When one of the largest manufacturers of beverage systems contacted Fischer, the task was clearly defined! Databrain Sherlock was to support the company in intelligently linking diverse sources and formats. The goal: A single point of truth. Sherlock must enable data from different, previously separate areas to be merged. In order to make all information available for commissioning that is required for efficient testing and acceptance and to ensure consistent logging of all results.
With Sherlock to the revolution
in special machine and plant engineering
Solution to speed up the
commissioning of beverage
plants faster
Sherlock revolutionizes internal processes
and the commissioning of the plants
- The information of a plant is composed of diverse data. At our customer, automation previously comprised many manual sub-processes that were not digitally mapped. In addition, it was common for all levels to contain countless independent documentations, which were then handed over to the customer.
- Due to the lack of digital consistency, many systems were not integrated. Moreover, the data was not bundled and was difficult to access.
- Further manual intervention was necessary during the engineering process and when commissioning the systems. The reason for this was simply the incompatibility of the various systems, often beacuse of undefined interfaces of the different systems.
- The challenge for Fischer and Sherlock, therefore, was acceptance across the various sub-projects – everything has to work together smoothly, only then the entire plant construction site will function.
- Through the intelligent linking of data in Sherlock and with the so-called “I/O Check” frontend, the complete project structure with P&I-D subprojects, TAG numbers, project documents and all elements to be checked are now displayed for a project.
- For each check, it is recorded who performed the check and when, and with what result.
- At the level of the TAG numbers, an overall status of the checks contained therein is displayed. This enables continuous monitoring of the process and ensures early error detection, which in turn enables rapid intervention in the event of problems.
- In addition, Sherlock’s flexible graph database makes it possible to integrate further data sources. An otherwise complex integration of spare parts therefore becomes child’s play.
- Thanks to Sherlock, the commissioning time of the plants was reduced from three weeks to one week. In addition to an increase in profit for the supplier and a faster “time-to-revenue” for the customer, this also eliminates any potential contractual penalties for the plant manufacturer.
- The digital integration of customers from phase 1 of planning not only enables more flexible planning, but also creates more trust and a clear competitive advantage.
- More safety during commissioning of the equipment as well as a longer service life of the same.
- Unique selling proposition through digitization down to the individual part level via product identification numbers (TAG numbers).
That's not all: Sherlock enables the Digital Twin!
Sherlock enables the plant manufacturer to go even further. With Fischer at their side, they succeed in bringing Module Type Packages* to life. Keyword: digital twin. This is possible because Sherlock, as a cloud-based data platform, can be accessed by the customer from anywhere. All important MTP data is stored in the cloud and can be easily accessed from a tablet, for example.
*MTPs are a solution approach to modularize automation systems in the process industry
Advantages of the "Digital Twin"
Usually, it takes 12 months until the first beverage is flowing at his customer’ premises. Each plant is unique and faces individual challenges. Thanks to Sherlock, the internationally operating beverage plant manufacturer is able to guarantee virtual insights into the plant very early in the project by means of 3D twins and augmented reality. This tour covers all levels, from the process to the mechanics. This allows visualization of what the plant will look like in the end long before the actual commissioning. After completion and commissioning, numerous sensors enable further data to be transmitted in real time. Important data and useful knowledge about consumption, temperatures or quantities continue to be transferred to the cloud. This data enables the brewery plant manufacturer to run “what if” scenarios and perform proactive maintenance. This increases the efficiency of the plant, prevents breakdowns and optimizes internal processes.
New digital business models with Sherlock.
Also in your industry?
Your company data is spread across many different source systems and you want to connect them? With Sherlock, you have one system that allows you to access and connect all your data. In our use cases, we show you how other industries use Sherlock.
Contact us!
Carl Pfeffer & Rainer Börsig
CEO & CTO