Electrics & Electronics

Development of a collaborative documentation and information platform for the plant engineering industry

A power plant engineering company developed a CDIS (Collaborative Documentation and Information System) for the construction of a wood gasifier, mapping the entire life cycle of this complex technical unit. The CDIS facilitates simultaneous access to technical documentation by everyone involved in the process. The use of thin clients reduces energy and resource requirements.

Summary

Initial situation

SET 2000 GmbH offers consulting and planning in the field of power plant engineering.

In the conventional method of documentation in mechanical and plant engineering, the people involved in the process access the documents in sequence. Editing and filing documents is as complex as it is prone to errors.

The aim of the project was to develop a collaborative documentation and information platform (CDIS) which could map the entire life cycle of a complex industrial plant from planning and the approvals process through to construction, commissioning and operation.

For this, all processes had to be pooled in an integrated management system. Additionally, an ecological approach was taken when selecting the necessary IT components. The operating environment was to be created in line with the findings of the Fraunhofer study Environmental Comparison of the Relevance of PC and Thin Client Desktop Equipment for the Climate, 2008.

Technical solution

A central, fail-safe server-based computing architecture was developed to map and document the stages described above.

Within this computing architecture, applications are run completely by the server. There is no need to install the software used on the client systems.

Users access the relevant information via a web front-end on thin clients (PC terminals). Portable thin clients facilitate access to any relevant data in the field, including the building site.

A wood gasifier for the generation of electricity and heat erected during the course of the project in Mondovi, Italy, was used to evaluate the concept.

Findings

The following effects can be observed when CDIS is used in the construction of a plant:

Paper print-outs are reduced by avoiding media disruption (approx. 10,000 pages)

Business trips can be avoided due to the collaborative approach (8 flights)

Approx. 200 CD-ROM blanks are saved

21 of the 55 workstations used for documentation purposes were replaced by thin clients (IGEL UD3).
During the two-year funding period, this measure saved 5.85t of CO2 equivalents
If the remaining workstations are subsequently replaced by matching thin clients as planned savings (based on a three-year period) will increase to 22.93t of CO2 equivalents

Conclusions

CDIS technology is highly flexible with regard to the areas it can be used in.

Server-based computing is a trend in green IT which can contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by facilitating a more efficient use of energy than that offered by conventional IT equipment.

Project Participants

Promotion

More Project Informations

Project title: Aufbau einer kollaborativen Dokumentations- und Informationsplattform, die den gesamten Lebenszyklus einer komplexen technischen Anlage abbildet

Project number: 20142

Project period: 2008 - 2010

Project region: Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia)

Project contact:

Frau Fischer

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

+49 (340) 2103 3067

+49 (340) 2104 3067

View Publication

Source: Environmental library of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA)