Rafal Chmielewski from Emerson explains
The energy transition is moving quickly, and it is making day-to-day operations more demanding. As more renewable generation is added, operators are working in an environment with more variability, more information, and less time to search for the right answer when issues arise
Artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to help, not by taking control of the plant, but by making it easier for people to access system knowledge, understand potential issues, and work more efficiently within the control environment. Emerson’s Ovation Automation Platform now enables AI through the Ovation Virtual Advisor, an AI-enabled assistant designed to provide knowledge-driven, real-time system guidance and contextual support. Integrated directly with the Ovation platform, it gives users faster access to relevant information, troubleshooting support, and plant-specific knowledge without changing the deterministic control philosophy operators rely on.
Improving access to critical system knowledge
Control systems are built on clear, deterministic logic and that is not changing. What often slows people down is not the control system itself, but the time it takes to locate the right supporting information. Operators, technicians and engineers may need to reference user manuals, knowledge-based articles, system history or configuration information before they can move forward with confidence. Ovation Virtual Advisor helps address that challenge by providing a user-friendly interface where users can ask questions in plain language, use pre-defined query topics, and retrieve sourced information relevant to the system. It also documents query history and results, helping users return to prior searches and reference information more easily over time.
Supporting faster troubleshooting
A second area where the Ovation Virtual Advisor adds value is troubleshooting. The assistant is designed to help investigate and address potential system issues by monitoring system health and identifying anomalies or impending problems. For example, it can detect anomalies on workstations and controllers based on performance-related metrics such as CPU utilisation, memory usage, hard disk space, operating system patches, and drop alarms. When thresholds are exceeded, the troubleshoot capability helps the user examine the anomaly, review a curated summary of potential causes, and access recommendations to mitigate the issue. It also enables operator actions related to the issue to be entered and tracked, with reports created for queries, recommendations, and actions taken.
Designed for secure, plant-specific deployment
The Ovation Virtual Advisor uses local, pre-trained models with embedded Emerson and customer-provided system information, helping organisations avoid exposing sensitive operational data to public cloud architectures. The system runs through a dedicated AI server and is tightly integrated with Ovation software release 4.0 or later. This architecture allows customers to introduce AI-enabled assistance into the control environment in a way that aligns with the security, reliability, and governance expectations of mission-critical operations.
Customising the assistant to the plant environment
Another important capability is customisation. To keep pace with changes after deployment, the AI models that power Ovation Virtual Advisor can be further tuned using new domain-specific information and operator feedback. Users can upload single or multiple files, including text, images, and tables, using drag-and-drop functions. The system organises data into smaller ‘chunks’ that can be viewed, annotated, labelled, and grouped into protected collections for easier management and tuning. This allows the assistant to be extended with plant-relevant information while maintaining a structured and manageable approach to model refinement.
Helping teams work more efficiently
As plant operations become more complex, even small reductions in search time and troubleshooting effort can make a meaningful difference. Ovation Virtual Advisor serves as an always-available digital assistant for plant operators, instrumentation technicians and control engineers by delivering instant answers to common or complex system or process questions, helping identify potential issues and guiding users through troubleshooting with step-by-step precision. Rather than replacing operator judgment, it supports the people already responsible for running and maintaining the system by improving access to information and making technical guidance easier to use in the moment.
The shift to a lower-carbon energy system is not only about adding new generation resources. It is also about giving plant personnel better tools to manage more complex operations with confidence. Ovation Virtual Advisor is a practical example of that approach. By improving access to system information, supporting faster troubleshooting, and enabling plant-specific AI customisation, it helps teams work more effectively while preserving the secure, deterministic foundation of the control system.
Rafal Chmielewski is Industry Sales Director Power & Renewables Europe at Emerson.
For more information visit: www.Emerson.com/Ovation
