The new future of BHGE: Digital technology manufactures plant success

Client challenge: BHGE desired greater visibility into the processes of its manufacturing plant and the ability to manage production in real time.

Solution: Together, Capgemini and BHGE implemented an Industrial Internet of Things solution (IIoT) that extracted data from the plant’s manufacturing machines and devices. This gave operators and engineers a new level of insight and agility to tweak production in real time.

Benefits:

• Enhanced visibility and insight
• Real-time management of manufacturing processes provides nearly 50 users with real-time status updates, analysis of historical data, and visual metrics dashboards
• Prevention of 26,000 hours of downtime in 2017 (across all BHGE’s plants in Italy)
• 12% increase in machine utilization five months after the deployment of the solution.

What’s ahead for smart manufacturing

Oil and gas play a pivotal role in the everyday functions of daily life for people around the global. This technological advancement means BHGE can improve the quality of life for many. This valuable responsibility has driven the organization to not only improve its operations but also to enhance its services to help customers acquire, transport, and refine hydrocarbons more effectively and with a smaller environmental footprint. Capgemini provided support on upstream, midstream, and downstream activities, to allow for BHGE to become the world’s first and only full-stream service provider. The results were BHGE breaking down silos and reducing both costs and risks in more than 120 countries.

The derived value didn’t stop there. This continuous effort to improve its efficiency and productivity allowed BGHE Turbomachinery & Process Solutions (TPS) to improve the productivity of and visibility into its manufacturing process. The result was the ability to make decisions and manage production in real time, based on data drawn from all relevant devices and machines. With new insights and capabilities, the organization made improvements to its existing processes while reducing downtime. Doing so required modern digital technology and a partner with a thorough enough understanding of digital manufacturing and the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) to create and implement a powerful solution. Enter Capgemini.

Combining IT and OT to form a shop floor solution

BHGE selected Capgemini as its industrial partner for the duration of the project because of its extensive understanding of shop-floor technology and history with digital manufacturing solutions. Capgemini was uniquely positioned to provide support because its global business line Digital Engineering and Manufacturing Services combines deep expertise in IoT, connected products, smart engineering, and digital manufacturing.

BHGE and Capgemini performed an in-depth analysis of the existing manufacturing processes. It was determined that an IIoT solution would be ideal. An industrial internet solution would connect various devices and machines within the manufacturing process. This would allow BHGE to create a complete picture of gaps and of enhancement opportunities. This solution was created within the existing infrastructure at BHGE to ensure minimal disruption to operations during the implementation

With a comprehensive solution template in place, the partners agreed to utilize Capgemini’s unique, agile methodology to connect Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) into a single solution.

Real-time manufacturing management

Capgemini and BHGE implemented an IIoT solution in which every machine is connected within a network that compiles data to produce comprehensive reports on the production process. The solution drew upon numerous data sources: machine tools, ovens, cranes, the MES, and Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS). This ensured complete coverage and a total view of machine performance, which could then be shared with external systems.

The reports reviewed the production process and compiled data to provide operators and engineers with a view of data-based shop-floor insights at any given time. This enabled those same technicians to make informed decisions at the right moment.

While connecting manufacturing devices and machines, Capgemini also implemented standardized processes aligning all its Turbomachinery & Process Solutions (TPS) Italian plants. With this implementation, operators can respond to disruptions in a uniform manner across locations, substantially enhancing their speed and effectiveness.

The combination of greater insight, enhanced access to data on the part of the operators, and standardized processes led to an overall decrease in the amount of machine downtime. By forming a comprehensive view of the shop floor, the solution empowered technicians to identify disruptions and preempt them before they actually affected the manufacturing process. This has resulted in a 12% increase in machine utilization in different sites within five months of deployment as well as millions of Euros in savings.

Contact Us