Lessons from chemical industry: 3 keys to process automation

The integration of process and automation engineering in the chemical industry has led to increases in overall efficiency and shorter project times, Thomas Dieckhoff of Siemens explained at the 2014 IADC Drilling Systems Automation Roadmap Workshop on 17 June in Vienna. In this exclusive interview with DC, Mr Dieckhoff describes the three core concepts of process automation – integrated engineering, production excellence and modularization/decentralization/standardization – and challenges to apply automation in the drilling business.