CRB Reduces Risk with Simulation and Digital Twins

For CRB, a midmarket engineering and construction firm designing complex industrial facilities, the traditional approach to process design carried substantial risk. Physical commissioning of new production lines or facility changes required trial-and-error testing that could expose equipment to damage, generate unplanned downtime, and erode Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). In Industrial Machinery environments, even brief unplanned stoppages translate directly into lost throughput and missed delivery commitments. Without a way to validate process changes before implementation, CRB's teams had limited ability to set quantifiable performance targets or measure equipment utilization against them — leaving optimization largely reactive rather than proactive.

CRB implemented a two-layer digital approach using Rockwell Automation's Arena® simulation software and Emulate3D™ digital twin software. Arena provided discrete-event simulation, allowing engineers to model production workflows, identify bottlenecks, and stress-test process changes in a virtual environment before committing to physical modifications. Emulate3D extended this capability into a high-fidelity 3D digital twin, enabling teams to emulate machine-level behavior — including control logic — and validate automation sequences without touching live equipment. Together, the tools allowed CRB to move from reactive change management to a model-driven workflow where every modification is proven in simulation first. This integration gave operations teams a shared environment to align on performance targets prior to deployment.

Deploying Arena and Emulate3D delivered measurable operational and financial impact for CRB. The simulation-first methodology produced a quick ROI, shortening the validation cycle for process changes and reducing costly physical rework. Key outcomes included:

• Increased OEE and equipment utilization — virtual validation reduced trial-and-error on the floor, keeping equipment running rather than standing idle during change-overs or commissioning.
• Reduced change-necessitated downtime — process changes could be tested and refined digitally before implementation, minimizing unplanned stoppages.
• Defined performance benchmarks — teams gained the ability to set quantifiable targets upfront and measure actual results against the simulated model post-deployment.

• Pairing discrete-event simulation (Arena) with a physics-accurate digital twin (Emulate3D) addresses risk at both the process and machine level — neither tool alone covers the full scope.
• Simulate before you build: validating process changes virtually compresses commissioning timelines and protects OEE during transitions.
• Digital twins enable performance targets to be set with evidence, not estimates — turning OEE improvement from a goal into a measurable commitment.
• For midmarket manufacturers, quick ROI is achievable when simulation reduces physical rework costs and unplanned downtime from day one.
• Vendor-integrated tooling (Rockwell's FactoryTalk design suite) simplifies control logic emulation and lowers the barrier to adoption.