Thomas Walther, Siemens, explains how a coordinated portfolio of electrification, hardware, and software solutions for both core production and secondary processes can play an important role in the sustainable digital transformation of the cement industry.
Cement producers need to strike a fine balance – their plants need to be cost-efficient and deliver performance, and yet also operate flexibly, energy-efficiently, and with maximum availability. Moreover, there are growing environmental regulations that need to be met, along with the very highest safety standards for people, machinery, and materials. The challenge is enormous, but so too is the potential for sustainable innovations.
Sought-after complete package based on the ‘digital first’ principle
Given the many challenges faced by the industry, the solution is obvious – a well-thought-out portfolio of electrification, hardware, and software solutions that optimise both core production and secondary processes. The guiding principle here is ‘digital first’. “Siemens Xcelerator offers customers a straightforward, flexible, and open digital business platform that enables them to set up their digital enterprise even faster and accelerate their transformation,” explains Thomas Walther, Vertical Lead Minerals at Siemens Digital Industries. Siemens Xcelerator is designed to help businesses get to grips with the increasing complexity of production processes and enables them to make faster progress throughout the entire product and production lifecycle. This gives rise to new potential for decarbonisation, more efficient use of energy and resources, and progress in terms of a circular economy.
“Other benefits include improved productivity, efficiency, optimisation, and a longer plant service life,” Walther explains. One example is integrated plant engineering. This ensures an end-to-end data flow that provides engineers from different disciplines with exactly the information they need throughout the planning stage.
In addition, a digital twin enables engineers to work in one system at every stage – from project planning to commissioning and all the way through to maintenance – and to conduct virtual 3D tours and training sessions before the plant is built. As an option, a simulation project can be created in SIMIT, the simulation software from Siemens. This means, for example, that most tests can be performed in simulation mode during commissioning, which substantially reduces the project’s commissioning time. Once the plant is up and running, SIMIT can also be used to train operating staff and test new ideas for optimising the plant.
All in all, cement producers get a complete overview of the full product and production lifecycle of the entire supply chain ecosystem. This gives rise to well-founded, data-driven decisions and an improved ability to adapt to dynamic market conditions.
Integrated automation from the field to the distributed control system
In the cement industry, a smooth and efficient production process is crucial. This is where CEMAT comes in – an integrated process control system that has been specially developed for the industry and controls all stages of cement production intelligently. “CEMAT combines excellent process automation with digitalisation and precise, highly reliable process instrumentation,” Walther explains. By ensuring maximum transparency, the solution contributes directly to the productivity and efficiency of cement works.
For over 50 years, cement producers all over the world have been putting their trust in CEMAT – a flexible, innovative process control system that has been further developed on an ongoing basis. Over time, the hardware and software platforms were replaced by the SIMATIC S5 and SIMATIC S7 programmable logic controllers to keep pace with technological advances. Standard modules were also replaced and upgraded from one version to the next. Thanks to this approach, each new version features technological innovations, but the core functions of the modules have always remained the same. From the very beginning, CEMAT was not only a software library, but also, in one sense, a matter of philosophy. Nowadays, the CEMAT library is standard, not only in the cement industry, but for mining and other sectors too. As a process control system and library, it offers users and project developers all the tools they need for their work. System integrators and customers do not need to set up and maintain their own libraries, but instead benefit from the standards of SIMATIC PCS 7 and the industry-specific functions of CEMAT.
One key advantage of CEMAT is its real-time transparency. All relevant production data can be called up at the touch of a button, so operators can run their plants in an efficient, foresightful way. The system is also able to improve process quality and energy efficiency by providing evidence-based recommendations for optimisations. CEMAT detects even potential faults at an early stage, before they cause problems that will prove costly.
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