BHEL : Keeping pace with industry 4.0

By Jai Prakash Srivastava | Director (Engineering, R&D) | Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited

Established in 1964, BHEL is one of the largest & oldest engineering and manufacturing enterprises in India in the energy and infrastructure sectors. BHEL has a widespread network of 16 manufacturing facilities, 2 repair units, 8 service centres, 15 Centres of Excellence, 5 specialized institutes for carrying out advanced R&D in various engineering disciplines. BHEL offers one-stop solutions backed by its core design, engineering and manufacturing strengths coupled with a committed pool of about 28,000+ employees (including about 9,200 skilled engineers), contemporary technologies and state-of-the-art manufacturing and testing facilities. The company undertakes projects under various business models including Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), Supply & Supervision, Consortium Partner, Contract Manufacturer, etc., as per customer requirement.

From making India self-reliant in power generation to setting up power-plants in Africa, South-East Asia and Far East, BHEL has contributed over 200 GW of power-generation capacity. BHEL has also been deeply involved in industrial and strategic sectors offering our customers a comprehensive portfolio of products, systems and services in power (nuclear, hydro, solar and thermal), transmission (sub- stations, HVDC converter station, transformers, shunt-reactors, instrument transformers, switchgear), railways (rolling stock, propulsion, traction motors, transformers, etc.), defence, aerospace, oil & gas, battery energy storage systems & EV chargers and stand-alone products such as compressors, heat exchangers, motors, pumps, valves, etc., adhering to international standards. Besides a formidable presence in India, the company has a widespread footprint spanning 90 countries across all the inhabited continents of the world.

Adoption of Industry 4.0 in BHEL

Today’s world is highly dynamic and digitally connected. Nothing seems to move without a ‘digital backbone’ and the ‘world wide web’. The confluence of digital technologies and cognitive computing such as Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and 3D-printing have given rise to the 4^thindustrial revolution (Industry 4.0). Keeping itself in sync with the same, BHEL has taken up implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies both as a business opportunity as well as for advancing manufacturing operations to make itself future ready. Presented here are a few major initiatives of BHEL in this direction.

MOLA (Machine Oriented Learning Application)

At BHEL, we are committed to explore best IIoT practices to have a profound impact on manufacturing businesses allowing us to plan, control, integrate, analyze and optimize processes in a better manner by creating a network of connected machines, systems, devices and humans. To achieve it, BHEL in-house developed an IIoT platform, MOLA whose critical objective is to drive manufacturing forward, be faster, more productive and more efficient.

MOLA (Machine Oriented Learning Application) is essentially a collection of Digital Twins of different subjects (machines), and their interesting unknown insights. It is transport-agnostic and may support any IoT protocol that one can create and add to the platform. MOLA provides a register of digital twins, which represent things, devices, and other entities managed by the platform. It standardizes the integration of devices by virtualization. MOLA connects to devices efficiently, manages devices, collects data, performs advance data analytics, and provides complex visualizations, alerts, triggers and notifications.

MOLA can connect to a wide range of machines, process plants, and industrial instruments and discover interesting unknown insights for the process improvement and life time enhancement. It reinvented the wheel by creating a completely programmable ‘Digital Twin’ of the assets. It utilizes python to develop AI/ML models with the volume of data of the order of 7TB without affecting the user experience.

MOLA is secure and connected assets are safe in this era of modern cyber-attacks. All communication with the assets is end-to-end encrypted with industry leading AES 256-bit encryption. All the communication happens inside the secure session. In case of any tampering the secure session will get destroyed and asset will get disconnected.

Standalone IIoT solutions in Manufacturing

1. Substation Automation System (SAS)

BHEL has developed an automation system for centrally controlling & monitoring all the 32 substations in the BHEL Bhopal factory from electrical control room. It has enabled real time monitoring of Electrical Parameters &Alarm Annunciation and supports Power Factor improvement.

• Online Energy Management System

Considering energy management as a primary concern, BHEL has developed in-house web based IIoT platform for Online Energy Management System for real time capturing & recording data of the energy meters installed across the factory. All electrical parameters are now available online without manual intervention. Online availability of demand data for monitoring and energy predictive management has made the manufacturing more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable.

• Online System for Interlinking of Welding Work

Using IIoT, BHEL has created an online system for interlinking of welding work centres for data logging with remote connectivity. It has provided monitoring and diagnostics of welding process of shop floor based at remote location/office, so thus, enhanced the weld quality and related decision making capabilities.

• Photo Voltaic (PV) Cell Manufacturing Dashboard

BHEL has developed a dashboard for monitoring & analysing all the process parameters of PV Cell Line in Solar Business Division, Bengaluru.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based Material Tracking System

RFID based material tracking system has been developed for an effective yard management solution which provides online asset visibility and inventory accuracy. System enables accurate and real-time inventory management, ensuring the availability of essential components while minimizing excess inventory by optimizing material usage and reducing stock outs. It fosters the development of advanced material tracking and data management technologies, promoting industry competitiveness. The system is under implementation at NTPC Talcher 2×660 MW and NTPC Lara 2x 800 MW Thermal Power Projects.

Remote Monitoring and Diagnostic System (RMDS)

RMDS is a real time predictive, analytic, diagnostic and advisory system with advanced pattern recognition techniques for estimating expected values for the modelled assets and generating alerts based on the difference between expected values and the actual values. RMDS improves asset availability and reduces maintenance costs through automated early detection of a wide range of impending failures of plant assets prior to degradation. BHEL’s in-house developed RMDS has been successfully implemented at 500 MW Vijayawada Unit-7 (M/s APGENCO) and 250 MW Trombay Unit-8 (M/s Tata Power).

Smart Project Management System (SPMS)

Smart Project Management System (SMPS) is a tool for end-to-end monitoring of Material, Men & Machinery using Industry 4.0 solutions for monitoring project execution at various stages. It encompasses a set of technologies that include industrial IoT networks, RFID systems, Big Data, Long Range (LoRa) WAN, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Internet of Things. The main objectives of this system are:

1) Fetching material status

2) Easy search/locating of material

3) Optimizing manpower deployment

4) Real time monitoring of heavy machinery

The system is under implementation at NTPC Talcher 2×660 MW and NTPC Lara 2x 800 MW Thermal Power Projects.

Digital Transformation in BHEL

In the vast landscape of India’s industrial titans, BHEL stands out as a leading engineering and manufacturing giant. From its early years, BHEL has established robust IT Systems and infrastructure to automate its business processes, efficiency in business operations, fast decision making and data security. Despite significant achievements in this field, BHEL, like any other organization on a high growth trajectory in the past decade, was grappling with complex business operations and systems which were resulting in challenges in business process, decision-making and constraints in innovation. BHEL has been a cornerstone of India’s industrial sector, providing engineering solutions and manufacturing capabilities that have powered the nation. However, with its extensive and intricate architecture, BHEL faced significant hurdles. The organization’s vast and distributed structure, coupled with a reliance on legacy systems, created an environment where agility was compromised. This lack of flexibility became a critical issue in a rapidly changing market where speed and adaptability are paramount.

Recognizing these challenges, BHEL embarked on a journey of digital transformation to streamline its operations and derive business advantage.

For BHEL, transforming an established business to thrive in a world of constant digital change was a formidable challenge. The transformation effort had to be framed around business, employees, customers, and suppliers. Although technology played a part in the implementation of the digital strategy, it was not the sole focus. The transformation strategy aimed to integrate new technologies and processes while fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.

To begin with, major problem areas were identified at all levels of IT landscape. At the infrastructure level, constraints were identified both at the end user level and at underlying infrastructure like network, servers, storage, data center, etc. At application level, the needs of the stakeholders in the fast-changing business scenario were assessed. Similarly, at security level, the challenges facing the organization in view of the fast-changing cyber threat landscape were evaluated. The issues were prioritized and addressed in a mission mode through necessary interventions of policy, technology and process optimization, and orchestrated cross-unit efforts were made for the execution of these initiatives.

E-waste Treatment Pilot Plant

With the proliferation of digitalization all around us, digital junk and E-waste are bound to pose a challenge in near future. To make the operations and technological advancements sustainable, it has become imperative to plan for clean disposal of the e-waste after end-of-life. Keeping the same vision in mind, BHEL in collaboration with IIT Chennai has developed a ‘zero discharge’ process to extract prominent metals in E-waste. The project is funded by Department of Science and Technology under the scheme “Innovation, Technology Development & Deployment” for Waste Management Technology. A 100kg/batch Pilot Scale Demonstration plant has been setup to process typical e-waste and recover valuable metals (lead, tin and copper).

This project helps in scientifically obtaining pure metals, through a Green Hydrometallurgy route & Zero Discharge process, and reintegrating them into a circular ecosystem. The salvaged metal can be utilized for creating self-reliance (supporting AatmaNirbhar Bharat) in the availability of critical metals and bringing down the carbon footprint of the overall manufacturing process.

The transformation journey through all the above innovations is a reflection of a cultural shift within BHEL. Employees are more empowered, valued for their contributions, and encouraged to innovate. The organization has fostered a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring it remained agile and responsive to market changes. By embracing digital tools and fostering a culture of innovation, BHEL has positioned itself for sustained success in the competitive global market.

Perhaps the most significant outcome of all the novel digitization initiatives is the increased agility that BHEL now possesses. The organization is better equipped to adapt to market changes, respond to customer needs with greater speed and flexibility, and navigate the ever-changing business landscape with confidence. BHEL’s digital transformation journey serves as a compelling case study for organizations seeking to build an agile framework and achieve sustained success in today’s competitive environment.

BHEL’s journey exemplifies how comprehensive digital transformation, underpinned by Agile principles, can empower an organization to adapt swiftly to market changes, respond to customer needs, and navigate the dynamic business landscape with confidence. Through its strategic initiatives, BHEL not only addressed the challenges of its complex architecture but also set a new standard for agility and efficiency in the industrial sector. The road ahead is promising, with BHEL poised to leverage its newfound agility to drive growth, innovation, and competitive advantage. This transformation story serves as a compelling case study for organizations seeking to build an agile framework and achieve excellence in today’s fast-paced environment.

Conclusion

BHEL, a stalwart in India’s industrial sector, is undergoing a significant digital transformation. By embracing Industry 4.0 technologies and implementing innovative home-grown digital solutions, BHEL is enhancing efficiency, productivity, and sustainability. The company’s focus on IoT, AI, and data analytics is enabling predictive maintenance, real-time monitoring, and optimized operations. This transformation not only strengthens BHEL’s position as a global leader but also contributes to India’s vision of becoming an ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’.

(Shilpa Bichitra | Special Edition | 2024)