“Our engineering experience and knowledge as a manufacturer of equipment for Montes del Plata is embedded in this database.”
ALEXANDER ROSTEK
Manager of Detail Engineering and
Tools for ANDRITZ AUTOMATION
Metris cloud engineering - Montes del Plata
Saves time and money
Montes del Plata uses an integrated Cloud-based engineering tool from ANDRITZ AUTOMATION to stay instantly up to date.
The Montes del Plata mill in Uruguay is the first to license the Uniform ANDRITZ Tool (UAT) as a platform for its own use – for efficient collaboration not only with ANDRITZ, but also within the mill and with sub-suppliers.
The UAT is an integrated database developed by ANDRITZ over the years as its central engineering tool for process, instrumentation, electrical, and automation projects. The core software (Siemens COMOS) was launched in 2002, but has been highly customized for the unique requirements of the pulp and paper industry by ANDRITZ over the last 15 years.
PERFECT COMPLEMENT TO IIOT
“We rely on this Cloud-based platform to collaborate with customers, engineering partners, and other sub-suppliers working on a project anywhere in the world,” Rostek explains. “It provides benefits not only during the engineering phase, but through the entire lifecycle of a project. Because of this, we decided to make this database available to customers – and Montes del Plata seemed like a perfect first partner giving secured access to the respective project within UAT.”
“We were very interested when we were first approached about licensing the Uniform ANDRITZ Tool,” says Jose Vazquez, Superintendent of Engineering and Maintenance at Montes del Plata. “The design for this mill was fully implemented by ANDRITZ in this software, so there is a lot of information already in place. And, having everything on the same software platform was very appealing.”
According to Federico Ferreira, Electrical Engineer at Montes del Plata and the person managing the implementation of the software in his company, a key advantage is that everyone involved in a project is now working with the same data. “It was a much slower process before when we worked with lists in one software, engineering drawings in another, and other documents in a third software,” Ferreira says. “When we made a change in one document, we used to have to remember which other documents to change. Now, the COMOS software does this automatically.”
INSTANTLY UPDATED
A key advantage to the UAT is that all engineering data is maintained in a single database, which helps improve engineering quality. The seamless transition from basic to detail engineering simplifies documentation and revision management. Common templates for lists, P&IDs, loop diagrams, and other documents are included. The software has automatic updating procedures so that any revision or update is instantly reflected in all relevant documents – and this revision is made instantly available to everyone.
“It is important that everyone is working with the same data,” says Pedro Casagrande, an Electrical, Automation, and Instrumentation Analyst with ANDRITZ who has been working in a support role with the Montes del Plata team. “In the old way of working, it was possible that a change was made in the field – say an instrument was added or a pump was relocated – and this change never made its way to the drawings. You find out eventually, but a lot of time and frustration is involved in getting the correct information. Because all data is always available and up to date, it depicts the actual as-built status of a mill at all times.”
“Metris Cloud Engineering will be our principal platform in the future,” Vazquez says. “All modifications will be up to date. This lays the foundation for greater reliability in decision-making and more efficient work throughout the entire mill – saving us time and money.”
