Will Smart Plant replace systems engineers?

[brownplayboy310]

I was sitting through a presentation about smart plant and the presenter discussed all the powerful integration tools that Smart Plant Foundation had... including the ability to take pull data from simulations, data sheets, and piping isometrics. Currently it's more of a data base management tool but as soon as some savvy process engineers that know how to code finally bring it up to it's full capability I think the need for systems engineers will be reduced significantly if not eliminated. Any ideas on this?

 

[zdas04]

Not a freaking chance. Any given symptom can have thousands underlying causes. I've seen these AI system with dozens of responses to a symptom, but never one with hundreds, let alone thousands.

Tools like you are talking about do change the required tool box for systems engineers (more database, more simulation, less projects) but in my experience it ends up increasing both the numbers of bodies and the effectiveness of those bodies.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

Law is the common force organized to act as an obstacle of injustice Frédéric Bastiat