“We will foster the further digitalisation of Covestro. We are building on many years of experience in working with data. Now, we are entering into the next dimension,” said Klaus Schäfer, chief technology officer (CTO) of Covestro and responsible for production and technology. “Today, digital solutions contribute significantly in making life easier and simplifying work. They have become standard in everyday life. Digitalisation has a huge impact on the chemical industry, too. With new digital applications, we at Covestro want to make production processes even more efficient and sustainable.”

In order to advance the digitalisation of new production facilities, the company has launched the global programme Optimised System Integration (OSI 2020). Data integration, data analysis and the associated new ways of thinking and working are intended to make the engineering, operations and manufacturing of plant facilities more safe, reliable and efficient within the next years.

The heart of OSI2020 is the new Integrated Plant and Engineering Platform. In the near future, major data systems within operations will be connected to this platform. The aim is to create a unified data model and a digital twin for Covestro production facilities. This will enable the company to significantly improve cooperation and handover between internal and external employees in the engineering and operating phases.

As a result, the company expects an even higher degree of quality in execution, improved work safety, less need for rework and rectification of defects during the plant engineering and construction phase, maintenance and facility overhaul. This allows for increase in production capacity.

With 2017 sales of 14.1 billion euros, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries.