February 24, 2023 | Author: André Nimtz | Reading time: approx. 8 minutes

The challenge: maximum flexibility in the process industry

What "batch size 1" is for discrete manufacturing, for the process industry it is the most flexible and efficient implementation of individual customer requirements. Small batches, short delivery times, high variance and shortest times to market are the requirements of the hour. The key to this lies in modular production: relatively rigid plants designed for long-term operation are increasingly becoming modular plants whose modules - called Process Equipment Assembly (PEA) in technical terminology - can be exchanged and reassembled as required depending on the production goods - locally or even across sites.

But one major problem remains: the flexible, in the best case automated control of the modular plants. If all the modules speak different languages, the engineers still have plenty of work to do reading out the data and linking it in the process orchestration layer (POL) to form a functional overall picture. A uniform interface standard is intended to remedy this situation: the Module Type Package (MTP).

The solution: Module Type Package (MTP) as a unifying standard

What exactly does Module Type Package mean? MTP is a non-proprietary interface standard that enables manufacturers to store the complete functional description of a PEA on the plant module itself. This includes the description of the data objects, the visualization and further information, for example on alarms.

In real life, this means that you simply plug the new module into your existing plant and read out the data of the Module Type Package in your Process Orchestration Layer. The MTP operates like a driver for the new module. For your engineers, there is no need for time-consuming plant engineering, because the new modules are seamlessly integrated into the existing plant without much effort. This is why the industry also refers to this approach as "plug-and-produce".

Advantage #1

one-time module engineering, reusable modules

Instead of explaining to each plant part with each new order what its function is and via which interface it has to communicate, the module engineering is done initially by the manufacturer. Interfaces and logic of the process are defined once and a visualization is specified. All this is written into the Module Type Package. The module thus has its defined functions and limits. It can be used quickly and flexibly at any time.

Advantage #2

lower costs thanks to Module Type Package

With MTP you save engineering costs. Thanks to plug-and-produce, it is no longer necessary to adapt new modules to the process. You buy exactly the module you need for your production from the module manufacturer, including the predefined Module Type Package. Engineering times and costs for plant engineering, i.e. setting up the actual plant, are also noticeably reduced. It only takes a few clicks to connect the MTP.

Advantage #3

MTP noticeably increases your flexibility

Multi-product and multi-purpose plants benefit greatly from modularization. Since Module Type Package eliminates programming efforts at the module and interface and new plants can be set up in the Process Orchestration Layer in no time at all, plant operators are able to convert their plants quickly and even at short notice. Almost any process line can be implemented in a very short time. MTP makes it possible to react particularly flexibly to market requirements.