Integrated collaborative engineering and modelling software can save 30%

Mark de Guiran, AspenTech’s vice president of business consulting for EMEA, says that by modelling their processes and examining potential improvements, using its software’s ‘what ifs’, they could be increasing capacity while cutting costs – and improving profitability. Now, however, the company has gone further, integrating conceptual and basic engineering into its modelling software, using a master data model. The result, says de Guiran, is that engineers, throughout plant and factory design and development phases, can work towards optimised goals together and therefore much faster. “It means they can do the analysis in simulation, cost estimation and equipment design, all in one single collaborative environment,” he says. “We’re allowing a new level of collaborative engineering throughout the lifecycle – and we’re also providing seamless transfer of information to Intergraph etc, as well as Excel datasheets, making it much easier to re-use the data.” AspenTech has considerable form in the process industries, particularly the oil and gas and refining sectors. de Guiran gives the example of using the company’s simulation software, at the plant design or refurbishment phase, to challenge the number of columns required for processing and associated heat exchanger and pumping plant. However, he also insists that the company is in discrete manufacturing, citing performance management and supply chain solutions in the pharmaceutical industry. “We allow them to manage secondary manufacturing and then, on the engineering side, to model and scale up their batch processes.”