Modular Plant Construction Planning via Functional Unit Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for creating construction plans for modular industrial plants are largely manual and time-consuming, requiring human engineering and expertise, which hinders quick reconfiguration and optimization of production processes, especially in industries like pharmaceuticals where rapid changes are necessary.
Innovation Solution
A method for generating a construction plan for modular plants using a flow chart of actions, decomposed into functional units, and matched with module descriptions from a catalogue, allowing for automated selection and interconnection of physical process modules, enabling faster and more reproducible plant design without the need for constant human intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual engineering methods are used to create construction plans for modular plants, then expertise and flexibility in handling complex processes are maintained, but the process becomes time-consuming and slow to adapt to changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual engineering processes with an automated computer-based system that uses algorithms to generate construction plans. The system automatically maps process flow charts to module descriptions in a catalogue, eliminating the need for manual engineering while maintaining the ability to handle complex pharmaceutical processes through automated computational methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated system serves itself by automatically selecting appropriate modules from the catalogue based on process requirements, interconnecting them according to the flow chart, and generating the complete construction plan without human intervention. The system uses its own embedded rules and algorithms to make design decisions that previously required human expertise.
2Loss of time
If automated methods are used to generate construction plans, then speed and consistency are improved, but the ability to handle complex pharmaceutical processes may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the automated construction plan generation is verified against the original process flow chart and module capabilities. The system can iterate and adjust its selections to ensure that the generated plan accurately represents the intended pharmaceutical process, maintaining design quality while achieving automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent prepares module descriptions in advance with detailed capabilities and parameters specific to pharmaceutical processes. This preliminary structuring of information allows the automated system to reliably handle complex processes by matching process requirements against pre-characterized modules, ensuring quality without manual intervention during actual plan generation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If modular plants are designed for quick reconfiguration, then adaptability to product changes is improved, but the complexity of managing module interconnections increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the plant design into discrete, standardized modules with well-defined interfaces and capabilities. Each module is independently characterized in the catalogue, allowing them to be easily selected and recombined for different pharmaceutical products. This segmentation simplifies reconfiguration by reducing the management complexity to selecting and connecting predefined building blocks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a universal catalogue of module descriptions that can be applied across different pharmaceutical processes and products. The standardized interface definitions and capability descriptions allow the same set of modules to be used for multiple different products, reducing the complexity of managing interconnections while maximizing adaptability.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method (100) for generating a construction plan (1a) for a modular plant (1) that is to execute a given industrial process, comprising the following steps: • providing (110) a flow chart (2) of the industrial process, said flow chart (2) comprising a sequence of actions (21-28); • providing (120) at least one catalogue (4) of module descriptions (41-46); • decomposing (130) the flow chart (2) into functional units (31-36) with at least one educt input (I), at least one product output (O) and one or more actions (21-28) leading from the one or more educts to the one or more products; • searching (140) the at least one catalogue (4) for module descriptions (41-46) that match to functional units (31-36); and • for each functional unit (31-36) for which at least one matching module description (41-46) is found, inserting (150), into the construction plan (1a), the corresponding physical process module (51-56).