Unified Plant Model for Heterogeneous Engineering Data Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems face challenges in efficiently monitoring and managing process and production plants due to heterogeneity in engineering systems, lack of unified data management, and difficulty in maintaining data consistency and up-to-dateness, especially across different stakeholders and suppliers, which complicates operational management, maintenance, and root cause analysis.
Innovation Solution
A method that involves extracting topology and operating data from multiple engineering systems to create a digital model of the plant, using result data in a standardized format to optimize operational management, and providing a device for receiving and processing these data to create a unified model for monitoring and maintenance purposes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If data is exchanged between engineering systems via import and export processes, then each system can create its own plant documentation, but the up-to-dateness and consistency of the documentation deteriorates due to manual updates and lack of version management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges data from multiple heterogeneous engineering systems into a unified data model that represents the plant architecture. By combining result data from different systems (process engineering, automation technology, etc.) into a single standardized model, the system achieves both the versatility of multiple systems and the consistency of unified documentation through automated synchronization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (the unified data model and associated software) that sits between the heterogeneous engineering systems. This intermediary automatically extracts, standardizes, and integrates data from various sources, eliminating the need for manual import/export processes while ensuring consistency and version control across all documentation.
2Ease of manufacture
If documentation is available as PDF or TIFF documents, then it can be generated by individual systems, but the evaluability and further processing capability of the documentation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital copy of the plant documentation in a structured, machine-readable format (unified data model) that preserves all information while enabling further processing. Instead of relying on static PDF/TIFF images, the system generates editable, queryable digital representations that can be automatically evaluated and integrated with operational management systems.
3Ease of operation
If the topology is stored in the form of programs, then it can be used by SCADA systems, but the complexity of analyzing and revising programs increases when system changes are made
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the topology representation from program code to a standardized data model with defined parameters and structures. By changing the form of the topology data from executable programs to structured data that can be automatically processed, the system maintains ease of use in SCADA systems while dramatically reducing the complexity of updates and revisions.
4Reliability
If a unified data model is created from multiple engineering systems, then consistency and automated evaluation improve, but the complexity of integrating heterogeneous systems increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the integration process into distinct, manageable components: individual result data extraction from each engineering system, standardized data transformation, and unified model assembly. This segmentation allows each system to be integrated independently through standardized interfaces, reducing overall integration complexity while maintaining consistency.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for monitoring a process and/or manufacturing plant (12) comprising a plurality of components (44) and planned using a plurality of engineering systems (14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24), comprising the steps of: - providing first result data (26) for at least a part of the components (44) using a first of the engineering systems (14), - providing second result data (28) for at least a part of the components (44) using a second of the engineering systems (16), - extracting topology data describing an arrangement of the components (44) within the process and/or automation plant (12) and operational data of the components (44) from the first and second result data (26, 28), and - creating a model (50) for the process and/or manufacturing plant (12) based on the topology data and the operational data.