In a process industry like the forest industry, there is no shortage of data – for example, in a bioproduct factory, various production-related data is collected from almost 40.000 measurement points every second. To be transformed into information, the data mass needs artificial intelligence for analysis and a control system to relay the information to human operators.
Valmet supplies automation solutions to the pulp, paper and board industries, among others. In addition to process adjustments and optimization, data collected from production processes is utilized in equipment maintenance, among other things.
Continuous process adjustment is important for sustainable development and resource efficiency, as well as for controlling production costs in general. For example, when the price of electricity fluctuates every fifteen minutes, it is very important when and at what price an energy-intensive work step is carried out.
The most important thing is the essential
President of Valmet's Automation Systems business line Emilia Torttila-Miettinen points out that the huge amount of process data does not pose a problem for industrial automation. Instead, the relevance and reliability of the data are crucial. If data has been collected in bulk from the wrong place, it will not be transformed into valuable information through analysis. Nor will the intended benefit be obtained from it.
"From an industrial automation perspective, the most important thing is that the data is relevant for making production more efficient and, for example, for further processing."
In addition to information coming from elsewhere in the production value chain and being combined with their own process data, customers now also have to take into account various environmental regulations, guidelines or directives. These may affect production control and bring with them new reporting needs.
"Our customers have a very high need for data from their production. We offer them the opportunity to utilize it. And although the most important task of process automation is still efficient and reliable process control, not only the amount of process data, but also the number of data sources needed for overall optimization and reporting has increased."
The automation system must be able to efficiently and securely collect and analyze data from other parts of the production value chain, for example for various reporting purposes, factory-wide optimization or optimization across the entire value chain. That is why it is important for us to understand our customers' processes and value chains.”
Information security is challenged by the networked world
According to Torttila-Miettinen, the challenge for industrial automation is also ensuring information security in today's world, where data is also shared outside of one's own organization.
The Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) connects individual devices and systems to each other using sensors and actuators. Cloud services also bring opportunities and opportunities for data breaches.
“Automation also enables different levels of optimization across production chains.”
The challenge of information security is not only for automation system suppliers, but for everyone who currently collects and shares information in information networks.
“As we connect to different systems and utilize data, information security is essential for the safe continuation of production. In automation, very close attention must be paid to information security.”
Human-like automation
Torttila-Miettinen emphasizes that it is important to take people into account when designing automation control systems. This is also because the products of artificial intelligence that analyze data must be put into a form that is easily and quickly understandable for the human operator observing the processes.
Because humans have their own important place as users of data analyzed by artificial intelligence. They can solve problems and challenging situations, as long as they are informed about them.
“In addition, designing control systems is also about personnel turnover, especially now that retirement is advancing rapidly. Young people who have just entered the industry do not have the kind of experiential knowledge that older employees have.”
Valmet's user interface was revamped years ago.
"We combine data so that the customer's operators can quickly form a picture of where things are going. In addition to the so-called top level, the systems have an operator level where changes can be made if necessary."
Visuality is needed to quickly visualize the overall picture. Valmet employs, among other things, several display designers from the gaming industry.
More independent modern guidance
Valmet's industrial automation has long been based on the Valmet DNA DCS distributed control system.
The latest version, the Valmet DNAe control system, was introduced in April 2024. It also better meets the increasingly stringent requirements for information security than its predecessors.
The fully web-based process control system includes a new cyber-secure system architecture, control software and hardware, as well as planning and analytics tools, helping customers improve the efficiency, productivity, sustainability and safety of their operations.
In a press release, Emilia Torttila-Miettinen described the new Valmet DNAe system as a significant milestone in process automation.
“It promotes more digitalized and autonomous operations and helps our customers succeed in a changing business environment. In developing the new system, we have focused on usability and performance. Modularity also enables upgrade paths from previous generation systems.”
