COMOS Plant Manager
From Integrated Engineering to Integrated Operations
Issue 3/2012
3D visualization
Acquisition of VRcontext
strengthened COMOS
portfolio
Chemical
Industry
Reference Evonik
Power Plant
Industry
Reference BWSC
Interview
with Dirk Wegg about trends
in the oil & gas industry
“ The results delivered by COMOS meet
our expectations. COMOS very quickly
provided significant and quantifiable
improvements in productivity and
reductions in project times.”
Lili Sun, Sr. Vice President, Sinopec Engineering Incorporation
2 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
Editorial
Dear readers,
At this time, the plant management of the
future is being discussed by experts at many
conferences and trade fairs. These events
provide the ideal platform for exchanging information on trends, requirements, the latest
developments, and innovative practical solutions in the process industry. For example,
plant designers and owner operators came
together at the Digital Plant Conference
2012 in September and examined the topic
of holistic plant management throughout the
entire life cycle of an industrial plant. In the
scope of this event, we had the opportunity
to announce the takeover of 3D experts
VRcontext by Siemens.
The acquisition and integration of the successful VRcontext product Walkinside represents a valuable addition to our COMOS soft-
ware range in the areas of 3D visualization
and training software. Apart from the familiar
2D solutions, we can therefore now offer fast
access to 3D engineering data from the basic
and detail engineering stages. Along with realistic 3D visualization and easy operation,
the powerful software impresses with data
management in real time and a capability to
handle very large data volumes. You can read
more about COMOS Walkinside on pages six
and seven of this edition of the COMOS Plant
Manager.
In this issue, we also report on the successful
use of COMOS by our customers Evonik in the
chemical industry and BWSC in the power
plant industry. Read about the latest benefits
provided by our service and support system
and our extended training program. Of course,
Doc COMOS has another useful tip for you.
This time, it relates to executing a query faster. In the Event Calendar, you will find events
at which we can discuss the efficient management of your plant together. Take advantage of the opportunity and speak to us. Your
regional COMOS contact partner will be happy to make an individual appointment to talk
to you in detail about your specific requirements.
I hope you enjoy reading this issue of
COMOS Plant Manager.
Yours,
Andreas Geiss
Vice President COMOS Industry Solutions
Andreas Geiss
Vice President
COMOS Industry Solutions
3 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
Contents
Contents
In this issue you can read about:
05 3D visualization and training software
Acquisition of VRcontext strengthened
COMOS portfolio
07 Chemical Industry: Reference Evonik
Standardization supports accelerated
plant design
10 Power Plant Industry: Reference BWSC
Design of power plants in interdisciplinary
database
12 Interview with Dirk Wegg about
trends in the oil & gas industry
“Data-centric development and operation
of plants with COMOS could potentially
solve an industry problem that has plagued
us for decades.”
15 News
Mobile plant management, Service
and support newsletter, Sales and service
partners for Romania, Best IT company in
Denmark, Event Calendar, Training
program expanded, Tips & tricks
4 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
3D visualization and training software
COMOS portfolio significantly strengthened
by the acquisition of 3D experts VRcontext
On September 26, 2012, at the Digital Plant congress in Würzburg,
the acquisition of VRcontext S. A. on October 1, 2012 was officially announced. With this acquisition, Siemens has acquired one of the world‘s
leading experts in 3D visualization and training software. This further
strengthens Siemens‘ established position in the industrial software
market. The market-leading software Walkinside will be integrated in
the COMOS product portfolio.
From the start of the new fiscal year, the
product will be available under the trade
name “ COMOS Walkinside” and will expand
the extensive portfolio with powerful 3D visualization throughout the entire plant lifecycle.
The Walkinside software is currently used in
more than 200 companies for the visualization
of complex data models, primarily in the oil
and gas industry; for plant operation and
maintenance; and for simulation and training.
Even today, COMOS Walkinside can provide
considerable added value, particularly in
plant operation and maintenance. By linking
the geometric objects of the VR model with
the engineering data from COMOS, they can
be used throughout all phases of the plant
lifecycle. Attractive and realistic visualization
of the current status of the plant is possible
through direct access to all information, independent of the 3D system. This allows maintenance and servicing work to be planned,
5 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
»
3D visualization and training software
“The integration of the Walkinside 3D visualization and training software of our
long-standing partner VRcontext into our industrial software portfolio will benefit
our customers significantly. Using intelligent 3D models can make plant engineer-
ing and operation safer and more efficient in many sectors of the industry,” states
Eckard Eberle, CEO of the Siemens Industrial Automation Systems Business Unit.
simulated and executed efficiently in the 3D
model based on constantly up-to-date and
consistent data. In addition to this, it is also
possible to access information linked to a
COMOS object (work permits, data sheets,
maintenance intervals, etc.) at any time.
COMOS Walkinside offers a combination that
is unique on the market, with simple operation and realistic visualization along with permanent availability of the plant data. This
ensures efficient data management in real
time, as well as the ability to handle the largest possible data volumes. Even extremely
complex models, such as those produced for
complete offshore drilling platforms or FPSO
(Floating Production Storage Offloading)
units, allow a virtual walkthrough in real
time.
COMOS Walkinside also finds profitable application in the training of field operators. The
software allows personnel to be trained realistically in the virtual model of the real plant
while the plant itself is still under construction. These training scenarios include the fast
locating of objects or components in the
plant, the planning and execution of maintenance work, and the simulation of faults. In
“multiple avatar mode“, this training allows
the participation of the entire operations
team together in the same virtual model. This
avoids the high costs involved in sending
staff to a plant that is still under construction.
At the same time, staff can be prepared efficiently under safe environmental conditions
for their later deployment.
With the integration of Walkinside in the
COMOS portfolio, customers profit from even
greater productivity and additional benefits
throughout the entire value chain of plant
management. The skills brought together in
COMOS Walkinside will also be integrated increasingly in development and support, etc.
and therefore increase the investment protection for customers.
You will find more information on
the advantages of COMOS Walkinside
in the video
6 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
(6:35 minutes)
Chemical Industry: Reference Evonik
Standardization supports
accelerated plant design
Effective planning of chemical plants through optimized engineering
The chemical company Evonik has been pursuing a holistic approach
to plant design for some years. Strictly defined xml files within a very
modular working environment act as the core of this concept. All data
is saved in a central database. The company is currently developing standards for P&ID creation with the target of unified and accelerated plant
design.
Researchers and engineers at Evonik cooperate very closely on a global basis in order to
facilitate the rapid market launch of innovative products. Nevertheless, the design of correspondingly tailored production plants generally still takes several years. This planning
period can only be minimized if the individual
planning phases are merged more closely and
overlapped more intensively. In this context,
the utilization of information generated within the scope of basic engineering throughout
the further planning process represents a suitable approach. Using a procedural guideline,
P&ID (piping and instrumentation) flow diagrams can be generated from the process
flow diagrams created during this phase. The
guideline is to cover approximately 80 percent
of the information contained in a flow diagram. The earlier initial P&ID flow diagrams
are available, the faster can initial plant costs
be calculated.
Standardization in basic
engineering
The design of chemical plants can be accelerated by means of an extensively applied standardization concept. Analyses implemented at
Evonik Industries show that the share of imperatively individually planned plant parts is way
lower than expected. The implementation of
standardizations in the still very complex field
of P&ID creation therefore represented an obvious lever. Time expenditures both in terms of
The design of tailored chemical production
plants generally still takes several years.
»
7 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
Chemical Industry: Reference Evonik
As one of the world‘s leading companies in the specialty chemicals industry, Evonik Industries employs
the COMOS software solution for plant designing.
planning and plant cost calculation can be significantly minimized through the introduction
of standards. “Initial considerations regarding
standardized P&ID creation were already discussed 20 years ago. However, we had to
shelve these considerations as no suitable software tools for the realization of such standardization were available back then”, recalls Dr.
Dorothea Schwarz, project manager at Evonik
Industries AG.
Holistic software solution for knowhow bundling
Over the course of time and with various software developments for plant planning, this situation has changed. Meanwhile, the chemical
company employs the COMOS software solution for plant design by Siemens. Amongst
other things, it is used for the creation of P&ID
flow diagrams for individual users. This objectoriented software is based on a uniform database. With its engineering block technology, it
represents the core of the standardization concept. These e-blocks consist of a query tree
and a graphical component, which adapts to
the answer behavior. The planners are thus reliably guided through the decision process on
the basis of blocks. At the end of the process
chain, a flow diagram is generated in which
every line, measurement, and apparatus is interlinked with a procedural decision. These decisions partially go into great detail. Yet, especially more complex units and genuine
“know-how goodies”, which constitute the
specific Evonik knowledge, require manual reworking. As the standardized queries are carried out very time-efficiently, ample leeway is
available for such reworks. The e-blocks form
an integral part of the general planning database and are seamlessly integrated in the
COMOS working environment. Furthermore,
data consistency is ensured at all times. As the
e-blocks can be very easily supplemented by
further information, every decision can be immediately assessed with regard to costs. This
facilitates the rapid identification of “expensive” versions.
User-friendly interface for eased
planning
The plant engineers are currently working
with a prototype developed by the chemical
company. This prototype features a query tree
structure, which is based on an expert system.
For P&ID planning, the engineers answer concrete questions on specific subjects via a userfriendly interface, for example “Is an inflow
armature in the feed supply required?” or
“How many feed supplies in the column are
required?”. Traffic light colors indicate whether further planning decisions have to be made
by the user. Defined e-blocks are incorporated
in the P&ID flow diagrams in accordance with
the plant engineers’ answers. All prepared
planning steps can be immediately graphically
implemented and displayed by the software.
All decisions are documented and can be revoked, if required.
Time savings with basic planning
The application of the developed standards resulted in a considerably optimized P&ID creation process at Evonik Industries. What took
up half a day in the past can now be realized
“We expect significantly
reduced planning times from the
application of the COMOS e-block
technology,” states Dr. Dorothea
Schwarz, project manager at
Evonik Industries AG.
within roughly 45 minutes. “We expect significantly minimized engineering times from the
application of the COMOS e-block technology.
These time savings are then invested in the
development of intelligent solutions which »
8 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
Chemical Industry: Reference Evonik
Countering the impending loss of
innovative strength
The uniform database of COMOS
supports interdisciplinary workflows on the basis of consistent
data throughout all phases of
the plant lifecycle.
are matched to our customers’ requirements
even more closely,” comments Dr. Schwarz.
Furthermore, the uniform database supports
interdisciplinary workflows and smoother coordination between the individual departments. “Long-term success in this highly innovative business necessitates rapid inventions to
outdistance copyists,” emphasizes Dr. Schwarz.
Plant planning as a basis for staff
development
At Evonik Industries, plant designing not only
implies the cooperation of various colleagues
all around the globe for the realization of customized plants. The company’s approach to
plant design also includes the qualification of
young colleagues for future tasks in the Evonik group, for example as plant engineers.
Correspondingly, these persons are only assigned to the field of plant designing for a
limited period. The resulting constant staff
fluctuation has to be compensated accordingly. “It is therefore all the more important to
ensure the rapid productivity of our young
colleagues in this situation. From our point of
view, e-blocks can decisively contribute to
time savings for basic engineering and to a
faster utilization of the young engineers’ creative potential,” Dr. Schwarz concludes.
Particularly in Germany, companies are facing
the problem of demographic development.
Many sectors suffer from skilled labor shortage and companies have to deal with the
great difficulty of recruiting and qualifying
suitable young professionals for specific tasks.
This may lead to a future loss of innovative
strength in research and development departments. This trend is further aggravated by the
fact that many highly competent senior employees will leave the companies in the coming years due to age. The companies will then
have to deal with a considerable loss of
knowledge as the know-how of these staff
members was frequently only documented insufficiently. This would inevitably result in
higher costs and reduced competitiveness.
High R&D investments and shorter
time-to-market
Also the chemical company Evonik is facing
this trend. As one of the world‘s leading companies in the specialty chemicals industry, the
permanent development of innovative products and applications represents a strategic
main task. Correspondingly, investments for
research and development amounted to approximately 365 million Euros in 2011. Roughly
2,400 staff members work in the company‘s
research and development (R&D) departments at more than 35 sites worldwide. Over
700 staff members of this headcount work in
process technology and engineering alone.
Moreover, the company conducts many joint
research activities with other companies, universities and scientific-technical institutions.
These major R&D expenditures are reflected
by more than 24,000 patents and applications. The chemical company‘s research and
development processes are based on very
close cooperation with its customers to ensure the development of demand-based products. These innovative products have to be
produced and launched as fast as possible in
order to remain competitive. The time pressure regarding the required production plants‘
planning and realization is correspondingly
high.
The standardization of P&ID planning
with the help of the COMOS software offers
considerable time savings.
9 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
Power Plant Industry: Reference BWSC
BWSC designs power plants on
an interdisciplinary database
Today, all system design at BWSC (Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian
Contractor) is handled in a single database rather than several closed
systems. The result is a more dynamic and effective design process with
fewer errors.
All BWSC’s power plants are today designed
using an interdisciplinary software tool. This
has reduced the number of errors and increased productivity, but it has also required
changes to the work processes in the machinery room. When the EPC (Engineering Procurement Construction) company designs a
power plant, it is no longer a lengthy process
in which the mechanical and electrical engineers do their design work in separate closed
systems, laboriously exchanging CAD drawings or spreadsheets by e-mail. Since the
North Zealand turnkey supplier invested in
the COMOS software tool, all system design
has been carried out in a single database.
When the mechanical engineer creates a
pump, the system automatically creates an
electrical object containing e.g. supply and
control signals for the pump, and the electrical engineer can then continue working on
that object.
When one of the engineers updates his data,
the data is simultaneously updated elsewhere »
By Morten Lund, Ingeniøren
Diesel Engine Power Plant in Kenya, which BWSC designed with the software solution COMOS
in the system. In that way, all parties involved
in the design always know what changes the
other engineers are making. The result is a
more dynamic and effective design process
which reduces the number of spreadsheets,
the number of e-mails exchanged and the
number of errors. “We achieve a better quality. We make fewer errors and in that way also
cut down on the amount of time spent. We
get more work done in less time,” says Technical Manager at BWSC, Claus Albrechtsen, although he is unable to tell exactly how much
money is being saved.
Speaking the same language
As the first large customer in Denmark, BWSC
purchased COMOS from Siemens Industry
Software five years ago. The reason for the
purchase was a growing dissatisfaction with
the company’s existing system, which did not
function optimally as a combined database
system. The mechanical department had one
design program, the electrical department
another, and the instrumentation department
a third. The individual departments used their
own designs and exchanged data via Excel
sheets, which was not a viable solution in the
long run. BWSC therefore began looking for a
system that would enable the company’s 60
design engineers to speak one and the same
digital language.
“We now have an open, object-oriented database system in which everyone works in parallel and with parallel data. What is clever
10 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
Power Plant Industry: Reference BWSC
about the system is that if you have a pump,
there will also be a motor with controls and a
supply signal. The minute the mechanical engineer invents his pump, the system supports
him by saying: “Remember the electrical supply and don’t forget to attach some measurement instruments.” The other groups of engineers then add their details,” says Mads Broge
Richelsen, Systems Manager at BWSC with responsibility for COMOS.
The engineers cannot make 3D drawings in
COMOS; they still work in the two-dimensional world. However, it is possible to synchronize the 2D diagrams with the 3D model, and
the system also enables direct linking to the
system in the procurement department and
to the different user manuals for the components. Previously, the 3D designer first had to
search for a data sheet for the component,
and when he eventually found it, he had to
sit and model everything manually. Now we
make sure in advance that we have matched
the catalogs for the 2D and 3D worlds so that
the objects we use in the 3D world contain
the same data and characteristics as in the 2D
world,” Claus Albrechtsen explains.
The systems had to be adapted
The above may sound as if the transition to
COMOS was painless; as if the implementation was planned to the last detail and everything fell into place so that the engineers
could go home somewhat happier at the end
of the first working week. The last statement
may be true, but Claus Albrechtsen freely acknowledges that the project – like many other change processes in a company – involved
a certain amount of daring and anarchy when
BWSC’s engineers had to learn to use COMOS.
“To be honest, you just dive in. And you make
sure all the practical details are in order. I’d
like to be able to say that all our work processes were in place, but that wasn’t the
case. The process was the same for us as for
everyone else: you discover that you have to
adjust your systems to the program, and we
spent the first many years doing that,” Claus
Albrechtsen rationalizes and adds: “The man-
agement doesn’t simply lean back and say:
“Now we’ve figured it all out.” Everyone has
to provide input, and then you gradually develop some procedures that work. We’re
working on that all the time. We’re far from
having finished exploiting the possibilities a
system like COMOS offers.”
Completely valid data
One of the challenges in day-to-day working
life is the necessity to work with completely
valid data. It is a clever system, of course,
that enables the electrical engineer to immediately start designing the supply for the
pump, which the mechanical engineer has
entered into the system, but what if the mechanical engineer merely entered his first
wild guesses? And what if the mechanical engineer changes his choice of pump because
he has made a mistake or changes his mind?
Process engineers and electrical engineers of BWSC are working with the object-oriented software COMOS incl.
a single database. The electric motor marked in the tree structure on the left of the picture is the same motor in the
process flow diagram and the electrical diagram.
In this case you risk duplicating your work because the electrical engineer then has to start
again from scratch.
BWSC has therefore incorporated status fields
in the system, for example for signals, piping,
and other equipment. The status field indicates to the other engineers how far the design has progressed. In that way, the data is
validated, and it becomes easier for the users
to grasp the many components, which easily
add up to 4,000-6,000 signals for a power
plant project, according to Mads Broge
Richelsen.
11 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
Interview with Dirk Wegg about trends in the oil & gas industry
Interview with Dirk Wegg about
trends in the oil & gas industry
The oil & gas industry represents dynamic development and innovation. COMOS Plant Manager
spoke to Dirk Wegg, General Manager of the Blue
Chip Energy Program at Siemens Industry Software, about trends, challenges, and solutions in
this marketplace.
COMOS Plant Manager: Hello Mr. Wegg, can
you tell us about the developments you are currently witnessing in the oil and gas industry?
Dirk Wegg: The demand for energy in industrialized and newly industrializing countries is
steadily increasing. However, over the coming
years, the global community will not yet be
able to meet this demand with renewable or
alternative energy sources. In fact, over the
next 20 to 30 years, raw materials such as oil
and gas will play an increasingly important
role in terms of energy supply. Having said
this, deposits which are easily exploited have
been virtually exhausted. To this end, ever
greater risks have to be taken in order to extract oil and gas from remote areas. As such,
deep sea drilling activities are commonplace
these days and initial projects exploring ex-
traction in areas with extreme climatic conditions, such as in the Barents Sea north of Norway and Russia, are currently underway.
Extracting the raw materials, and the plant
equipment needed for this, is correspondingly
more costly and complex. At the same time,
the economical and political pressure under
which the plant operators are placed continues to increase. Indeed, the issue of personal
and environmental safety remains a key focus.
There will be ever more official rules and regulations to comply with. Furthermore, additional time pressures are placed on companies
these days. In the past, a whole decade could
pass between the discovery of raw material
resources and their extraction - however, the
process must now take place in a significantly
shorter time period.
»
12 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
Interview with Dirk Wegg about trends in the oil & gas industry
COMOS Plant Manager: What requirements
arise from this for plant management?
Dirk Wegg: Basically, fewer employees must
be able to manage increased plant complexity
easily and quickly. Due to the huge quantity of
data gathered and the corresponding need to
prepare this data, which serves as a basis for
economical and technical decisions, implementing optimum plant management is essential. However, this requires high-performance
engineering tools throughout all phases of the
plant lifecycle – ranging from engineering to
handover and plant operation.
COMOS Plant Manager: What are the consequences for plant engineering?
Dirk Wegg: EPC (Engineering Procurement &
Construction) companies are now placed under significant pressure in terms of quality
and time. They must design highly-specialized technical plants to meet individual requirements faster than ever before. Today, a
great deal of time can only be saved by implementing parallel operational processes in
plant engineering. In order to benefit from
“Only when the right data is available at the
right time and place that risk can be further
controlled and costs thereby minimized.”
such savings, collaboration spanning trades
and companies is essential. This calls for corresponding tools, such as the object-oriented
COMOS software, which offers just such a
software solution, thanks to its uniform data
platform. The software enables interoperabil-
ity using the open system architecture and as
a uniform software solution, now ensures
optimum bidirectional data exchange between different applications and disciplines.
In terms of the future, the software will continue to be improved, developing in line with
ISO 15926 and utilizing the latest interface
technologies. Especially in terms of the
handover from plant engineer to owner operator, there is still large scope for improvement.
COMOS Plant Manager: What challenges do
owner operators face, both now and in the
future?
Dirk Wegg: Financial pressures on operators
will continue to rise. In order to make savings, the widest range of measures for optimization will be adopted. Such measures
range from having fewer staff on the extraction site and extend to putting risk-based
maintenance strategies in place as part of the
maintenance operations. At the same time,
operators must continuously adapt and improve their plant documentation in line with
new regulations and provisions. Efficient data
management is absolutely essential for all
these measures and requirements, for it is
only when the right data is available at the
right time and place that risk can be further
controlled and costs thereby minimized.
»
13 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
Interview with Dirk Wegg about trends in the oil & gas industry
3D visualization with the software
solution COMOS Walkinisde
COMOS Plant Manager: So what does an efficient data management system involve?
Dirk Wegg: Successful plant management of
the future is based on a data-centric approach, which makes traditional documentbased working methods a thing of the past.
The more complex plants become, the more
effort it takes and the more difficult it is to
manage plant documentation in the traditional sense and keep it up-to-date. The solution definitely lies in managing engineering
data in a uniform system. Updates are automatically included and replicated within all
relevant processes. This ensures the as-built
condition of the plant is always available in
digital format. The COMOS software solution
offers precisely such an efficient data management system and indeed, is already being
used successfully in a number of applications
across the oil and gas industry.
COMOS Plant Manager: Occasionally,
COMOS has been criticized for not offering
sufficient 3D visualization options.
Dirk Wegg: Firstly, COMOS provides standard
interfaces for 3D CAE systems which can
identify and solve inconsistencies between
2D and 3D visualizations. These systems are
being continually further developed and enhanced. Secondly, the topic of 3D visualization is being addressed in COMOS, in particular with the acquisition of VRcontext.
Furthermore, fully integrating Walkinside
software into the range has added further
depth to this focus. Over the last few years,
the 3D visualization software Walkinside,
with its intuitive user interface, has made a
name for itself in the oil and gas industry and
is relied upon by large, globally leading companies. Combined with COMOS as a global
data center, this enables easy, menu-assisted
access for users to all relevant information
which has already been generated in the Ba-
sic and Detail Engineering phases. This enables the operator to be guided through
efficient preparation and planning of maintenance and servicing tasks, for example. As
such, owner operators can use the software
as an ideal way of training staff, in preparation for their deployment on a drilling platform. This results in significantly increased
plant availability, combined with maximum
safety levels during operation.
COMOS Plant Manager: Mr. Wegg,
thank you for the interview.
14 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
NEWS
NEWS
Mobile plant management with
COMOS Mobile Document Review
An ever increasing number of users are enjoying the benefits of engineering software
for mobile plant management. Modern web
and sharepoint technologies offer users
increasing flexibility in terms of global collaboration, help to improve the quality of
information, enhance efficiency, and save
time.
Siemens has now extended its plant management software COMOS by the inclusion of a
solution for mobile data and document utilization in the form of an iPad app entitled
COMOS Mobile Document Review. Users can
now edit, review, and release plant documentation, and manage revision status anywhere,
anytime with the aid of editing and redlining
features – whether on business trips, in meetings or during tours of inspection. Documents from the COMOS database are transmitted via a web server in pdf format to the
COMOS user’s iPad where they are edited of-
fline. Available redlining functions include
freehand drawing, insertion of comments
and integration of photos taken on site. Once
redlining has been completed, a pdf is created and the file returned to the COMOS database for further processing.
The COMOS App is intuitive to use and can
be operated without any prior knowledge
of COMOS engineering software. All newly
loaded documents are immediately visible
and their management is simplified by the
use of favorites functions. The App is available in Chinese, German, English and French,
and can be downloaded free of charge from
the Apple App Store. It works best on the
2nd or 3rd generation iPad.
Information video
(1:18 minutes)
15 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
NEWS
Service and Support newsletter for
fast and personalized information
The Siemens IA&DT Service and Support online portal has been expanded with new and very useful features
for COMOS customers. Apart from being able to create an individual newsletter, users also have access to a
download area, FAQ documents, and manuals.
COMOS customers now have the opportunity
of putting together their own individual Service and Support newsletter. This newsletter is
sent by e-mail and provides them with fast and
up-to-date information on the previously selected topics, for example, updates and service
packs. To be able to put together an individual
Service and Support newsletter, the user must
already be registered in the online portal or
must register there. Users can then select the
product they would like to be informed about
and the type of document. For the “Plant Engineering Software COMOS” users can select
from the document types “Downloads”, “FAQs”,
“Manuals” and “Current product information”.
As soon as new information relating to the selected topics is published in the online portal,
users will be sent an e-mail keeping them up to
date with all innovations.
In the Service and Support online portal the
COMOS customer now has new helpful functions available. Among other things, the download area provides the user with a list of the
most important technical information on
COMOS. The list is updated monthly. The FAQ
area gives the user access to informative documents on a variety of topics, for example “Data
exchange between SIMATIC PCS 7 and COMOS”.
All manuals from COMOS version 9.2 onwards
are available for download.
Service and Support
Online Portal
Presentation: Create an individual newsletter
16 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
NEWS
COMOS sales and service
partners for Romania
Since 2005, the FIWA group has been
working worldwide as a certified Siemens
partner for SIMATIC PCS 7 and the chemicals industry. The Romanian branch of the
engineering company (SC FIWA RO SRL)
has also been operating since August 2012
as a sales and service partner for the
COMOS software solution.
Focusing on the oil and gas, pharmaceuticals,
environmental technology, foodstuff, steel,
chemicals and petrochemicals industries, SC
FIWA RO SRL offers a wide range of engineering services in Romania. These include plant
engineering design and implementation in the
sectors of process automation, process control,
MSR technology, weighing technology, electrical engineering, building technology, communications and security technology, software development, and data processing technology.
The company has made a name for itself in recent years through successful projects with
companies such as Siemens IMOL, SC OMV
PETROM SA, and SC CONTINENTAL SRL. Due to
the extremely good customer relationship with
SC OMV PETROM SA and their many years of
ex perience in the oil and gas industry as well
as their partnership with Siemens, they
seemed the obvious partner for COMOS in Romania. ”With SC FIWA RO SRL, we have gained
an expert partner in Romania, who is familiar
with local conditions and develops and implements excellent engineering solutions,” says
Steffen Rosa, Global Partner Manager COMOS
at Siemens Industry Software.
Best IT company
in Denmark
The IT magazine ComputerWorld
names Siemens Industry Software A/S
as the best IT company in Denmark.
On September 20, 2012, the company
received the award from the magazine. In addition to being named the
best IT company in Denmark, the company also won the awards for the best
basis software, software, and growth
comet.
Event Calendar
2012:
Discover the COMOS software solutions
in 2012 at following events. We will inform you at these events about the latest
news about COMOS. We appreciate your
visit. more ... »
17 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
NEWS
COMOS training
program expanded
Training courses have been complemented
by six further courses
The range of COMOS training courses has
been complemented by six further courses.
We would like to introduce three of these
courses in a little more detail below. In the
Basic, Cabinet Layout, and MRO (Maintenance
Repair Overhaul) courses, up to six participants per course will be introduced to specific course content in a very practice-oriented
way. The COMOS Basic Training contains the
fundamentals of working with the COMOS
software, while the Cabinet Layout Training is
aimed at experienced COMOS users from the
area of electrical engineering. The new MRO
training course is aimed at maintenance engineers, and it presents options for optimizing
maintenance tasks. To achieve maximum
learning success, the experienced COMOS instructors give special attention during the
courses to participants‘ needs. You can find
out more about the content of the courses by
clicking on the relevant course.
All COMOS training courses can also be
booked locally for specific customers around
the world. You can request information on
other training courses via the e-mail address
training. COMOS @siemens.com Information
on COMOS training courses is also available
on the Internet.
Training course descriptions
1. COMOS Basic Training
COMOS Basic Training is aimed at planning
engineers, drafters, or trainee COMOS administrators. It covers the philosophy of COMOS,
the handling of technical documentation,
and specific objects for electrotechnical planning.
more ... »
2. COMOS Cabinet Layout Training
This is intended as advanced training for experienced users with knowledge gained from
COMOS Electrical Engineering Training. This
course introduces methods and tools for
planning control cabinets. The focus is on
creating views, synchronizing these views,
and working with the COMOS rail editor.
more ... »
3. COMOS MRO Training
(Maintenance Repair Overhaul)
The COMOS MRO (Maintenance Repair Overhaul) Training is aimed at users and trainee
COMOS administrators. Participants learn
about the basic functionalities of COMOS for
working with the interface. Different maintenance methods and documents are then introduced and created.
more ... »
18 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
NEWS
Tips and Tricks – ask Doc COMOS
Sometimes a little information has a big
effect. In this rubric of the COMOS Plant
Manager, Doc COMOS answers your questions and gives you tips on how to work
with the COMOS software solution even
more efficiently. Today Doc COMOS answers the following question:
“How could I realize a query
even faster?”
Doc COMOS will introduce in two videos
the search method “database query”, which
helps save time.
The first video shows the two different
methods to do a query. In both methods,
the amount of data is equal. With the method of the “classic query” (video sequence of
the first 45 seconds) it takes around 10 seconds to request, interprete, and display the
information. Much more faster you could
receive the information by the search method “database query” (video sequence from
second 45). Even with the same amount of
information, this type of query needs only
approx. one second compared to the “classic
query” to request, interprete, and display the
information.
Video 1
(1:21 Minuten)
The second video is presenting how to create a “database query”. The video shows
the different working steps:
1. Open an empty “Query”
2. Select “Database search”
3. The configuration field of the “database
query“ will be opened
4. Define the “start object” by drag & drop
5. Define the searched settings (e.g.
Property, Attribute or FreeProperty)
6. Specify the settings by further definition
(e. g. Name, Lable, or Description)
7. Define the searched value
(in our sample it is G125)
8. Link to “AND operation”. In the configuration field the fixed settings are linked to
“AND operations”
9. Again, define the searched settings
(e.g. Property, Attribute, or FreeProperty)
10. Specify the settings by further definition
of the “Attribute name” (in the sample we
enter “PIA055”)
11. Define the searched value
(in our sample it is “7”)
12. Link to “OR operation”. The different
configuration fields are linked to
“OR operations”
13. A new configuration field will
be opened. Enter the requested
information in the fields (in our
sample it is “Property, Name, =
und G55”).
14. To start the query, click the
“Search” button
15. The requested information will
be shown
16. Only the defined data sets will be
taken from the database. In our
sample we have a “Query: 16/16”.
Video 2 (1:43 Minuten)
19 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
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3D visualization and training software
Chemical Industry: Reference Evonik
Power Plant Industry: Reference BWSC
Interview with Dirk Wegg
COMOS Mobile Document Review
Service and Support newsletter
COMOS sales and service partner in Romania
Best IT company in Denmark
Event Calendar 2012
Training program expanded
Tips & tricks
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20 COMOS Plant Manager | 3/2012
Impress
COMOS Plant Manager
3/2012
COMOS Plant Manager
From Integrated Engineering to Integrated Operations
Issue 3/2012
3D visualization
Acquisition of VRcontext
strengthened COMOS
portfolio
Chemical
Industry
Reference Evonik
Power Plant
Industry
Reference BWSC
Interview
with Dirk Wegg about Trends
in the Oil & Gas Industry
Publisher
Siemens AG
Industry Sector
Industry Automation Division
Industrial Automation Systems
I IA AS PA CIS MK
Karl-Legien-Str. 190
D-53117 Bonn, Germany
www.siemens.com/ COMOS
COMOS Industry Solutions
VP Andreas Geiss
Editor
Ingo Kaiser, Siemens AG, I IA AS PA CIS MK
Karl-Legien-Str. 190
D-53117 Bonn, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 228 64805-210
Fax: +49 (0) 228 64805-125
ingo.kaiser@siemens.com
Editorial Committee
Mareike Blettner, Ingo Kaiser
COMOS Plant Manager is published quarterly.
© 2012 by Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Munich and Berlin
All rights reserved by the publisher.
The following products are registered
trademarks of Siemens AG:
COMOS, SIMATIC, SIMATIC Automation Designer,
SIMATIC IT, SIMATIC PCS 7, TIA
The marks mentioned are registered trademarks of
the respective owner. If trademarks, trade names,
technical solutions, or similar are not listed above,
this does not imply that they are not registered.
The information provided in this magazine contains
merely general descriptions or characteristics of
performance, which in the case of actual use do not
always apply as described or which may change as
a result of further development of the products. An
obligation to provide the respective characteristics
shall exist only if expressly agreed in the terms of
contract.
Picture credits:
Digitalstock · BWSC · Fotolia · Evonik Systems · Siemens
www.siemens.com/ COMOS
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