Open Process Automation Forum Face-to-Face Meetings

The Open Group’s Open Process Automation Forum conducted its initial face-to-face meetings November 16-17 in San Francisco.  There were 52 attendees at the meeting.  Almost every major process automation supplier has joined the initiative (ABB, Emerson, Honeywell, Schneider Electric, Siemens, and Yokogawa are now members).  End user members of the group are ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, Praxair, and Saudi Aramco.  Merck is also expected to become a member of the group.

Besides a much broader supplier presence, ARC took away several other key points:

1. The Forum will be structured and managed very similarly to the FACE Consortium of The Open Group.  The effort will be divided between a business and a technical work group.
2. ExxonMobil presented a new schedule for their proof-of-concept program, managed by Lockheed Martin (see figure).  Exxon promised to provide further and more detailed updates at the 2017 ARC Industry Forum in Orlando.
3. The Request for Quotations (RFQ) for the concept system will be delivered by Lockheed Martin to suppliers by the end of 2017.  ARC learned this week that the RFQ has been released by Lockheed Martin.
4. ExxonMobil’s current schedule calls for the delivery of the proof-of concept system in 4Q2017, followed by the kickoff of a program to develop and test an operational system by 4Q2020. 
5. In order to support the development of the operational system, The Open Process Automation Forum needs to have a standards document deliverable in 1Q2018.  The group agreed to target this date.
6. The development of an operational system may will involve at least one and possibly multiple system integrators.  ExxonMobil is also hoping that other end users will be interested enough to share in the operational system development and on-process testing.

    

Clearly, ExxonMobil and Lockheed Martin have not been able to hold their (perhaps overambitious) initial program schedule that they announced a year ago.  Bringing greater schedule integrity to the program will be an important requirement going forward.  ExxonMobil needs the program’s work products to retrofit its huge installed base of ageing automation systems.  Other end users and suppliers need greater confidence in the program schedule in order to continue to invest in the program and plan for the technology.

With the release of the RFQ this week, the program has reached an important milestone, albeit not on schedule.  Suppliers who did not receive an RFQ but who might like to bid and participate may contact me (hforbes@arcweb.com ) for more information about the process.

If you are interested in the Open Process Automation initiative, you should be sure to attend the ARC Industry Forum in Orlando, February 6-9, 2017.  It will be a major topic for that event.  See you there!