A digital twin is a digital replica of a physical asset using a 3D model and/or math algorithms. A 3D digital twin of a plant is often used for collaboration among those using engineering data and documents during the lifecycle of the plant. This starts during design and build including FEED, design, construction, and commissioning. The digital twin becomes the vehicle for continuous handover of engineering data and documentation to operations and maintenance. For O&M, the twin can be extended with algorithms that provide predictive maintenance, process optimization, and energy management.
Siloed groups cause missing engineering information, poor business processes, and a plethora of inefficiencies. The lack of access to engineering information remains a chronic problem for large construction projects. Often, handover becomes a dysfunctional “document dump” for transfer of drawings from design to operations.
A 3D digital twin of a plant contains representations of assets using software objects that contain links to information about the real asset. A digital twin becomes the basis for information sharing and collaboration among the engineering teams. When everyone has access to the same information, projects become easier to manage for delivery on-time, in-budget, and within specifications.
This session provides case stories that explore the rapidly evolving application of digital twins in plants.