Operational Technology Viewpoints

Despite being a mature market, Batch Management Software continues to grow and is robust in some markets.

Many industrial process plants are designed to run steady state for very long periods of time, thus providing a business with sustainable economic advantage.  Typically, in these instances, the on-line equipment utilization will be in the high 80 to low 90 percent range. 

For years, offshore oil and gas technology meant developing, designing and building custom-made rigs and platforms, but today, oil and gas companies are taking a vastly different approach, focusing relentlessly on increasing efficiency and lowering the costs of offshore exploration and production. 

For the first time since 1973, the United States is the world's largest producer of crude oil, according to the USA Department of Energy.  The American oil boom has reshaped global energy markets as US oil output has more than doubled over the past decade, and the industry needs to address risk-based asset performance.

The Industrial Internet of Things (IoT), the Digital Twins, and the connected devices continue to enable smart equipment and increase access to data.

Paul Casto, long-standing practitioner of reliability and maintenance (R&M) improvement methodologies and Intelligent Asset Practice Leader at GrayMatter Systems, is sharing how he is defining APM and how it continues to evolve. 

Automated mechanics & steering, which can be termed as “rig automation”, is now increasingly being extended to address downhole conditions, advancing drilling optimization across the complete process through understanding the subsurface and its interactions with the downhole drilling system penetrating through the rock, the drill-string carrying power from the rig, and the drilling fluid system.

Pipeline operators have been increasing the adoption of pipeline scheduling solutions as technology improvements have been improving performance and functionality, with the greatest traction being experienced by larger companies that are operating more complex pipelines with a mixture of liquids, such as crude, natural gas liquids and refined products.

​​​​​​​Suiker Unie is a sugar manufacturing company based in the Netherlands that started its “ Digitalization in Practice ” journey back in 2011, with the stakeholders creating a vision for the future. 

The phrase “fail fast” is increasingly finding its way into conversations about industrial digital transformation and Industry 4.0.  The implication seems to be that fail-first is a necessary component of a digital-first industrial work culture.