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modular automation approach sub- control over all systems; batch manage- cheaper, since individual modules can standardised, off-the-shelf to conven-
divides the conventional control system ment; alarm management; condition be replaced, upgraded or repaired with- tional monolithic approaches, modu-
into a set of independent building blocks monitoring and advanced asset man- out the need to take the entire system lar automation can also help chemical
that represent discrete processes, each agement for optimal process effi ciency; offl ine. Accompanying the benefi ts of companies address the challenges of a
equipped with their intelligence which and the provision of secure, high- greater fl exibility and effi ciency, modu- shrinking workforce and their reliance
can then be fed back to the central con- capacity data storage and visualisation lar automation offers plant operators the on costly EPCs to design, implement
troller. While a central controller is still for highly granular process information potential to realise a substantial reduc- and maintain automation systems.
required, many of the control functions analysis and reporting. tion in engineering development, testing
it would previously have handled are and commissioning costs. Since process Standardisation and innovation
reallocated to smaller, less expensive As the orchestrator, the DCS acts equipment assembly (PEA) modules As a leader in the design and imple-
controllers managing each module. as the brain of the production process. come pretested and fully automated, mentation of control systems for the
Feedback collected from individual ser- the only confi guration required is to the process industries, ABB has consis-
Compared to conventional mono- vices is processed and then used to pro- overall process fl ow based on appro- tently championed an approach to modu-
lithic systems, modular automation vide directions to each process module. priate services. Factory acceptance testing lar automation that is based on open
provides the fl exibility for plants to All information relating to each module – simulation is also simplifi ed, with no technology standards. Encouraging inno-
devise solutions that meet their exact and the current status of the automation need for application programming test- vation and interoperability between
needs. Performing a specifi c function, system as a whole – is available to the ing. Similarly commissioning time can systems and components from different
individual modules can be readily re- operator on the HMI of the DCS. be shortened by up to an estimated 30% automation vendors, standardisation
Source: ABB
not new in itself. It’s an idea that has tion systems have been designed around confi gured, maintained, upgraded, or since extended I/O and loop checks are offers greater choice to the market, pro-
been widely employed for decades, a central controller that is responsible replaced when required without signi- Facilitating quicker time to mar- no longer necessary. motes competition and avoids locking
both in the design of industrial plants for managing all plant-wide executive fi cantly impacting on the performance ket, greater uptime, simplifi ed scaling customers into infl exible proprietary
and also in other sectors such as pre- functions. Modular automation pre- and uptime of the automation system through use of standardised units, and Devolving automation control func- solutions.
fabricated residential construction and sents a more fl exible, service-oriented as a whole. The module layer itself lowered production costs, this ‘plug- tionality also facilitates the collection of
shipbuilding. Here the use of stan- ‘plug-and-produce’ approach that is contains several pre-automated modu- and-produce’ concept makes modular data from separate modules. Rather than ABB has an active presence in the
dardised and pre-tested unit operations increasingly being embraced by chemi- lar units, each offering encapsulated automation particularly appealing to dealing with all data that is consolidated relevant NAMUR study groups on Auto-
modules to perform different functions – cal, biotech, pharma, life sciences, food & process functions as services. Module chemical, pharmaceutical and biotech at a single point, this granular approach mating Modular Plants and Modular
such as reactors, fi ltration units and beverage and other industries as they connectivity is via OPC UA, with a plants. Modular automation allows pro- can be valuable in optimisation of indi- Automation. Published NAMUR
dosing systems – can signifi cantly re- look for ways to boost the agility of description language for every module ducers to rapidly fl ex and scale their vidual parts of the production line. Modu- recommendations are submitted to
duce overall engineering effort, cost their production processes. specifying its interface to the backbone processes and systems in response to larisation also supports plant owners’ national and international standardisa-
and commissioning time. It can also network. And while each module re- the demands of their customers and the ‘cybersecure by design’ strategies, with tion bodies as proposed standards. The
allow more straightforward reconfi gu- Modular automation: plants within quires its software – for example for wider market. As well as making new the ability to implement robust compart- modular automation solutions used in
ration at a lower cost if there’s a need a plant controlling pump functions – they are products far quicker and easier to pro- mentalised security safeguards within today’s process engineering plants are
for the plant to create new products. A cornerstone of Industry 4.0 – not concerned by what’s happening in duce, this enables plants to increase or each automation zone. In contrast with based on the VDI/VDE/NAMUR 2658
characterised by ubiquitous connected other modules. decrease production capacity with less monolithic systems where operation of standard. ABB has used this set of speci-
Despite the popularity of this modu- devices and the widescale digitalisa- engineering effort. Process fl ows can an entire plant can be halted by a secu- fi cations as the basis to offer process
lar approach to the construction of pro- tion of processes – modular automation Modular orchestration be modifi ed rapidly via re-parameteri- rity breach, modular automation systems plants the fi rst commercially available
duction sites, the modularisation of the allows faster and more effi cient process Within this modular architecture, sation and reconfi guration rather than allow potential cyber threats to be con- modular automation solution that’s
automation systems that govern plant implementation, together with the abi- the role of the traditional Distributed demanding laborious and time-con- tained more readily with less likelihood based on MTP (Module Type Pack-
processes has lagged. To date, process lity to scale capacity by numbering pro- Control System evolves to assume a suming application programming. of needing to halt production. Cyber- age) technology. Originally published
functions and process modules have duction up and down and improving high-level orchestration role, manag- security solutions can also be implemented in 2019, the VDI/VDE/NAMUR 2658
only been partially automated – for ins- capability as well as the speed of exe- ing operations and supervisory control Engineering effi ciency in standardised automation modules on standard covers both the module engi-
tance by the use of remote I/O boxes. cuting product changes. In this sense, of individual process modules that can Through its adoption of stan- a ‘write one, deploy many’ basis, reduc- neering and plant engineering compo-
Today, the automation of process mod- modular automation can be likened to be regarded as encapsulated services. dardised modules and interfaces, ing development and rollout costs. nents of an automation system. This in-
ules is not widely standardised. This creating several ‘plants within a plant’, In this model, the orchestration system modular automation also affords plants cludes the MTP, a fi le which defi nes the
means that the integration of individual with semi-autonomous operation of triggers production processes, gathers the opportunity to realise greater engi- This modular approach to process modules’ functions and interfaces and
modules into a plant’s overall automa- discrete modules making each element feedback from each of these services neering efficiencies with a conse- automation is particularly well suited enables them to be readily integrated
tion system still demands signifi cant of the chemical production process and returns further commands to each quent reduction in costs. Processes can to the specialised needs of fi ne chemi- into the process control system. Other
engineering effort, both by automation more fl exible, more manageable, more module. Characteristic features of this be designed and pre-tested based on cal production that’s characterised by aspects also covered by the evolving
experts and process equipment experts. readily scalable and more effi cient. orchestration system include an HMI the module services, and without the small volumes, short production runs or multi-part standard include HMI inter-
(Human Machine Interface) that gives need to use real hardware. Similarly, parallel production of limited quantities faces, cross-communications, safety
Monolithic production line automa- From a functional perspective, the the operator high-level visibility and maintenance is frequently easier and of multiple products. Providing a more interfaces, diagnostics and alarm man-

174 Chemical Weekly July 30, 2024 Chemical Weekly July 30, 2024 175

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