Hydrocarbon Processing - August 2022 - 16

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tion. The industry has progressed from
old technologies when plants were controlled
by pneumatic controllers. When
digital controls became available, industrial
producers saw significant improvements.
Processes were controlled more
FIG. 1. Industrial refining setting.
and optimize it based on the entire value
chain, from incoming raw material, energy
used (green energy), emissions compliance
and productivity to final finished
product output.
As industry detects abnormalities in
processes faster, personnel can take many
more planned actions prior to a failure.
If we run plant equipment to failure, we
risk having challenges during startup,
shutdown and, ultimately, we can jeopardize
the stability of the operation. When
abnormalities, or even variables trending
away from normal operations, are detected
early, planned actions can be taken.
Personnel can switch to spare equipment,
have required parts and expertise
on-hand for anticipated maintenance,
make repairs faster and have all equipment
back to a normal state much faster
when challenges are anticipated.
Beyond managing these abnormal
situations, autonomous operations enable
a higher degree of optimization. Leveraging
improved data analytics, AI and
ML can optimize industry operations.
We can minimally duplicate what the
best human operators do and make every
operator the best operator at the facility.
Our organization has been a member of
the Abnormal Situation Management
consortium for many years. Here, member
industrial companies lead studies
and work with other manufacturers to
reduce human error and help to make
operators more effective. Since our company
is both a technology provider and
a manufacturer of chemicals in our own
plants, we have a unique capability and
desire to improve operator effectiveness
for our customers' and our own plants.
HP: How has the industrial
evolution of control technology
benefited plants and
facilities today?
JU: Processing plants today operate
significantly safer, more efficiently and
more reliably than ever before. This has
been possible largely through automa16
AUGUST 2022 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
precisely than ever before. Data was
captured and stored electronically vs.
by paper chart recorders. As processes
were controlled better, industry was able
to optimize-the next level of advancement
came with advanced process control
(APC) where control technology
not only controlled input variables like
temperature, pressure or flow, but also
controlled output variables. With this advancement,
the process industry was able
to control quality parameters and optimize
production across facilities. This fueled
the development of soft sensors and
inferential matters that were early applications
of AI. In turn, this enabled prediction
and control of outputs like quality
parameters based on mathematical calculations
and correlations without the need
for many instruments and analyzers. This
evolution has established a strong foundation
that continues to develop into industrial
autonomous solutions today.
HP: Have you noticed an
increase in autonomous
solutions implemented by
industrial leaders?
JU: We absolutely see an increase in
autonomous solutions implemented by
industrial leaders. Most industries are
challenged to improve the safety, reliability
and efficiency of their processes,
and because autonomous solutions can
provide benefits in this area, we see interest
from most of our customers. As
with any technology advancement, we
also see leaders in adoption while others
take a wait and see approach. As the leading
industrial operators are experiencing
significant benefits in their projects, the
wait and see segment of customers will
start to catch up. Autonomous solutions
increase the ability to train new talent
faster as well as attract higher skilled
talent with an appetite for technology;
those early adopting customers are staffing
with the best and brightest.
As more autonomous technology is
applied to processes, we are better able
to connect remote expertise to support
producing sites-this has enabled the
use of remote hubs of talent for monitoring,
support and surveillance of enterprises.
This area developed rapidly in the
last two years as part of our customers'
pandemic response. By connecting support
remotely, industrial employers were
able to minimize exposure of their sitebased
workforce, as well as mitigate long
quarantine periods for those that would
have historically travelled to sites. As this
culture of remote support grew, the automation
industry quickly expanded the
use of remote technology. We are now
able to migrate customer automation
systems from older versions of software
to current versions using remote connectivity.
We can also provide support
to commission new startups without
having engineers travel to the construction
site, and we can test and prove new
installations with remote engineers that
have live connections and video feeds to
the industrial site.
HP: Are there specific controls
and remote solutions that have
the flexibility to fit any plant or
facility manager's custom needs?
JU: There are a few areas of autonomous
technology that not only fit any
plant's needs but that are becoming necessary
to most of them. First, anything
that is done must be done with the highest
levels of cybersecurity-it is important
that both the IT (information technology)
and OT (operational technology)
digital infrastructure are architected and
protected with adequate cybersecurity
protection. Once a cyber infrastructure
is created, the facility can enable remote
connections. By allowing remote views
or even control of processes, most plants
can improve their offsite support. From
simply enabling on-call weekend or afterhours
support, empowering leadership
to see what is being seen inside the plant
or connecting to corporate-level technical
teams, remote connectivity provides
significant benefits. Once remote
connectivity is established and initial
benefits experienced, some customers
progress to remote operations. By creating
control centers outside of hazardous
process areas or in remote geographies,
plants can establish higher levels of safety
and improve access to talent.
HP: What steps should a
plant/facility take to achieve
industrial autonomy? Is there
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