What innovations will F.I.R.S.T. be presenting at VALVE WORLD EXPO?
Andreas Vogt: In addition to many enhancements to existing functionality in the area of control and safety valves or flow measurements, there are also completely new modules, such as the design of sampling for analyzers. And as an important point, there are many new options for licensing CONVAL® as a SaaS solution, which round off our range of services.
What are the advantages for users who use your CONVAL® program?
Andreas Vogt: CONVAL® gives users in system planning or operators the opportunity to design and recalculate their components, control, on/off and safety valves, actuators and others completely neutrally and independently of the manufacturer in accordance with the latest standards. A perfect way, for example, to make a technically sound decision between different offers from manufacturers. Or to obtain a well-founded analysis of problems with a valve.
The topic of digitalization is becoming increasingly important in the industry. Are you noticing this trend?
Andreas Vogt: We are noticing this in several ways. On the one hand, the pressure on our customers to develop end-to-end digital solutions is increasing, but so is the IT effort, especially in the area of cyber security. This leads to a high demand for CONVAL® SaaS solutions, but the hurdles in terms of IT security have increased in recent years, not least due to new standards (NIS-2, ISO 27001,...) which are now becoming mandatory.
Do you already use artificial intelligence or are you planning to use AI in the future?
Andreas Vogt: We have a clear focus on the topic of AI, are monitoring developments and are already using AI in some areas. However, it will certainly be some time before AI finds its way into our products. Solutions are already in sight in many areas, such as the collection of information from specification sheets. Other use cases, e.g. support with device selection, are being considered or are under development.
