PROJECT HAWK

AJM CONSULTING WINS FUNDING TO DEVELOP INNOVATIVE REAL TIME PROCESS MONITORING SYSTEM FOR PROCESS INDUSTRIES

We are delighted that we have been selected by Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency for Yorkshire and the Humber, to receive a grant to assist the development of a project to develop an innovative real time advanced process analytics system. Part of this grant is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

We have already developed the existing MS2 process analytics system to improve manufacturing performance by identifying causes of variability in archived data, such as reactor characteristics or raw material properties. The new project (codenamed HAWK) will develop a sophisticated system which continually analyses current process data, rapidly detects complex faults, and by providing operator advice enables corrective action to be taken rapidly. It will provide a powerful, userfriendly and highly visual solution to major manufacturing problems.

Feedback from existing and potential clients in industries such as chemicals, oil, advanced materials, nuclear, pharmaceuticals and other process industries has highlighted the need for this system.

Jim Farmery, Head of Innovation for Yorkshire Forward said: “Yorkshire Forward’s Research and Development Grants aim to encourage private companies to invest in the development of new products and processes. AJM Consulting Services Ltd is reacting positively to customer feedback and is taking steps to ensure that their future needs can be met.”

Project HAWK will build on our experience in developing the existing successful MS2 historic data analysis system. Ease of use will be combined with powerful mathematical and visualisation techniques. Flexible interfaces will be developed, enabling the system to integrate with a wide range of process control systems. In particular, the new system will have sophisticated operator advice facilities based on expert system technology. Innovative algorithms will be developed, and the company will continue its close relationship with the Centre for Process Analytics and Control Technology at Newcastle University which has proven so successful in the existing MS2 system’s development.

Initially, three companies have agreed to act as development partners by providing access to their control systems and plant data for testing purposes. These will represent a variety of continuous and batch plant types and will ensure that the design meets industrial needs. ConocoPhillips, Syngenta and CPI’s National Industrial Biotechnology Facility are the existing partners. Partnerbased development worked very well indeed for the existing MS2 system. We are therefore very keen to involve other companies in the opportunities that the real time HAWK project will offer.

Plant systems which will be integrated to MS2 in the initial phase will include OSISoft’s PI, ActiveFactory from Wonderware and Emerson’s DeltaV.

We have invested in our own process control system (DeltaV) for testing and development purposes and it will be up and running shortly. Its first task will be to act as a test bed while we develop the OPC (Object Linking and embedding for Process Control) interface module within HAWK.

Click for more details on the released version of HAWK - MS2 Pinnacle Edition