Simulation based engineering - from process engineering to automation engineering

Automation systems and their engineering are essential for an economic and safe operation of a plant and make up a significant portion of the total cost for a new plant. Nevertheless it is common practice to work on process design, plant design, automation design and operational concept in separated ways. In general, information is passed on to the next work package in paper form only. Simulation based (automation) engineering means an approach to support a more continuous engineering workflow and a more integrated process view. In this paper we will outline corresponding developments and trends to reduce time and cost in automation engineering.