Brochures

From the inception of its Singapore Neste Renewable Diesel fuels refinery in 2007, Neste committed to the use of PDS ® for design, construction and maintenance of the plant. Since then, Neste has benefitted from an up-to-date, accurate digital plant model and from the reuse, standardization and automation provided by the system. Ten years later, Neste recognized that Intergraph Smart ® 3D was firmly established and proven in the market, and that costs and challenges of maintaining the legacy environment were beginning to mount; the time to update the future of the digital asset had arrived. INDUSTRY UPDATE » PDS ® 3D to INTERGRAPH SMART ® the shift worth making BY PATRICK MACKINLAY Recognizing the costs & challenges of maintaining a legacy environment • Eliminate requirement to maintain PDS skills for ongoing design and support; Smart 3D expertise is much more readily-available • Enable Neste to retire legacy infrastructure and software, simplifying its IT landscape • Unleash all capabilities of Smart 3D without being constrained by legacy system • Simplify the digital asset environment, enabling Neste to more easily report on and update data across the entire refinery SMART 3D … BUT HOW? Neste was faced with a choice: either migrate the existing plant model to Smart 3D or leverage tools such as SmartPlant ® Interop Publisher to reference the existing PDS model within a Smart 3D environment. Initially, Neste favored the reference option, believing that it would reduce data migration project risks and provide a satisfactory solution in the medium term. After discussion with various stakeholders, however, the migration option began to look increasingly promising. Neste, continuing a close and long-standing business relationship, contacted TecSurge to discuss the merits of the two approaches, and this consultation identified several factors in favor of migration: UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGE The Singapore refinery project consisted of three migrations: • Piping specification and catalog data in SmartPlant Reference Data (SPRD) needed to be enhanced, integrated and tested with Smart 3D • PDS physical model needed to be migrated to Smart 3D • Orthographic and piping isometric drawings needed to be configured and regenerated in Smart 3D Neste also required the preparation of a full Smart 3D hanger and support library to its specifications and to populate the migrated Smart 3D model with the resulting supports. PARALLEL ACTIVITY STREAMS The technical work began with a thorough consistency check between PDS piping specification and catalog data contained in the Neste SPRD database. This resulted in several corrections, after which Smart 3D interfacing was configured, and piping specifications were fully tested. In parallel, TecSurge began the development, configuration and testing of a Smart 3D hanger and support library to suit Neste's requirements. AUTOMATION PAYS DIVIDENDS The original PDS model did not contain pipe support graphics, but relied upon "logical" markers to indicate support locations and types. TecSurge used a combination of proprietary automation and manual effort to populate the Smart 3D model with the newly developed hanger and support symbols and assemblies. Once the model migration was completed, TecSurge used a combination of proprietary automation and manual effort to configure and regenerate the existing plant orthographic and piping isometric drawings. Close collaboration ensured an efficient and seamless delivery. A SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME An additional benefit obtained from this migration approach is that it delivered the results of a tailored Smart 3D implementation combined with the migrated model, allowing Neste to dramatically reduce the time to production compared with a more traditional sequential approach. The successful completion of this project means that Neste is set to gain all the benefits accruing from the adoption of Smart 3D, as well as the savings in support, infrastructure and training from retiring the legacy PDS environment. ■ Patrick Mackinlay, principal consultant at TecSurge, directs product management and technology for the company.

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