O-PAS Integration with MTP: Vision Becomes Reality

Keywords: NAMUR, Module Type Package (MTP), O-PAS, Integration, Demonstration, Upgrading, Open Process Control, TCO, ARC Advisory Group.

Overview

At the NAMUR General Assembly, 23 and 24 November 2023, in Neuss, Germany, Don Bartusiak and Sean Peterson of CSI demonstrated the first integrated MTP–O-PAS application. OPAF, NAMUR and ZVEI have all collaborated since the Open Process Automation (OPA) and Module Type Package (MTP) initiatives were conceived. In the demonstration, CSI showed that an early vision for integrated usage of both standards has become a reality. The potential of effort and cost efficiency for industry are considerable.

Feasible Path for Gradual Upgrading Control Systems OPA

MTP stands for Module Type Package, a standard developed by the NAMUR end user organization to standardize and facilitate the integration and control of modular process “package” units in modular plants. MTP provides support for HMI and control using high-level commands to transition between states of the services provided by each modular unit. The standard is being extended to cover safety and maintenance functionality, amongst other domains. For an in-depth discussion of MTP and its potential, see our article describing the integration of a package unit in an Evonik plant. 

O-PAS, the Open Process Automation Standard is a standard of standards developed to create interoperability among devices and automation hardware, portability of information among software solutions, and configurability of hardware independent of the software solution. This ARC blog provides a brief introduction. 

At the NAMUR General Assembly of 2017, Don Bartusiak (then with ExxonMobil), Jörn Oprzynski and Michael Kraus presented a concept showing the harmonization of O-PAS, MTP, and the NAMUR Open Architecture (NOA). The concept recognizes the potential of the combination of those standards to integrate an O-PAS compliant architecture with an automation system, process module or package unit with its own automation system, be it O-PAS-compliant or not. Amongst others, this represents a path forward for gradual transition to O-PAS in brownfield plants and the integration of package units into O-PAS automation systems.

Demonstration of O-PAS Integrated with MTP

In a continuous dialog, the organizations OPAF, NAMUR and ZVEI decided to realize six action items of which the demo described here is the first one. The O-PAS architecture for the demonstration consisted of a single Distributed Compute Node (DCN), running the Process Orchestration Layer (POL), the MTP-compliant control system similar to a recipe execution system that coordinates the actions of the process modules. 

The MTP standard calls the process modules Process Equipment Assemblies (PEA). For the demonstration, the PEA was simulated within and controlled by MTP-compliant control logic running in Phoenix Contact’s PLCnext hardware. The MTP-compliant control logic abstracted low-level sensor-to-actuator control logic into higher-level service aggregates such as “fill” and “dose.”

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