Digitalization must create added value - this is the credo of the HIMA Group, which specializes in safety-related automation solutions. With a holistic portfolio of solutions for the digitalization of a plant’s safety lifecycle, the company has set out to significantly simplify the compliant operation of functional safety in the process industry.
At ACHEMA 2024, the world's leading trade fair for the process industry, HIMA will not only be showcasing its portfolio of safety-related automation solutions, but will also be using its presence in Frankfurt to demonstrate the next stage of its digitalization strategy. "Secure live connections from Frankfurt to our Customer Solutions Centers in Brühl and Singapore illustrate what is already possible and how we are consistently driving forward the idea of digitalizing the safety lifecycle," explains Jörg de la Motte, CEO of the HIMA Group. Just like at the trade fair, customers will be able to use secure connections to HIMA's Customer Solutions Center to perform tasks such as simulating the control of safety systems, testing the automatic inventorying of their safety assets, or carrying out automatic recurrent tests. For example, they will be able to see how safety-relevant plant and operating data can be combined across site boundaries in order to meet the IEC 61511 standard's requirements in practice.
"With our trade fair presence, we are creating a digital showcase for our Customer Solutions Center," explains Sergej Arent, Director, Applications, at the HIMA Group. “Customers will be able to discuss and shed light on their issues with HIMA experts in person, and also remotely in digital workshops. The resulting solutions can then be remotely tested and validated with hardware and software from the manufacturer and partner companies in the Customer Solutions Centers.”
At ACHEMA 2024, HIMA will be demonstrating how this works in practice: In live workshops, the health and status of products and solutions will be visible using video links. In this way, large plant components such as block valves for steam turbines, which would be too large to transport to Frankfurt or to customers, can be tested remotely with at least as much insight as an in-person test. Customers at distant locations can draw on the know-how of HIMA experts who are connected from Brühl or Singapore. "The digital window into our Customer Solutions Center also creates a powerful testbed for HIMA experts who travel to the customer," adds Peter Sieber, Vice President, Strategic Marketing, of the HIMA Group, highlighting another benefit of this concept.
Safety experts see HIMA’s Safety Lifecycle Digitalization as a holistic process that ranges from engineering through operations to expansions and modifications, and which makes the management of safety technology more efficient and easier for plant operators. This is significant because over 80% of accidents in process industry plants can be attributed to human error. Digitized processes, including automatic tests, not only help to eliminate errors and lost information, but also to enhance safety thanks to stringent adherence to processes. The digitized process also enables new analysis and optimization options - for example, by automatically determining and displaying Key Performance Indicators (so-called process KPIs). This enables a real-time feedback loop for operations and safety experts. In practice, HIMA customers report savings of up to 70%.
"In the process industry, 'safety first' applies. The digitalization of functional safety leads to higher safety performance and increases productivity," says Jörg de la Motte, underlining the benefits of HIMA's digitalization strategy.
HIMA Group at the ACHEMA 2024: Hall 11.1, Stand E26
