In addition to other global assets, ArcelorMittal, the world's number one steelmaker, operates two interdependent companies in Quebec: ArcelorMittal Mines Canada and ArcelorMittal Infrastructure Canada. Following a recent expansion project and subsequent ramp-up in 2013-14, the company's Canadian operations now extract, process, haul, and ship roughly 26 million metric tons of iron ore products yearly to support steel production.

During the 20th Annual ARC Industry Forum in Orlando, Florida, representatives from ExxonMobil put forth a vision of a more open process control architecture. ExxonMobil depicted this vision as a "system of systems," with an open method of communicating between existing control systems, new control systems, and supervisory systems. The presenters provided little detail beyond that, and that was on purpose.

This ARC Advisory Group report explores commercial and industrial applications for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or what are commonly referred to as "drones." (NOTE: unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, is an equivalent acronym). As discussed in this report, drone applications have rapidly grown in recent years to include a wide variety of commercial, municipal, industrial, and non-military government uses. They are changing many staffing requirements and creating new business opportunities in the private sector.

Despite the current economic slowdown, the PLM (product lifecycle management) market continues to grow steadily in several market sectors (automotive, aerospace & defense, industrial equipment, etc.) and regions (North America, China, etc.). This is due in part to solution enhancements by leading PLM suppliers that fit well with the current digital enterprise initiatives at many end user organizations.

Overview

Operational excellence and continuous improvement programs at energy companies often target cost management and worker engagement to improve business performance. However, without making associated improvements in technologies or processes, many of these companies have struggled to reduce operations and maintenance costs to any significant degree.

Overview

ARC Advisory Group's recent India Forum in Bangalore focused on the latest trends and innovative technologies in IT, automation, and enterprise solutions, including the related opportunities and challenges facing various industries.

The third-party logistics (3PL) market − encompassing non-asset-based transportation, warehousing, and integrated supply chain services − experienced a year-over-year growth of 4.6 percent in revenues in the second quarter of 2016. The growth was mainly driven by acquisitions. Organic growth (without the effect of acquisitions) declined by about 6.9 percent, mainly due to softening global trade.

Categories of 3PLs

The scope of coverage includes non-asset based transportation, and warehousing services (called contract logistics in Europe) as follows:

Brain drain remains a top-level concern for asset-intensive industries, such as manufacturing, oil & gas, and utilities. Many technically skilled workers are aging out of the workforce, taking invaluable experience and expertise with them into retirement. Companies within these industries are struggling to replace these retiring workers.

At ARC's recent India Forum in Bangalore, executives from leading end user organizations shared their perspective on innovative new approaches and technologies, such as integrated connectivity, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things. In just two noteworthy examples, B.R. Mehta, Senior Vice President, Reliance Industries, and R. Sarangapani, Additional General Manager, NTPC, emphasized the paradigm shift in technology and the need to remain connected and mobile at all times, along with the associated challenges and benefits, with an emphasis on the need for secure connectivity.

As new open process automation systems are developed and commercialized, there will inevitably be a long transitional period as owner-operators migrate the installed base of DCS equipment to the new architecture. Some may decide to upgrade their installed DCS technology rather than adopt an entirely new automation architecture. ARC expects that the transition from a DCS installation to the new architecture could be as difficult as a DCS upgrade. However, from that point forward, up-dates to the new open architecture systems should be much smaller and easier to manage.