(67d) The Smart Plant - Fully Realizing the Opportunities for Industry

We continue to see good progress in the application of technology plus products and services from the marketplace to drive higher productivity and life-cycle benefits for manufacturing assets in the Process Industries. Should we be satisfied with the status quo or rate of progress? The answer is no! The reasons are simple - are our plants 100% reliable, do they operate at or near 100% of theoretical capability, and are we achieving zero injuries and releases. We all know these outcomes are not being achieved. We can take another step and ask whether or not the enterprise within which our plants operate is defined, modeled, automated, and optimized. Again, the answer is mostly no. Last but of increasing importance, are we developing and maintaining strong relationships between people, internal groups, and external entities - are industry, suppliers, technology providers, academia, professional societies, etc. working together in the optimum manner to produce the best possible results. The opportunities speak for themselves. Are we prepared to take the necessary actions to increase our shared AND individual success.