IBATCH interactive batch operations system enabling operational excellence and competency transition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial process control and automation systems face challenges in achieving operation excellence and competency transition due to fragmented systems, reliance on process experts, and the difficulty in real-time data exchange across departments, leading to inefficiencies and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method for interactive batch operations that collect and transform data from various departments into a common repository, using digital twins for visualization and decision-making, enabling the determination of best alternatives for batch process operations and reducing dependence on expert knowledge.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If data is collected and integrated from different departments into a common repository, then decision-making efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates data from multiple departmental systems (production, quality, maintenance, supply chain) into a single common data repository, enabling unified access and integrated decision-making across the batch processing facility. This merging eliminates data silos and improves information availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a data transformation layer that acts as an intermediary between raw departmental data and the common repository. This layer standardizes and harmonizes data from different sources, reducing the complexity of direct integration while improving decision-making efficiency.
2Loss of information
If digital twins are used for visualization and decision-making, then operational insight is improved, but computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates digital twin copies of physical batch processes, equipment, and operations to visualize and analyze operational data. These virtual replicas enable comprehensive operational insight without requiring physical intervention, allowing operators to explore scenarios and monitor processes in real-time.
3Productivity
If real-time data exchange across departments is implemented, then operational excellence is improved, but integration difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal common data repository that serves multiple departments and functions simultaneously. This single platform handles data from production, quality, maintenance, and supply chain operations, enabling real-time exchange across all departments through a unified interface that reduces integration complexity.
4Adaptability or versatility
If expert knowledge is transitioned to automated systems, then dependency on experts is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual expert analysis and decision-making with automated data processing and analytics systems. The common repository and digital twin infrastructure automatically process operational data, reducing dependency on human experts while capturing and transferring their knowledge into systematic automated processes.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure provides an apparatus and method for interactive batch operations system enabling operation excellence and competency transition. The method includes collecting data related to a batch process from different departments within a batch processing facility into a common data repository; transforming the collected data based on provided intelligence; exploiting the transformed data in the common data repository; determining a best possible alternative for continued operation of the batch process based on the exploited data; providing a visualization of the best possible alternative of the batch process using a digital twin; and operating the batch process using the determined best possible alternative on a physical twin corresponding to the digital twin.