In the energy industry, AI will function as a supercharged insights advisor, enabling the transfer of knowledge and supporting better decision-making for all users. Automating work through digital transformation will allow engineers to focus on more strategic and value-adding analyses. Predictive analytics will enable plant personnel to make unplanned shutdowns a thing of the past, thereby improving safety, sustainability and productivity. The smart enterprise of tomorrow will be highly automated, but it will also demand the human capabilities required to adopt and sustain these new technologies.
Energy companies around the world are facing pressures from every angle as they strive to deliver greater value while also responding to the needs of an evolving global economy. One issue that is bearing down on them fast is a looming loss of experience, as the industry’s older workers continue to retire and take their decades of accumulated knowledge with them.
In just a few years, the vast majority of the workforce will be Millennials, and this group won’t have the luxury of years to gain the technical expertise of their predecessors. Leading organizations are already preparing to support these workers, who will likely be the key to accelerating the success of their digital transformations.
As this demographic challenge is being addressed, oil, gas and petrochemical companies are also pivoting toward advanced technologies that use data science to automate their processes and safely run their facilities to the full limits of performance. A 2018 study by the McKinsey Global Institute found that almost half of all companies have already adopted at least one artificial intelligence (AI) capability, and more are joining them every day.
This is why the automation of processes, and even knowledge, becomes a critical enabler for the next generation of workers and why AI and machine learning have such enormous implications for workforce development in the energy industry. These advanced technologies not only resolve the troubling gap in workforce knowledge, but they also provide critical data science capabilities that are already in short supply.
AI in Action
AI in the energy industry functions primarily as a supercharged insights advisor. In this application, AI can analyse unimaginable amounts of data points thousands of times faster than a human worker, extracting key patterns to provide operational intelligence and automated workflows. AI enables the critical transfer of knowledge throughout the plant or site, supporting better decision-making for all users.
When engineers go to take an action in the smart enterprise of the future, they will receive automated advice (powered by AI) and will be automatically alerted if they can optimize in a certain area. They will also be warned if a procedure is not in line with company practices.
A smart refinery, for example, could use AI to instantly evaluate thousands of different feedstock scenarios. With the software doing the actual data analysis, planning personnel can focus on more strategic and value-adding analyses that may enhance the company’s market position.
If a petrochemical plant has AI monitoring its sensorized equipment, the system can automatically detect failures weeks or months before they happen and even provide detailed maintenance recommendations. With that ability to see ahead, maintenance personnel can then start planning to ensure a safe shutdown, accommodate the business needs that come with the outage and use the downtime to schedule additional maintenance tasks.
The capabilities of predictive analytics can essentially make unplanned shutdowns a thing of the past. In addition to improving safety and productivity, this can have a significant impact on the environment, as companies avoid the greenhouse gas releases that typically come with volatile operating conditions.
AI Delivers Value, as Well as Opportunity
AI is a clear win across the areas of safety, sustainability and productivity and it also empowers the workforce to focus on higher-value-add activities. This advanced technology will put a new generation of technically savvy workers in position to transform energy businesses to win in the marketplace of tomorrow.
While AI and machine learning will be key drivers of sustainable growth, they will still require the insight and knowledge of workers to achieve the greatest impact. In fact, the new strategies emerging around digital transformation, workforce enablement and environmental responsibility will be a key focus of industry leaders at the upcoming Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC).
I think what we’ll hear is that people will not be completely replaced by AI. In the smart enterprise of tomorrow, workers will bring new talents and new priorities for what they want to accomplish in their careers. Their valuable skillsets will be augmented with the latest advances in technology, and the organization will actually demand the human capabilities required to adopt and sustain these new technologies.
We’re really just beginning to tap into the opportunities that digital transformation can offer the workforce of tomorrow. Successful organizations today and in the future will be those that combine the benefits of technology with the organizational capabilities to empower their people.