Focusing on change: digital transformation in plant engineering

Following his degree in industrial engineering and subsequent doctorate, Dr. Tobias Rabsahl's career has spanned a number of posts, including his current position as Digital Product Manager in Business Development & Strategy at thyssenkrupp Uhde. Here, Tobias and his dedicated digital team steer the development and sales strategies for innovative solutions in plant engineering. He is particularly enthusiastic about the diversity of tasks and the idea of actively shaping issues in the context of an ongoing technological revolution. "Plant engineering is entering one of the most profound change processes since Uhde was founded around 100 years ago," Tobias says. This calls for creativity, optimism, and perseverance. "The most important thing is the willingness to constantly learn new things and engage with new topics and issues," he adds.

From idea to reality 

"I lead the initiation and management of development projects, and am responsible for the overall coordination and monitoring of various aspects," explains Tobias. He is involved in evaluating innovative ideas in plant engineering, working with external experts and defining methodological principles for product management of digital products. "I also promote internal dialogue and act as the product contact in the bidding process," he adds.

"In our team, we take on responsibility for issues that cannot be categorized as traditional plant engineering and that did not previously exist at our company," Tobias continues. "This challenge requires not only a reorganization of structures and processes, but also an intensive drive to convince people at the company of the need for change and the potential that exists."

The expert finds the evaluation of new ideas and business models for plant engineering at Uhde particularly exciting. "One example of this is the so-called 'pay-per-use' models, which can increase customer benefits and expand the scope of application in the area of digital products," Tobias explains. This is a contract model that allows customers to pay only for the units that are actually used or produced. "This gives our customers more flexibility and planning security, while we at thyssenkrupp can take full responsibility for the service, which secures this business for us." Digitalization plays an important role here. "Only a fully digitalized system can really make such concepts possible," says Tobias, "as we can then remotely ensure that the system is operated in accordance with certain contract parameters." Although the concept has not yet been fully implemented, its growing relevance in the industry and at thyssenkrupp is driving the concept of such a contract model.

Exciting digital projects and milestones

What was the most exciting project he worked on last year? For Tobias there’s no doubt: it was the project for the Egyptian chemical and fertilizer manufacturer NCIC ("El Nasr Company for Intermediate Chemicals") - mainly due to its size and complexity. "For a project of this size, it was crucial to understand the customer’s needs and develop the right things in the bidding process to create tailored solutions," Tobias explains. As part of the fertilizer project for NCIC, a "digital infrastructure" was set up, on the basis of which online dashboards and regular performance reports are made available.

The 'digital infrastructure' includes, for example, the installation of so-called edge devices, which are, in simple terms, minicomputers that transmit sensor data to our thyssenkrupp Uhde cloud for further processing," Tobias explains. "The project is divided into several stages and phases, where ultimately the data are used to provide the customer with solutions that ensure optimized plant operation." This helps to improve profitability for the plant operator and leads to a reduction in harmful environmental emissions. The digital products are therefore also tools for promoting green transformation.

The digital infrastructure of the fertilizer plant in Egypt

As part of this project, digital twins are implemented in the form of "black box" and "white box" variants. "These simulate certain process sections based on known physical-mathematical relationships (white box) or with the help of an artificial neural network trained with empirical values (black box). The latter can also be described as a form of artificial intelligence," describes Tobias. Any discrepancies between the actual measured values and the simulated values indicate anomalies that can ideally be rectified quickly, either automatically or by manual intervention.

Furthermore, the project includes additional digital services, including an operator training simulator. Specifically developed and configured for the plant in Egypt, this software enables the simulation of plant operation and allows plant personnel to be trained in various scenarios in a safe environment.

Shaping the future

According to the expert, digital topics will gain enormously in importance in the future of plant engineering, as the industry offers a great deal of potential for adaptation and change due to a staggered innovation cycle. "Attitudes will shift from the useful add-on character that is sometimes attributed to digital solutions in chemical plant engineering to an absolute prerequisite for successful survival in the market." The main challenges lie in accepting change and being convinced of the opportunities and potential it offers. "It requires a willingness to overcome traditional ways of thinking and to clearly communicate the benefits of digital transformation," says Tobias. But if this is done successfully, a shared understanding can lead to many more innovative projects in plant engineering.

For more exciting insights into our research and innovative technologies for digitalizing the steelmaking and other industries, check out our stories.