PROCESS CONTROL
The power of prescriptive
Prescriptive maintenance is the talk of mineral processing today – a level beyond just predicting issues , it involves using machine learning to adjust actual operating conditions for desired outcomes . Paul Moore reviews tech offerings from three leading players
For a greater understanding into today ’ s advanced predictive and especially prescriptive maintenance solutions , and complementing some of the points made in this issue ’ s wider maintenance article , we first talked to Aspen Technology ’ s Marc Poualion , Senior Global Industry Lead , Metals & Mining and Pratibha Pillalamarri , Senior Product Marketing Manager .
They said that Aspen Mtell addresses the challenges encountered in the mining and mineral processing industry . “ Mining is an industry where unscheduled downtime can lead to substantial production losses , resulting in missed opportunities and increased maintenance costs – the financial impact of a single shift ' s downtime alone can soar into the millions . Aspen Mtell takes a proactive approach to maintenance , employing a range of monitoring technologies , including AI & ML , to provide extended lead times and accurate predictions of potential failures . By closely monitoring various operating parameters , the solution identifies early indicators of equipment degradation , facilitating timely maintenance interventions . This approach not only enhances asset reliability but also reduces operational costs , ensuring an uninterrupted flow of production .”
Integral to Aspen Mtell ’ s success they said are its innovative agents , combining engineering and data science expertise to monitor data streams . Aspen Mtell gathers asset data from current EAM systems to build an asset hierarchy , collecting operational data from various sensors such as temperature , speed , and vibration , as well as instrumentation and distributed control systems . The resulting agents employ a variety of monitoring techniques , from rules & conditionbased to AI & ML-based and can integrate
custom codes .
“ Aspen Mtell assists in agent building through features like Asset Templates and Aspen Maestro . Asset Templates simplify agent creation with predefined templates and industry-specific subject matter expertise , accelerating development and deployment while ensuring scalability . Aspen Maestro , a breakthrough collection of features , with AI-driven capabilities that simplify data preparation , automate critical sensor identification , and streamline the integration of domain-specific knowledge .”
Alert Manager empowers maintenance personnel to efficiently prioritise alerts , providing detailed information for a consistent and effective response to asset health issues . This ensures that critical problems are promptly addressed , and users can access detailed information on impending failures , including sensor contributions to specific asset issues .
For unforeseen issues , Aspen Mtell allows personnel to document their learnings , enabling swift and confident action on future alerts . This structured and collaborative approach streamlines maintenance work orders , ensuring timely review , prioritisation , and tracking . KPIs & dashboards provide a quick , visual representation of essential performance indicators and metrics , unifying the perspective on both plant and business performance .
Aspen Mtell they claim is the only solution in the market that enables users to tailor their
experience to specific monitoring needs . “ The flexibility to create customised interactive layouts including fleet views that offer a deeper understanding of the repercussions of cascading asset issues . User-friendly and configurable KPIs
IM last year toured Metso ’ s state of the art Performance Center in Santiago , Chile with Pablo Zuniga – Metso ’ s Remote Services Manager
and dashboards cater to diverse user profiles , delivering valuable insights for optimised workflows and resource allocation , thereby unlocking operational excellence .”
Enterprise System Interoperability is seamlessly achieved as Aspen Mtell integrates easily with different historians , EAM & CMMS systems , ERP systems , including SAP , and other Aspen Technology solutions . “ Integration with AspenTech Inmation™ eliminates data silos , and Inmation further enhances Aspen Mtell ' s performance by efficiently processing extensive data volumes , providing customers with the flexibility and scalability that unlock additional value .”
Particularly applicable to mobile assets , integration with AspenTech Inmation they told IM is tailored for situations where data is gathered in batches and periodically uploaded into the system for analysis . Additionally , Aspen Mtell is available on the cloud via AWS and Microsoft Azure , enhancing overall operational efficiency and performance . The solution is easy to implement , integrates seamlessly with current maintenance strategies , and can be deployed at scale using existing resources .
Emerson and AspenTech prescriptive synergies
In October 2021 , Emerson and Aspen Technology announced that the companies had entered into a definitive agreement to contribute Emerson ’ s industrial software businesses – OSI Inc and its Geological Simulation Software business – to Aspen Technology to create a diversified , highperformance industrial software leader with greater scale , capabilities and technologies . The deal closed in May 2022 , with Emerson owning 55 % of new Aspen Technology .
Poulion said that Emerson ' s AMS asset management portfolio integrates seamlessly with Aspen Technology ' s Mtell solution , combining to form an unparalleled reliability platform that is truly prescriptive in approach . “ Leveraging existing sensor data from Emerson and
Marc Poualion , Aspen Technology Senior Global Industry Lead , Metals & Mining
64 International Mining | JANUARY 2024