7 Case Studies
This section presents three case studies for implementing DTs in operating production lines or entire value chains. The work was carried out in different research
projects in which the authors were actively involved.
7.1 Digital Twin Management: Implementation of a DTMS
in an Operating Production Process
The first case study originates from the EIT Food project “Digital Twin Management” (DTM, 2018–2019) and was adapted from previous works [77, 83]. A DT
structure and a DTMS were implemented into the value chain of pudding production, including the production of the required flavors. Thus, two different companies
and corresponding plants required a suitable connection within the DTMS. The
recipe for the pudding product included skimmed milk, flavors, sugar, fat, and
other ingredients. A producer of flavors manufactured the flavor ingredients and a
dairy plant was responsible for the actual pudding production. Figure 12 illustrates
the corresponding big picture, which includes the physical model and the data
model. Internally, in both companies, quality managers, warehouse managers, and
production managers aimed to participate in the DTMS. In addition to the two
companies, the stakeholder analysis identified three other major parties: authorities,
customers, and logistics. Notably, the authorities and customers benefit from the
DTMS via apps delivering suitable production data.
Process and structural characterization were first realized for the producer of
flavors. Moreover, an MES and data storage system existed in the process line.
The process type was batch related and comprised three different process sections:
warehouse, production, and storage. Each production step represents an individual
unit operation: juicing, filtering, and rectifying. According to the standards explained
in Sect. 4, they are declarable as units. In addition, various sensors that measure
temperature, pressure, and weight were identifiable. The system also registered
timestamps of several process starts and ends and was confirmed via HMIs. These
data points were declared as control modules according to the selected standards.
Manual transport helped connect between the units, and timestamps registered the
layover of a batch at a particular unit.
The dairy plant was also batch related and was equipped with various management systems (MES, LIMS), historical data storage, and partially automated production facilities. Five different process sections existed: warehouse, milk storage,
pudding production, cream production, and packaging. Pudding production was
targeted for the DT implementation. This process includes four steps: ingredient
mixing, homogenization, pasteurization, and packaging. The cream production
consists of fat storage, cream whipping, and cream storage. Both process sections
include various physical assets such as sensors (e.g., temperature, pressure, and pH)
154
R. Werner et al.
This section presents three case studies for implementing DTs in operating production lines or entire value chains. The work was carried out in different research
projects in which the authors were actively involved.
7.1 Digital Twin Management: Implementation of a DTMS
in an Operating Production Process
The first case study originates from the EIT Food project “Digital Twin Management” (DTM, 2018–2019) and was adapted from previous works [77, 83]. A DT
structure and a DTMS were implemented into the value chain of pudding production, including the production of the required flavors. Thus, two different companies
and corresponding plants required a suitable connection within the DTMS. The
recipe for the pudding product included skimmed milk, flavors, sugar, fat, and
other ingredients. A producer of flavors manufactured the flavor ingredients and a
dairy plant was responsible for the actual pudding production. Figure 12 illustrates
the corresponding big picture, which includes the physical model and the data
model. Internally, in both companies, quality managers, warehouse managers, and
production managers aimed to participate in the DTMS. In addition to the two
companies, the stakeholder analysis identified three other major parties: authorities,
customers, and logistics. Notably, the authorities and customers benefit from the
DTMS via apps delivering suitable production data.
Process and structural characterization were first realized for the producer of
flavors. Moreover, an MES and data storage system existed in the process line.
The process type was batch related and comprised three different process sections:
warehouse, production, and storage. Each production step represents an individual
unit operation: juicing, filtering, and rectifying. According to the standards explained
in Sect. 4, they are declarable as units. In addition, various sensors that measure
temperature, pressure, and weight were identifiable. The system also registered
timestamps of several process starts and ends and was confirmed via HMIs. These
data points were declared as control modules according to the selected standards.
Manual transport helped connect between the units, and timestamps registered the
layover of a batch at a particular unit.
The dairy plant was also batch related and was equipped with various management systems (MES, LIMS), historical data storage, and partially automated production facilities. Five different process sections existed: warehouse, milk storage,
pudding production, cream production, and packaging. Pudding production was
targeted for the DT implementation. This process includes four steps: ingredient
mixing, homogenization, pasteurization, and packaging. The cream production
consists of fat storage, cream whipping, and cream storage. Both process sections
include various physical assets such as sensors (e.g., temperature, pressure, and pH)
154
R. Werner et al.