HP March 2022 eBook—Energy Transition - 11

Digital Transformation
The product lifecycle is concerned
with the information flows and controls,
beginning at the early product design
stage and continuing through to the product's
end of life. The existing standards-
particularly, in the areas of computeraided
design (CAD) and computer-aided
manufacturing (CAM)-have greatly improved
engineering efficiency. In addition,
these standards enhance modeling accuracy
and reduce product innovation cycles,
thus contributing directly to manufacturing
system agility and product quality.
The production system lifecycle focuses
on the design, deployment, operation
and decommissioning of an entire
production facility, including its systems.
Areas of standards that support production
lifecycle activities include production
system modeling data and practices;
production system engineering, operations
and maintenance; and production
lifecycle management.
The business cycle addresses the functions
of supplier and customer interactions.
Standards for interactions among
manufacturers, suppliers, customers, partners
and even competitors include general
business modeling standards and manufacturing-specific
modeling standards and
corresponding message protocols. These
standards are the key to enhancing supply
chain efficiency and manufacturing agility.
Each of these dimensions comes into
play in the vertical integration of machines,
plants and enterprise systems
called " the manufacturing pyramid "
(the central pentagon in FIG. 2). In smart
manufacturing, autonomous and intelligent
machine behaviors-including selfawareness,
reasoning and planning, and
self-correction-are key, but information
resulting from these behaviors must flow
up and down the pyramid. This integration
from machine to plant to enterprise
systems is vital, and it critically depends
upon standards.
Standards-enabled smart manufacturing
integration allows the following:
1. Access to field and plant data for
making quick decisions and for
optimizing production throughput
and quality
2. Accurate measures of energy and
material use
3. Improved shop floor safety
and enhanced manufacturing
sustainability.
Generally, existing manufacturing standards
provide how-to instructions for designers,
engineers, operators and decision
makers to conduct disciplined activities
within their domains. They also facilitate
communication between stakeholders
across domain borders, borders of the
manufacturing system hierarchy and between
lifecycle phases. Standards and reference
models can offer an organization
through a baseline for common lexicon
for consistent engagement across different
functions and geographies. At the most
basic level, reference models and standards
will help with business cases, technical
feasibilities and value proposition
evaluations. At a more detailed level, some
might lend process maps and templates
that help identify assets, applications and
data, as well as potential resource allocations
and security requirements-all of
which are helpful for scale should prototypes
be proven. However, standards still
point toward individual processes and use
cases vs. a complete smart manufacturing
concept.
Driving global standards. Manufacturing
organizations seek a manufacturing
architecture that will remain consistent
with a broader enterprise architecture for
global visibility, collaboration and control,
while still being flexible enough to support
individual site goals. This is a challenge,
especially for those who have inherited
multiple divisions and sites, as well as
multiple manufacturing styles and models
(i.e., in-house, virtual or contracted).
Global standardization of the endto-end
supply network is done through
common process standards that are transparent
and supported by clear key performance
indicators (KPIs). These standards
provide a foundation for organizational
consistency, without prohibiting local
flexibility, reliability and innovation.
While local execution is enabled by localizing
global process standards to market
specific best practices that consider the
varying asset structures, other considerations
(such as cultures, regulatory compliance
and other local factors) have historically
created constraints. These best
practices are continuously improved to
meet business objectives that are continually
being reshaped by market dynamics.
Global process standards drive consistency
and reliability in manufacturing,
but deciding how far to extend them into
local manufacturing operations without
compromising agility is hard. The balance
is tipping to a point where site autonomy
and control over manufacturing systems
is giving way to manufacturing standards
mandated by enterprise architects. At the
heart of these debates is how far to take the
standardization of processes, information,
technology and solutions, while allowing
for specific local plant or functional needs.
FIG. 3 provides a process and system map
where organizations can define how far to
extend global standards into local manufacturing
operations, and how to follow
local best practices without compromising
reliability and performance. Enterprises
can define the point (or " locus " )
where unified and global standards, along
with best practices and systems, align to
deliver value to the business.
Beyond this point, the lack of local
FIG. 2. Smart manufacturing standards (adapted from NIST IR 8107).
flexibility, as well as the time and cost to
establish standards, fails to deliver business
benefits. For example, a precision
parts producer that supplies piston pins
to multiple automotive OEMs worldwide
requires consistent quality. This producer
Hydrocarbon Processing | FEBRUARY 2021 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
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HP March 2022 eBook—Energy Transition

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