Efficient Plant October 2022 - 4

column | editorial
Factors that
Block Digital
Transformation
Gary L. Parr
Editorial Director
D
IGITAL TRANSFORMATION
is, and has been, a subject of much
discussion for manufacturers who
want to advance their systems to top-quartile
status. While some have found a successful
path, many are caught in pilot purgatory and
many more are simply struggling to get off
the ground. The supply-chain and personnel
issues that the pandemic has shoved to
the forefront are increasing the pressure to
advance plant reliability.
Is a siloed approach preventing your enterprise
from enjoying the benefits of digital
transformation?
4 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
WHAT'S HOLDING
PEOPLE BACK?
Some clarity comes from an April
2022 article from authors Gregolinska,
Khanam, Lefort, and Parthasarathy at
McKinsey & Co., New York City. The article,
" Capturing the true value of Industry
4.0, " identifies five common pitfalls that
prevent scaling of digital-transformation
projects (Read the extensive article at:
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/
operations/our-insights/capturing-thetrue-value-of-industry-four-point-zero).
Those
pitfalls are:
Siloed implementation. By pursuing
digital transformation as a theoretical
exercise, many companies unwittingly set
up independent delivery teams that are
decoupled from business leaders, site operations,
manufacturing excellence, and central
IT. Others focus too much on replicating a
single-site experience, failing to appreciate
wider network complexities.
Failure to adapt. By deploying a onesize-fits-all
approach, manufacturers miss
the opportunity to build in the customization
and adaptation needed to leverage the
unique circumstances, culture, and values of
separate factory sites.
Analysis paralysis. Performing a full
and deep up-front analysis of an entire
network can leave a manufacturer out of
steam before a transformation can get off the
ground. Instead, robust, accurate-enough
insights can be gleaned from a well-developed
extrapolation methodology.
Technology-driven rather than
value-driven. A technology-first rollout
means that solutions are deployed without a
clear link to real value opportunities, business
challenges, or capability requirements.
The result: Undermining crucial buy-in from
the people charged with making deployment
work.
Letting the 'perfect' defeat the good.
By waiting until a fully fledged, ideal-state
data and IT/OT (information technology/
operational technology) architecture is
defined and implemented before rolling out
Industry 4.0 solutions, manufacturers lose
out on the shorter time-to-impact made
possible through a proven and pragmatic
minimal viable architecture.
The fourth and fifth items in that list
stand out. The technology-driven rather
than value-driven item describes those who
simply want to throw money at the problem
by purchasing the latest and greatest
technology/systems without doing their due
diligence. The end result is frustration when
the investment doesn't deliver the expected
" instant " payoff.
" Letting perfect defeat the good, " goes
against tried-and-proven advice to start
small, experience some victories, and build
on those successes. Doing so takes planning
and patience, but most who are enjoying
system-wide success have followed that path.
Wherever you are on the digital-transformation
journey, take a few minutes to read
the McKinsey article. It'll definitely give you
food for thought and just might help you
better orient your thinking and planning so
that your digital-transformation efforts pay
off with improved reliability and profits. EP
gparr@efficientplantmag.com
OCTOBER 2022
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/capturing-the-true-value-of-industry-four-point-zero http://www.EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
Efficient Plant October 2022

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