Presentation: Creating value with Data Analysis and the PI System Infrastructure - Case of an Evaporation Plant

This study, conducted by the author, identified operating parameters that had the greatest impact on the performance of assets and utilities used to concentrate black liquor in the pulp mill. As a result of this work the mill has been able to establish a new centreline of best operating values for managing process parameters. It has increased the efficiency and performance of assets associated with liquor evaporation. Tangible benefits include reduced steam consumption in these unit operations by more than 1500 tons per month.

The study exposed the data aggregated in the mill's PI System infrastructure with the Software as a Service (SaaS) platform offered by IP Leanware. IP Leanware's analysis tool, Br@incube, enabled the mill to shape and model very large data sets and experiment with different solution sets and operating scenarios that could be used to realize a potential gain in performance. Br@incube analysed more than 200 selected variables over a period of about 2 years and modeled conditions involving more than 11,000 points.

The key benefit of this analysis has been that today the mill has a process for establishing a 'stable and capable' moment in operating the evaporation plant. With the help of on-line dashboards, Br@inTouch, operators can continuously monitor the wide range of variables now known to affect the stability of this process. This mode of knowledge sharing stimulates continuous improvement in the operating teams and creates a shared vision for how to continually improve the control and stability of these and other processes around the mill. Integrating the PI System's ability to deliver relevant information in real-time with the on-line analytics of Br@incube has led to a cultural change in the way the business operates and manages its processes.

Today the mill's teams continue to rely on the PI System and Br@incube to keep them on the path of continually improving the ways to manage and operate all aspects of their processes."