Digital twin helps deliver a remote plant in the DRC

Katanga is a remote province located in the southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). As a resource-rich area, it boasts abundant reserves of copper and cobalt, with copper accounting for 50% of all DRC exports. To leach copper oxide minerals, the copper mines need sulfuric acid, and the supply in Katanga is constrained, having to be hauled long distances over sections of unpaved road to reach the secluded area. This situation causes high environmental risks, so to sustain one of the largest copper mining operations in the DRC, a new sulfuric acid plant is being built in Katanga that will manufacture thousands of tons of acid daily. Global professional services company Hatch was retained as the engineering, procurement, construction and manufacturing contractor to deliver the facility.

The US$245 million project features a 1400 ton-per-day manufacturing facility and an electrical waste heat power generation system with a steam turbine unit — critical to plant operations due to the limited power grid supply in the area — and complex integration with the existing electrical network. In addition to these technical challenges, the project presented logistical and environmental difficulties, given its remote location. A further challenge was meeting the client’s fast-tracked schedule.

To overcome these complexities and accommodate the accelerated timeline amid a team of engineers distributed globally across five offices, Hatch sought a sustainable technology solution, digitalising all workflows and deliverables. Upon completion, the DRC plant will be capable of making all the sulfuric acid that the copper mines need while exceeding world standards for sulfur dioxide emissions, optimising environmental sustainability.

Hatch implemented a collaborative digital strategy using Bentley’s open applications, streamlining workflows and facilitating quality engineering processes that saved time and costs. The project team used Bentley’s STAAD structural analysis and design software to model and analyse the structural steel components, and OpenPlant and OpenBuildings Designer to create a digital twin model of the entire acid plant. ProjectWise served as the collaborative platform to establish an open, connected data environment to manage and share information across five globally dispersed engineering offices.

“Bentley’s industrial plant products, and specifically ProjectWise, assisted the teams in executing the project following the same work-sharing principles out of our offices in Canada, South Africa, India, Australia and the DRC,” said Johan Palm, Project Manager at Hatch.

Bentley’s open applications provided flexibility within the design environment, enabling a single 3D model to be used for layout, analysis, design and fabrication. This flexibility also optimised coordination throughout all stages of engineering and construction, as well as presenting opportunities to capitalise on digitalisation to improve efficiencies. The interoperable digital technology allowed operations teams to interact in the model environment for hazard and operability study checks, improving operations reviews and enhancing operational safety. Integrating Navigator facilitated digital communication with on-site personnel, commissioning teams, and installation contractors through mobile devices and tablets. Providing field teams with real-time digital access to the accurate 3D model eliminated time otherwise needed to deliver drawings onsite, facilitated quality engineering and enabled issues to be resolved prior to construction and installation.

Overall, leveraging Bentley’s intelligent design and analysis applications within the connected data environment enabled Hatch to upstream quality processes, improve procurement and logistical strategies, and minimise construction rework. The digital solution optimised coordination between global delivery teams and site fabrication to accommodate the aggressive schedule.

Both structural steel and piping were along the critical path of the accelerated project schedule. Having a single digital twin model for engineering into fabrication and analysis saved six weeks on the critical path.

By directly purchasing steel quantities from the 3D model, the project team automatically produced digital deliverables to the fabrication management systems. This digital approach moved the steel fabrication process upstream as part of the engineering efforts, reducing engineering time by eliminating the need to generate redundant steel layout drawings.

The 3D digital twin, with its accurate information in a centralised data environment, cut three months from the schedule compared to producing and taking measurements from paper drawings. Using the digital twin model allowed the material supply process to simultaneously occur with production of piping isometric deliverables, resulting in saving 10% to 15% in purchasing costs for the client.

“Hatch has done several paperless projects, and it established an improved digital way of working that we offer on all our projects,” said Randy McMeekin, Global Managing Director at Hatch. “The benefits that our clients gain from our approach span not only the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) project delivery phase but also extend well into operations and maintenance.”

The biggest value within the concept of utilising a digital twin is the ability to shift forward the start of production and cut the ramp-up time. The 100% digital solution accelerated operational readiness, reduced capital expenditure costs by 20% and enabled Hatch to deliver the fast-paced project in under two years, from feasibility to start-up.