Kenexis Provides Chemical Engineering Progress Cover Story on Mobile Procedure Tools
The March 2022 edition of Chemical Engineering Progress has been released, and the cover story is “Mobile Tools for Operating Procedures”, written by Kenexis’ Ed Marszal and Margie Hughes. The article explains how software running in the cloud and accessed by mobile devices, like smart phones, tablets, and laptops can be used to make process plants safer with respect to procedures that require a great deal of manual interaction. Currently, manual interaction with process plants is controlled using procedures and associated training. Written procedures on paper are now an obsolete relic of a different millenium. Cloud-powered enterprise software now gives us dramatically better options that can lead to increased efficiency, productivity, and safety. The article explains how mobile computing procedures extend the procedure from a paper-based list of instructions, to a rich set of information that includes pictures and video to enhance user understanding. Furthermore, communications technology allows GPS to track expected versus actual location, provide turn-by-turn instructions to get to the correct location, and confirmation of proper equipment using QR code scanning. Advanced communication can also allow access to process data related to safe operating conditions and actual operating conditions currently in the equipment in the hands of the operators as they are out in the field making moves.
While the article is technology agnostic, the figures in the article were all developed using Kenexis’ OpScope™ software for cloud-based enterprise procedure automation through mobile and cloud computing. Those who are members of AIChE can access the article from the CEP magazine web site – https://www.aiche-cep.com/cepmagazine/march_2022.