Monday, 11. August 2003

Bayer Technology Services’ “Process and Engineering Data Warehouse” successfully used in building a toluene diamine (TAD) unit in Dormagen (Germany)

Where ever a new production unit is on the “drawing board”, highly specialized software tools are used by those involved in the project work. Because of the many different types of products manufactured by some chemical and pharmaceutical production units, the exchange of data among the planning departments is often very complex. 
Competition and cost pressures are forcing enterprises to optimize their project engineering activities. Close cooperation among the individual engineering areas is an absolute necessity and requires efficient data exchange among electronic systems. 

Photo: Dr. Thomas Sperling (l.) and Christian Wissel monitoring and coordinating equipment and tank placement.

For the TAD project in Dormagen (a capital investment of nearly 200 million euro)  Bayer Technology Services’ Process Data Warehouse has been the central hub of information exchange and project support from the beginning – as early as November 2000. Information on the process and structure of the unit, flow diagrams, equipment and special building components, documentation, reports, and other information have been linked from the start to form a contiguous information base. During the first few months, Bayer Technology Services supported the use of the program by employee training, consulting services, and hotline help.

Consistent use of this tool has brought considerable advantages in the implementation of the project. For example, the search for information was significantly eased for all disciplines involved. The TAD unit will be started up later this year.

Side view of the unit under construction in Block M16, of Bayer Polymers, Dormagen

Dipl.Ing. Christian Wissel, Project Manager comments on his experience with PDW:
"PDW has evolved into a mature tool that has brought many advantages for our project work. The easy availability of process data and data sheets and the efficient support in schedule tracking have been a considerable advantage."

Elke Piesczek, Project Expeditor:
"The use of PDW is a must for efficient schedule monitoring during the early phases of a project. The uniform information base has been helpful in expediting later operations, such as equipment installation."

Since June 2003, Bayer Technology Services has offered the new “Process and Engineering Data Warehouse” (PEDW), an integration platform with yet greater capabilities for the implementation of engineering and development projects. Its particular strength lies in the ease of transition between process data and engineering information.

During a year of development, important input from those using the program for planning and development has been recognized and integrated. In addition to serious revisions of the process data view, much attention was given to the “management of change in projects” feature. The utilization costs were lowered through easy access via the Bayer intranet. The equipment data sheets were thoroughly revised in cooperation with the Bayer standards department. In PEDW, these are available in the MS Excel format.

Closeness to actual operations in the field and immediate usability are the greatest strengths of PEDW.

Please contact us. We will be happy to pass our experience on to you so that you, too, can make use of the PEDW advantage.