Efficient Plant June 2021 - 13

feature | digital transformation
IN TODAY'S RAPIDLY changing industrial
landscape, companies must embrace digital
transformation and create a digital plant
to keep up with the pace of change, meet
growing operations challenges, and remain
competitive. Th e global pandemic has made
this even more of a priority as companies
address the need to be more agile in operations
to protect their employees and their
business.
How do you start the digital-transformation
process? Th is is particularly diffi cult
for industrial organizations due to legacy
automation assets, disparate soſt ware applications,
and the constant need to keep up with
ever-changing customer demands. Fortunately,
proven solutions and processes provide
the foundation for creating digital, optimized
plants.
Transformation of any sort requires a clear
vision of the future. You also need executive
buy-in, fi nancial support, possibly new
organizational models, and a cultural shiſt
that drives a new mind-set in your employee
base. A holistic approach is vital to seeing this
through and ensuring digital transformation
is a phased endeavor that delivers sustained
results. Transformation doesn't matter unless
you have a culture that's willing and able to
embrace it.
By taking a step-by-step approach to creating
a digital operation, you won't overwhelm
your existing infrastructure or your team.
Along the way, you can adjust your changes to
what works for your organization. It will also
give you an opportunity to include management
in your journey.
STEP BY STEP
Step one: Start. Sometimes, this is the
hardest step to take because you have to
identify which piece(s) of your process is/are
most critical. In some instances, it's a small
change that has a big impact. Make sure you
are not looking for solutions that will only
address one niche need. Investment of time
and money can provide a quick payback but
must provide the building blocks for future
optimization.
Organizations need to understand how to
confi gure their operations for transformation,
determining what capabilities, roles, leaders,
and teams are needed. Also, what are the tools
you need to employ to make your transformation
successful?
Step two: Connect the data. One thing
is certain: Digital transformation starts with
capturing operational data, combining it with
other meaningful data sources for context,
and managing a historical record. It is data,
turned into information, that provides the
basis for meaningful outcomes.
Companies that eff ectively leverage data
set themselves up for long-term success. A
connected and digitally oriented enterprise
allows you to capture more data and make
it actionable. Real-time visibility into asset
performance across devices can lead to cost
savings, improved productivity, and reduced
waste.
If you look at this as your base layer of
information gathering, you will generally
start with an HMI/SCADA solution as the
fi rst data source. Th is is where your operation
is controlled, so it's where your operators
look for the information needed to increase
effi ciency. As smart and IoT-enabled technologies
become more pervasive in industrial
organizations, it's the data derived from these
base systems that will drive the change that
companies seek.
Many companies understand the potential
and challenges of gathering data, but there
is an added layer of complexity and organization
that makes that data eff ective. IT
professionals look aſt er an organization's
information processing, hardware and
soſt ware installs, and monitoring and data
collection. OT professionals understand the
plant fl oor, asset functions, and the facility
structure. Aggregating data to ensure that IT
and OT professionals have access to that data
and can act on it, makes this digital transformation
eff ective.
Step three: Standardize. By standardizing
how you capture, analyze, and report data,
you can provide the transparency and
understanding that makes that data more
actionable. Data is a diff erentiator that
leverages relevant real-time insights to reduce
delivery time and increase throughput. It's
Combine asset-operation knowledge with understanding of natural and physical conditions to develop
accurate models to which you can apply AI.
JUNE 2021
EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 13

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Efficient Plant June 2021

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