Paradigm shift - software solution for biofuel (distillery) and related industry sector

摘要

En el sector de proceso de manufactura así como en otros sectores, la tecnología de la información se ha convertido en una herramienta fundamental para incrementar la competitividad. En la administración de la planta, todas las partes interesadas en las operaciones, ya sean los directores, jefe de operaciones, ingenieros, y operadores de planta, deben tener acceso a las varias fuentes de información de la planta y las operaciones de inmediato y en tiempo real. Hoy en día los sistemas de control de procesos tal como DCS o SCADA restringen la comunicación dentro de la oficina central de control de la instalación. Hasta ahora los sistemas fuera de línea tal como el uso de Word/hojas de calculo y más recientemente el correo electrónico, son utilizados para compartir entre los interesados, la información de la planta y la operación tal como los datos del proceso, informes analíticos y de producción, diagramas comparativos y de solución de problemas. La tarea de compilar este tipo de información de la planta que se encuentra desparramada y datos de laboratorios para ser combinada de manera útil es un proceso engorroso y que lleva tiempo, además de ser susceptible a errores.%In the process manufacturing sector as in other sectors, information technology has become a vital tool in increasing competitiveness. In plant management, all the stake holders in the operations, viz top management, operations head, engineers and plant operators must have access to different sources of operations and plant information instantly and in real time. Today's process control systems e.g. DCS or SCADA restrict the communication within the central control room of the facility. So far offline systems e.g. use of word / spreadsheet documents and more recently emails, are used to share the operation / plant information such as process data, analytical and production reports, comparison and troubleshooting charts among the stakeholders. To manually gather such plant data which is scattered and laboratory data and to combine these into useful information is a cumbersome and time consuming process besides being prone to errors. Moreover, this may lead to delayed decisions particularly since data is not current as it is not supplied in real time. For an informed judgment, it is imperative that decision makers have ready access to plant information in real time. The combination of real time data - which can be tapped from DCS / SCADA and converted and stored in RDBMS using time series type database - and web enabled hosted application facilitates online information service to all users and decision makers, from anywhere, anytime, 24 x 7 through secured VPN or company Intranet (LAN) or WAN. This not only enhances the decision making process, but leads to operational excellence. With reference to case studies, this paper describes one such software solution framework called AlcoMate (designed and developed by Yaan). It has been configured successfully for distillery complex and is being tested in 3 different locations across the globe (Americas, India and South East Asia). Moreover, the AlcoMate framework is configurable for sugar industry complex, beverage industry (e.g. brewery complex, fruit juice and dairy complex), waste water treatment, process and other sectors as well.