Reducing Commissioning Efforts in the Process Industry Through Open Standards

This paper proposes a streamlined framework for commissioning process systems using open standards such as Data Exchange in the Process Industry, Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture and IEC 61499. The proposed workflow focusses on the automatic generation of Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture entry points and software generation, enabling interoperability across different platforms while maintaining a vendor-neutral approach. This approach reduces manual engineering efforts while minimising the risks of inconsistencies in the data. Moreover, the proposed workflow is scalable and capable of adapting to future industrial needs and digital transformation while reducing the time to market of process systems. The proposed workflow is validated through a case study that involves the commissioning of a water process demonstrator. This case highlights how the use of open standards and vendor-neutral approaches can streamline design workflows, minimise manual engineering tasks and improve flexibility and interoperability across the entire process lifecycle. The paper also identifies limitations within current engineering tools and offers recommendations to further enhance the commissioning in the process industry.