(PRWEB) July 26, 2010
The US American chemical company Momentive Performance Materials is the second largest producer of silicon and silicon derivatives worldwide. The company is also a leading producer and developer of quartz and special ceramics. At its German location in Chempark Leverkusen around 600 employees produce silicon and silicon derivates, which find applications in many different fields (Fig. 1) ranging from the automotive branch and the electrical industry to skin care products and uses in the health care sector. Production in Leverkusen extends over 6 % of the whole Chempark and occupies several buildings. Over the last three years the existing paper documentation of the plant has been successively converted to a central electronic documentation system. This involved storing information on more than 20,000 devices such as e.g. sensors, actuators and valves.
Looking for the Right System
The conversion to electronic plant documentation was driven by organizational and economic considerations. Despite a reduction in the number of maintenance staff, reliable functioning of the plant had to be ensured. Because there was no central documentation at the start of the project, maintenance staff were spending a very large part of their time looking for documentation and then entering the changes that had been made (Fig. 2). It was hoped that by converting to electronic documentation a lot of time would be saved and reaction times would be shortened.
However, first the appropriate plant documentation system had to be found. “We did a test run with one system, but it didn’t deliver the result we wanted”, says Karl-Heinz Graf, Manufacturing FAM Leader for I&C at Momentive (Fig. 3). “At this point, employees of the firm of Rösberg, which supports us with services in various other areas, drew our attention to their products Prodok and LiveDOK, which are very suitable for our purpose.” Prodok is an I&C-CAE system which enables an integrated planning process with uniform rules (Fig. 4). Prodok ensures consistent documentation of plant information not only during planning, but also in operation, maintenance and modernization. Its continuous, consistent documentation ensures that plant documentation really does reflect plant reality. If all plant components are entered in the system, the documentation can be viewed with a web browser using the web-based software LiveDOK from every PC on the Intranet. From PC workstations or mobile devices for which a LiveDOK licence is installed, documentation can be altered and updated. (Fig. 5). An integrated full text search makes it simple to locate the necessary documents. “After discussion with Rösberg, we finally decided to adopt this solution”, Graf explains, “not only because it could fulfill all our requirements, but because it became clear that with it we could also expect extension possibilities which made sense for the future.”
Easy to Implement and Convenient to Use
After a training session for their own employees, the software was commissioned at Momentive. The fact that the user can influence the structuring of the electronic documentation brings advantages right from the start. Thus, for instance, an already-existing documentation structure can be mapped one-to-one using the software (Fig. 6). In the next step, existing documents have to be integrated into the system and missing documents have to be found or replaced. “We detailed two employees for this task”, says Graf. “For every device the make, type, data sheets and operating instructions were recorded, but also measuring ranges, special features of each device and particularities of the material. Inside the plant we generally have at least Ex-Zone 2. So since our equipment is almost always used in Ex-Zones, it is also important for us to store information about PTB and ATEX approval for every device.” Additionally, information on maintenance cycles can be documented for individual devices. To set up the electronic data documentation, documents that already exist as electronic files are converted to a PDF format and filed in a database. For this purpose the Prodok-Transformer can manage over 200 file formats from CAD, CAE, Office and Multimedia. “With some documents, for instance very old PDFs, we still had difficulty with the conversion. But Rösberg simply adapted the import function for the missing file formats.” Documents which only existed in paper form were scanned-in and also added to the body of e-documentation as PDF files. At the same time, missing documentation was acquired, so that now the documentation for the plant components stored in the system is really complete.
Tried and tested in practical use
However, the system can do much more than consistently store all data once and for all. It also brings numerous benefits in practical operation, enabling plant documentation to be continuously kept up to date in the future. When there are changes in the plant, these can be entered in the documentation with so-called ‘Redlines’. “This doesn’t alter the original documents in any way”, Graf explains. “Imagine a transparent foil being placed over the original document and the changes being noted on the foil – it’s a bit like that.” Thanks to the change-tracking function, it is possible at any time to establish what was changed when, and by whom.
However, in order to ensure full functionality and Ex-protection, regular check-ups are essential. For this purpose, Prodok can be used to generate periodic inspection lists which give automatic reminders of statutory maintenance. Another advantage for the Leverkusen plant operators is the possibility of retrospective documentation. Thus for instance they can simply attach TÜV inspection records or Ex-i safety certificates for monitoring stations to the existing documentation, and the documentation is up to date at all times. This function is also very helpful for the various hand-drawn sketches of plant components, which could not previously find a ‘good home’ (i.e. be logically filed). PCs and scanners are to be found everywhere in the plant (Fig. 7). Here, the hand drawings can be simply scanned-in and integrated into the documentation.
As well as the clear documentation structure, a full text search makes it very easy to locate documents. For instance, if the TÜV announces a visit in advance and requires certain documents, all that needs to be done is to enter the search words in the system and print out the documents that have been located. “This used to take several hours,” Graf remembers. “Today it takes a few minutes.”
Secure for the future
In the meantime, at Momentive nearly all the plant components have been integrated into the documentation. However, this does not mean that the documentation project has reached its limits. The operators see useful extension possibilities for the future. When all data have been entered and proven in practice, a possible next step to be envisaged is a link-up with the existing SAP-System. Another extension option under consideration in Leverkusen involves mobile operator units on which LiveDOK could also be used. “Some parts of the plant change so quickly,” Graf explains the problem. “if we send employees into the plant to collect information to update the flowcharts, it can happen that something has changed again at one end of the plant by the time they reach the other end.” With mobile operator units, on the other hand, all information can be collected on the spot and entered in the central documentation. This means that all the information is immediately available in a central database.
Generally not only the up-to-dateness of the stored data improves, but also the quality. At the same time, using Prodok saves time because all documents are stored centrally and can be easily located. Frequently-used ones which, when needed, were often already in circulation somewhere, are now easy to find and can be viewed by several people simultaneously. In a plant where more than 20 employees often need to access the same documentation at the same time, this is an enormous advantage. Although the data are centrally stored, they can be accessed from every PC on the company premises, meaning that information is available much faster and is always close at hand.
About Rösberg
Rösberg Engineering GmbH, founded in Karlsruhe in 1962, offers tailored automation solutions created by nearly 100 employees working at five locations in Germany and two in China. The services it offers include basic and detail engineering for the automation of process and production plants. RÖSBERG also has extensive project planning and application experience in the use of all usual brands of programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Many companies also put their trust in RÖSBERG for the configuration, delivery and commissioning of distributed control systems, as a manufacturer-neutral system integrator. A state-of-the-art workshop for the production of customer-specific cabinets completes the service offer.
In the area of information technology, RÖSBERG has enjoyed international success for more than 20 years now with its database-based I&C-CAE-system PRODOK. In 2007, RÖSBERG presented Live-DOK, a system which offers efficient access to electronic plant documentation, and ensures maintenance and consistency of documentation over the whole life cycle of the plant.
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