sustainable, energy-saving solutions that use data analytics and artificial intelligence to provide a hassle-free and interconnected experience for our visitors and tenants."

Louie Jarouche added, "Schneider Electric is committed to making cities and communities to be more innovative and energy-efficient. This enables both living and working spaces to be sustainable, connected and responsive to the needs of its dwellers. We are eager to work with Msheireb Properties to realise the potential of smart city technologies in enhancing wellbeing and creating resilient, and innovative urban environments of the future.”