BASF's automation lifecycle

Ludgwigshafen, Germany - Chemicals major BASF SE’s headquarters site in Ludwigshafen, Germany, is at the centre of the development and application of new concepts around the lifecycle management of process control systems.
The work at Ludwigshafen is led by the company’s center of excellence for automation technology, which focuses on the contribution of process control & automation systems to efficient, reliable plant operation.
With its many plants and systems in different sizes and phases of life, BASF has an ideal field of application for new concepts in process control engineering, notes Joachim Birk, director of the center.
“Together with our partners, we are constantly evaluating novel concepts, as automation technology is a critical component in the safety, productivity, and availability of plants,” said Birk. “We need to ensure this contribution with continuous system care.”
For the centre director, one of the central tasks of lifecycle management is coordinating the different life cycles of plants and automation systems in Ludwigshafen, where plants provide, on average, 30 years of operation.
“In comparison, life cycles in automation technology are about 10 to 15 years for hardware and just five years for software components. “We have to match and align these cycles, always keeping in mind that we can only implement new features or components when production operations permit this,” said Birk.
“In some cases, we can migrate systems during operation, but typically we need a plant shutdown to perform them efficiently,” he continued. “The top priority is not affecting plant operation in any negative way - innovations must pay off in daily production.
“We expect suppliers to respect these cycles with their products. This means that we need to develop a common understanding for those phases in which we can carry out upgrades.”
The intensive work of the last 10 years has already paid off for Birk, who noted that BASF has succeeded in getting its suppliers to offer not only a price for the initial investment but also for the lifecycle costs, for example, for 15 years.
This, he said, makes the maintenance of automation technology a plannable and, above all, calculable component of the system lifecycle.
“We can assess how much a system will cost us in the course of these 15 years; this is a major step forward, and we were also one of the trendsetters in the industry with this approach,” explained Birk.
Another aspect is standardisation of automation technology. BASF actively promotes this both in terms of the compatibility of different systems and within the system software.
For example, BASF uses standardised software modules for engineering Simatic PCS 7 process control systems. These modules represent typical control system tasks that are frequently needed.
BASF has developed this tool kit together with Siemens, one of its preferred suppliers for process control systems.
“We use the tool kit worldwide in all the new BASF plants. Instead of having an individually programmed stand-alone system, we can work with a control system that is largely composed of standard components and uses customised functions only where expressly needed.
An additional benefit of this approach is that it helps us migrate systems more efficiently. We have good documentation and can easily access all required information. This definitely reduces the project complexity that you have with current control systems significantly,” said Birk.
“Our teams save time during engineering, and the tool kit makes many tasks simpler, plus we can reap additional benefits over the system lifecycle.”
However, Birk believes it is essential to evaluate standardisation in terms of the contribution it makes to efficient lifecycle management: “It is important to find the right balance between standardization and customization, keeping the system simple and efficient. And we need to talk frequently with the project teams on-site to make sure the people who have to work with the systems at the construction site or in the plant share our approach.”
Sharing and exchanging information are important for Birk, also to establish a good working relationship with suppliers and partners.
“Siemens is not just someone who we have been working with for a long time, building a lot of trust. Both companies share common objectives, so we can openly discuss and evaluate ideas and concepts in the area of process control engineering.” Birk explains.
“For example, we can assess together which innovations - for instance, in the area of operating concepts, IT security, or remote maintenance - should be introduced where and when.
“We also carry out beta tests together and match development activities to requirements. This dialogue is also important for us as it helps us put our own concepts to the test and remain open for new ideas. I think that our job is not so much to predict the future but to actively shape it - and Siemens is a partner that is already well positioned for this.”
In particular, developing joint ideas and speaking with each other is an integral part of the corporate culture at BASF. “Consequently, we have many young and well-qualified employees, whom we train intensively,” says Birk.
“We actively promote the exchange between specialists - not only within our BASF community for automation technology but also with our partners. Fostering knowledge in our teams is an important aspect when you talk about lifecycle management.”
On a more technological level, Birk sees more untapped potential in the area of standards: “We ­collaborate actively in committees such as NAMUR to improve and promote existing standards and to define new ones. It is our firm belief that systems and products have to be widely established in the market to be sustainable and maintainable in the long term. As a result, we clearly pursue a strategy of using only mainstream products wherever possible.”

Birk is also keenly watching another hot topic that is much discussed in NAMUR: “Integrated engineering of process and automation technology certainly still holds enormous potential for improving efficiency and transparency of plant and engineering data throughout the lifecycle.

This is definitely something that our strategic planning will look into.”is main concern, though, is for the BASF plants, not only in Ludwigshafen: “The top priority is that automation technology has to make a contribution to plant operation. And I see this as one of the most exciting and central questions that we have to be able to answer: what is the operational benefit?”

Therefore, BASF and Siemens are currently developing an appropriate infrastructure within the manufacturing execution system (MES) to be able to compile and transform system data into KPIs for personnel in various groups and at various levels.

“The KPI cockpit, which we are currently adapting together with Siemens to meet our requirements in the area of chemical production, will help us argue our case.

“With it, we can provide operation and management with KPIs that enable them to compare and evaluate their plant performance quickly - and this will trigger a request for advanced and efficient automation systems that comes from the operational level, because they see what a benefit it offers for them and their plants. And that is what really counts.”