Emerson Launches Software to Keep Digital Twins and Control Systems in Sync

What happened:

A common problem for power and water utilities is ensuring that digital twins are in sync with plant operations, and leveraging digital twins to address this challenge is the focus of a new software capability introduced by Emerson. Ovation Curation Tool is the software that enables synching of changes in the operational control systems to the matching digital twin environments. 

The aim is to make sure that the simulations, testing platform and training systems are accurate representations of what is going on in the plant, minimising the risk of being mis-matched with outdated simulation set-up and data. The tool fits in with Emerson’s automation platform, Ovation, which is widely deployed in water treatment and power generation facilities.

Why it matters:

Digital twins are becoming an increasingly important part of plant operations. They are employed by utilities to test change to a system, train operators, evaluate the change results, and troubleshoot potential problems before changing in a live environment. But it’s challenging to keep a digital twin up to date. It is common to have to manually duplicate changes in production control systems to the various simulation environments. 

As the time goes on, the differences between the two systems can develop, which diminishes the value of the digital twin and enhances operational risk. To overcome this, Emerson has developed a new configuration software that will simplify the process of synchronizing and monitoring configuration changes from a single location.

Industry context:

While the focus has been on developing a ‘digital twin’, the attention is now turning to making sure that the digital twin is ‘usable and usable for a long term’. An outdated digital twin can result in sub-optimal testing, operator training inaccuracies and longer troubleshooting times. This challenge is especially important for critical infrastructure, like power generation and water treatment, in which reliability and continuity of operation is critical.

With automation of version control, change tracking and deployment processes, Emerson is addressing a challenge that many utilities may face as they adopt digital twins. The software’s change history and potential impact functionality also offers transparency throughout the plant, giving engineering teams greater insight into the impact of changes and a greater level of control over plant operations.