Performance Digital Twins Accelerate APM

Overview

A digital twin is a dynamic virtual representation of a physical entity using real-world data synchronized from multiple sources. Performance digital twins apply to the long operate and maintain phase of an asset’s lifecycle. They enable modern asset performance management (APM) including work flows and business processes to optimize operating assets for improved ROA. Major firms in the continuous process industries are deploying asset digital twins to advance the development of twins for operations.

Digital Twin

The term “digital twin” has become popular with a wide variety of interpretations. The first step for a meaningful review requires a definition:  A digital twin is a virtual representation of a physical entity and is dynamic using real-world data synchronized from multiple sources.

Each digital twin has these key aspects:

• A physical asset – equipment, unit, line, or plant
• Virtual representation of the asset
• Data federation or continuously synchronized data transfer

• Integration with related applications for automated business processes

In operations and maintenance (O&M), use cases span across preventing bad events, improved decision support, project execution, operations support, and cross-functional collaboration.

Scale from Equipment to Plant

The nature of a digital twin tends to change as the target asset scales up from small (equipment) to large (a plant or city).

• Small twins for a specific piece of equipment or unit are often an algorithm for predictive maintenance (PdM), equipment operating performance (operator guidance), and/or energy management.
• Plant or city twins involve an enterprise application for information sharing, business process automation, and collaboration using a 3D model as the user interface for navigation and dimensional measurements.

Twins Across the Asset Lifecycle

To date, the plant digital twins involving a 3D model have focused on the design and build (D&B) portion of the asset’s lifecycle. These project digital twins encompass the various business processes for design and construction of an upgrade or new plant. They are beginning to be used for continuous handover to transfer engineering information to the O&M portion of the assets’ lifecycle. After handover, a new set of business processes and use cases arise. Unless the twin is adaptable to the needs of the business during O&M, the resources to support and maintain the digital twin rapidly decay and its viability withers. A sustainable digital twin is designed to be open for adaption with new applications and needed business processes.

Performance Digital Twin

A rapidly emerging area for digital twins is after handover during the long O&M phase of a plant’s lifecycle[1]. For these performance digital twins, use cases involve information and business processes for turnarounds, training, reliability analysis, inspection routing, maintenance planning, operational enhancements, continuous improvement, and problem assessment and resolution. A diversity of disparate data sources are federated and unified.

Visual Work Environment for Planning and Collaboration

The 3D model provides a user interface for navigation that is used by the broad array of constituents involved in supporting operating assets – reliability, inspections, maintenance, engineering, and more. Software objects are layered onto specific assets and contain links to information about that asset. A federated data approach avoids data duplication and the associated problems with synchronization. Project planning includes use cases like determining if a new asset fits through existing openings or does a maintenance technician need to bring a ladder. Team coordination includes familiarization and assuring all are correctly pointed to the same asset.

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Keywords: Digital Twin, Asset Performance Management (APM), Operate & Maintain (O&M), ARC Advisory Group.