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Digitization is changing the way industry operates. In addition to measuring production and worker performance, it is also on the verge of unlocking the physical plant site beyond mere specs, dimensions and isometric drawings.
One company leading industry into the digitized future is Engineering & Inspection Services (EIS). BIC Magazine recently spoke with Joe Brinz, CEO of EIS, about how the company is converting physical sites into data.
BIC: When was EIS founded and how?
BRINZ: EIS was founded in November 2000, and we started operations in the spring of 2002. Bill Davies, my business partner, and I were both former ExxonMobil engineers who wanted to focus on maintenance and reliability projects. That was our original thrust into the market: as independent consultants.
BIC: What services does EIS offer?
BRINZ: As engineers turned independent consultants, our background is primarily in maintenance and reliability engineering. We researched the market for scanning services to find out what clients could do if we provided them with data from scans (or "reality captures") of their specific facilities or process units. Planning groups immediately saw the benefit of having their units scanned for the purpose of planning and executing turnarounds, as well as other functions like doing remote bid walks.
Operations people said it was great that we could scan their units and, using VR headsets, they could use the reality capture data to start training operators on the actual units in which they would be operating without having to step foot in it.
The other group that immediately recognized the benefits was the inspection groups, who have always drawn sketches of piping systems by hand. If they had pipe systems in a 3-D environment on their computer, it would unlock their ability to easily demonstrate how the systems relate to each other in the physical space. Whereas there hasn't been a way for isometric piping drawings to show on paper how systems physically sit next to each other in the field, having the 3-D reality capture data gives them the opportunity to show that using a computer.
BIC: What type of scanning technology does EIS offer?
BRINZ: The standard static tripod-mounted scanner that has been used for years is extremely effective in terms of the accuracy of the data it captures. The new mobile scanners we have at EIS -- the NavVis VLX -- have only been around for six to nine months, and there are only about 200-250 of them in the world. We currently have two of them and a third one is on the way. Although the NavVis VLX scanners are slightly less accurate, the amount of time they save is immense. It takes only 10-15 percent of the time to complete a reality capture using a NavVis VLX as it would using a static tripod-mounted scanner.
BIC: Is reality capture the future of industry?
BRINZ: Yes, the intelligence provided by reality capture will become the backbone of how decisions are made. Think about it this way: If you're capturing a digital representation of a chemical plant or refinery and making it available to decision makers across functional areas, then each department can think outside the box in developing ways to use this data to make their workflows more efficient. EIS is confident that the way our industry currently performs day-to-day activities will change considerably over the next 5-10 years. Departments that typically work in silos and maintain their own master data sets can now work off of the same digital footprint, minimizing redundant efforts by using the same reality capture data rather than capturing the data on a project-by-project basis. From there, each silo will develop its own workflows that will take full advantage of the technology.
In the end, reality capture will provide the practical intelligence that plants and refineries need to make decisions. When you have the 3-D reality capture data of an entire site accessible on your computer anytime and anywhere, it's a whole different ballgame.
For more information, visit www.eisllc.net or call (504) 837-3310.
