Open Process Automation: is this where the future lies?

On January 25, 2024, FHI will organize the next edition of the Production Process Automation (PPA) event. Following the interview with Johan Ike, I spoke with Jacco Opmeer and we delved deeper into the subject of standardization.

By: Hans Risseeuw

At the end of September I spoke with Johan Ike of the WIB and we published the article Production Process Automation: is standardization the magic word? In this article, Johan Ike calls for standardization: “The process industry wants a control system to which you add functionalities. Modular construction. An element that you click in and that then works 'normally'. In other words: Open Process Automation.”

My interest has been aroused and Jacco is willing to explain the subject of Open Process Automation to me. Jacco is co-chairman of Open Process Automation Forum (OPAF). With his experience and expertise, he is convinced that Open Process Automation is a crucial part of the future.

Jacco has been working in the chemical, petrochemical, engineering, design process and implementation of designs for more than 30 years. He managed plants together with the operators and he also worked in maintenance. With the common denominator being the management of factories. Since 2017, he has been associated with OPAF as a representative of Shell. Here he led the business working group that focuses on setting up an ecosystem in collaboration with suppliers, system integrators and service providers. And now he has been co-chairman of OPAF for a few years.

OPAF

OPAF was created to select standards that together form a “so-called standard of standards.” The aim is that manufacturers use this standard to develop products and that end users therefore benefit from standards-based systems that have a shared standard as a common denominator. Jacco's main focus is on acceptance: “stimulating the acceptance of this standard and the products and developments that result from it.” OPAF wants to convince manufacturers to develop their products based on this standard and then have their products certified. According to Jacco, we have now reached the point where we have to convince suppliers/manufacturers to have their products certified according to this standard.

This concerns process control systems, automation systems, that are developed and assembled in such a way that they meet the needs of the end user. The overarching goal is that when you connect systems together, it works. He compares it to USB. “It doesn't matter to the USB connector what you connect to it: a mouse, telephone, keyboard, etc. It works without you having to think about it any further.” What a stand does is make the feature you purchased work. “This is exactly what OPAF wants to bring to the process automation industry.”

The standard is technological development

“The biggest technological development is in the standard; into the USB connector, so that it understands what is being asked of it. The technology in a mouse or keyboard is relatively simple when you compare it to the technology behind a stand.”

WiFi is another example of a very powerful standard. You plug in a device and it works. Jacco emphasizes that technological development is included in the standard. Jacco then makes the step to the supplier. “What follows from this is that the revenue model of manufacturers/suppliers is not attacked by a standard. The USB connector or the WiFi standard supposedly helps the manufacturer to market their products.” The revenue model is not the standard. The revenue model is not included in OPAF. OPAF is not a competitor. First, it is open and freely available. And secondly, you can compare it with the USB connector or WiFi. The goal of OPAF is to make this possible for the process automation industry.

Jacco understands that people are afraid of this. But this is more in the change process at the supplier. Now, when you, as a supplier, deliver a system, you deliver everything. You as a supplier determine how everything communicates with each other. You have developed your own language – not the OPAF variant – and your entire system depends on it. This is your system, and this is also called 'Proprietary systems'. If your business runs on a closed system, an open variant that OPAF offers is seen as a direct attack. But Jacco emphasizes that when you as a supplier switch from a closed system to an OPAF variant, you significantly increase your potential market. An additional advantage is that you can now focus all your energy on your specialty.

What do Lego and a fighter jet have in common?

End users like to select based on specialism, quality and interconnectivity. From the position of the end user, the idea is that a standard actually benefits the supplier, because you have the space to fully focus on your specialty and quality. The demand for new technology is increasing, cost pressure and competition are also increasing, which means that we cannot continue to individually develop existing systems indefinitely. With a standard you can eliminate this problem. Because you can link each other's qualities and specialisms. The result: the end user “gets the best of all worlds,” the supplier focuses on his own specialty and the system integrator has his own specialty within the standard “to tie everything together.”

Jacco compares it to Lego. “The old system is like a big box of Lego, where the pieces don't fit together properly or at all. The OPAF standard is like a box of Lego where everything fits.” You simply click the doors in, the windows fit and the men fit through the doors.

He gives a special example from the Defense industry to show what the result is when technologies are connected by a standard. The result is an astonishing leap in effectiveness and efficiency. Thanks to standardization, the old fighter jet, which cruised through the sky like a Harley-Davidson, changed into the modern fighter plane that races through the sky in a right-angle turn. The computer inside was replaced by a standards-based modern version: and suddenly you have a completely different aircraft. This amazing result is the result of standards-based systems that now communicate and collaborate much more efficiently and effectively.

The end users cannot do it alone: it all depends on collaboration

Jacco calls on suppliers to make products according to the standard. And in addition, he indicates, we need people who have the knowledge and skills to “put it all together.”

In conclusion, Jacco would like to refer all suppliers and manufacturers to the OPAF website. “The standards are public and in principle all suppliers can work with them and then have their products certified.” But the chance of success of this enormous project depends on cooperation. The end users cannot do this alone.

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