Process Industries And The Digital Revolution

Key points

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The digitalisation of industry is helping change and shape the way things are being produced and consumed. The so-called fourth industrial revolution – Industry 4.0 – will help manufacturers enhance and improve productivity and enable flexible manufacturing where intelligence is shared both locally and internationally.

With the process sector currently considered to be behind more progressive industries such as aerospace and automotive in the adoption of digital technology solutions, the sector needs to make a significant leap forward to unlock its true potential.

Siemens brought together a number of specially invited participants – including representatives from industry trade bodies, government agencies, technology system integrators and process industry companies – to debate three key issues: technology, innovation and collaboration.

They are some of the primary catalysts that will help shape the ‘digital process of the future’ and contribute to improvements in UK productivity performance.

Below is a summary of the main points discussed.

Technology

The automotive sector was cited as a clear example where digital technology adoption is leading the way and against which process industries are lagging behind. Legacy technology is commonplace and the process sector is a long way from achieving the 7 to 8% productivity improvements witnessed each year in the automotive sector.

Such performance excellence by vehicle manufacturers has been built on yearly programmes of continuous improvement addressing both cost and the supply chain value issues.

The business potential inherent in digitisation is based on far better connectivity, data communication and intelligence. However, participants cited the practical difficulties of ‘getting communications working’ between disparate sites or locations and failure to address this is often a cultural issue.

For others, difficulty in technology adoption came down to cost and having to adapt what is in place. A call for better access to smaller-scale trial systems to allow companies to innovate and test as part of attempts to commercialise ideas and production would be welcomed.

The topic of non-physical production runs that use technology to model and test was cited as a potential way forward. An example of a pharma company in the USA using digital technology to simulate and carry out multiple experiments at the laboratory stage and share outcomes and learnings through a highly connected structure, is allowing its modelling to take place at a fraction of the cost of a physical lab.

Such an approach relies upon the intelligent use of data, and there was general agreement that cyber security issues and vastly differing company culture approaches to the uptake of data continue to hold many back in this area.

Making the case at board level for digital technology investment remains an ongoing challenge for many, despite the advantages it can deliver in terms of supporting innovation and productivity enhancements.

It was also argued that supporting the uptake of digital technologies would require new and enhanced employee skill sets. Traditionally skilled process engineers need to build engineering skills now for a future digital environment, while operations departments will also need support to optimise their understanding of digital technologies that increasingly include industrial software, communications, cloud computing, intelligent sensors, simulation and data management.

While an older generation of workers may require more urgent support in this area, the role of apprentices and young people offers hope. The increasing number of apprentices (thanks to Government support) and better enabled graduate entrants will bring fresh blood into the industry that is more conversant with a digitised industrial environment.

The case for shaping digital solutions is also highly dependent upon the user seeing the end benefit for themselves. Technology providers and system integrators have to help them on this journey of discovery and unearth and pin down project deliverables as proof points to assist end users in building the case for wide scale investment in digital technology adoption.

Innovation

With UK gross research and development today standing at 1.72% of GDP versus an average of 2.06% across the EU – Germany’s level is 6% – innovation remains a key topic when it comes to improving UK manufacturing competitiveness. New technology innovation centres such as the High Value Manufacturing Catapults are making innovation more accessible to manufacturers, but some barriers remain.

These include funding obstacles that can enable, for example, small scale modelling to take place before committing to significant levels of expenditure. The biotech sector was cited as an industry looking to innovate but is hampered by the number of competing companies targeting the same funding channels.

It was felt that Government needs to get fully behind a push for innovation and unlock the funding streams to allow small and medium-sized businesses to go to the next innovation stage.

The issues of intellectual property and commercial sensitivity constraints are holding companies back from using the centres designed to support them from an innovation perspective.

They are wary of sharing valuable information in a more collaborative setting and are therefore reluctant to engage. Leadership is required to see beyond the immediate constraints and develop a vision that places the value of innovation at the heart of the sector.

Some positive examples were provided where organic links between local process companies and academia were producing good innovation practice, but agreement was clear that the need for strong political will and a robust industrial strategy to drive shared innovation is required to overcome some of the commercial barriers currently in place.

The potential of digital technologies to deliver personalised medicines for the pharma sector, or a batch size of one at mass production prices, are ambitious goals that sound on the surface to be of value. However, some questioned the real value of a highly customised product or a batch size of one on a commercial basis.

Collaboration

Manufacturing companies in a new digital world need to move much faster to adopt and develop technologies, requiring stronger collaboration between research and development and innovation networks through to commercial manufacturing.

Trade bodies and higher education institutions were cited as strong examples where collaboration can thrive, while the example in the commercial world of a specialist biotech company now working with other specialist businesses to offer a more holistic market solution, also illuminated what is feasible on a collaborative basis notwithstanding commercial sensitivities. It was felt that huge efficiency gains would be possible through a more collaborative philosophy, for instance across the supply chain.

With process industry products often hidden from general view (in pipes, or part of a larger manufacturing process), the reputational status and image of process industries was also raised. A call to promote the contribution the process sector makes to the everyday lives of the population would be helpful in many ways including proving momentum for the recruitment of new blood and fresh skills in the sector.

Perhaps a more unified face to the sector and the joining together of currently disparate representative bodies that embrace chemicals, pharmaceutical’s and life sciences, could be a step in the right direction?

In summary, the key asks from attendees covered a number of areas:

A call for better engagement across process industries and the need for a respected leadership figure who could inspire and help deliver a strategy to fully embrace the potential of digital technology solutions, without relying upon government to do so
Lobby government to support and develop a cohesive Industrial Strategy
Gain better transparency of what we already have from a process industry capability and use this to support and optimise our supply chains
A focus on the digital skills needed by both an ageing workforce and new recruits to realise a true digital future
Work to develop a clear argument articulating how digitisation can deliver value and commercial worth in the minds of end users
Encourage government to devise and implement a cohesive industrial strategy and ensure it remains committed to its delivery
Build a better brand image representing the true value and impact of the work of process industries in the minds of the consumer.