The convergence of Real-Time Process Intelligence (RTPI) and Digital Transformation (Dx) is unlocking unprecedented opportunities for organisations to enhance efficiency, improve decision-making, and stay competitive. As industries across the globe face increasing pressure to innovate and deliver more value, the application of RTPI into digital strategies is proving to be a game-changer.
The Role of Digital Transformation in Modern Industry
Digital Transformation (Dx) is more than just a buzzword; it represents the ongoing reinvention and a fundamental shift in how organisations transparently operate, make decisions, and deliver value to the business and its customers. At its core, Dx involves leveraging digital technologies to create new or modify existing business processes, operational workflows, culture, and enhance their customer experiences to meet changing business and market requirements.
For many industries, this transformation is driven by the need to improve efficiency and productivity, reduce costs, and enhance the ability to respond to market demands. However, the journey to a highly digitised operation requires a careful balance between adopting innovative technologies and integrating them into existing processes.
Introducing Real-Time Process Intelligence
Real-Time Process Intelligence (RTPI), which provides operational intelligence as production occurs, enables organisations to monitor, analyse, and predict performance.
RTPI works by collecting data from various sources including sensors, equipment, machines, other connected devices, as well as operational information, product, and quality data. This information is then processed and analysed in real time, providing insights that can be used to optimise operations and production output with specific focus on OEE gains.
By providing a continuous flow of actionable insights, RTPI enables companies to make better informed decisions faster than ever before.
The Synergy Between RTPI and Digital Transformation
When RTPI is integrated into a company’s digital transformation strategy, it creates a powerful synergy that enhances the effectiveness of both initiatives. Here’s how RTPI and Dx work together:
- Objective focus: RTPI is based on defined objectives with metrics, providing a focus and outcomes for Dx initiatives.
- Stakeholder engagement: To facilitate the understanding of issues and what changes are affective to provide production improvements, you need to ‘see’ the opportunities. Viewing raw data from single sources and not sharing the knowledge will not get the engagement from stakeholders which is a very important element of Dx.
- Enhanced Decision-Making: With RTPI, decision-makers have access to real-time useable information, enabling them to respond to changes in production conditions immediately. This transforms decision making by significantly reduces the lag time between data collection and action.
- New technology access: RTPI provides a continuous stream of data that can be used to identify inefficiencies in real time and simplifies the application of Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics and modelling. This allows organisations to optimise their processes on the fly, reducing waste and improving overall efficiency.
- Operational Integrity: In a digitally transformed environment, variations to optimum are quickly identified and alerted to the people responsible. RTPI helps organisations ensure that operations run smoothly, and products are delivered on time, and with consistent quality.
- Scalability and Flexibility: As organisations grow, the ability to scale operations without sacrificing efficiency becomes critical. RTPI provides the flexibility needed to expand operations while maintaining control over quality and performance.
Industry Applications: Where RTPI and Dx Converge
The integration of RTPI with Dx is driving significant advancements in most industries. Leading the rollout are the manufacturing and mining industries. These sectors, both critical to the global economy, are seeing the transformative benefits from the convergence of these technologies.
Some specifics for these industries are summarised below.
1. Manufacturing:
The manufacturing sector is undergoing an evolution and reinvention with the rise of smart manufacturing. RTPI plays a significant role by enabling manufacturers to collect, analyse, and act on information from production lines in real time.
Production
RTPI is being used to monitor machine or plant performance and even detect anomalies before they become issues. The inputs into RTPI are not just plant/sensor data, but operator actions or inactions, equipment malfunction, mismatched production objectives and quality issues. By integrating this capability into a digital transformation strategy, manufacturers can shift from just periodically reporting overall performance to identifying specific issues. Operators can receive alerts immediately to enable corrections to be made. This can be expanded to predicting future outcomes based on current operations.
Quality
In industries where quality is critical, RTPI is invaluable. Real-time data allows for continuous monitoring of production processes, ensuring that production meets the quality standards and regulatory requirements. Using ML and AI production teams can be made aware of possible specific quality issues which are directly aligned with the product being manufactured and process conditions that currently exist.
Resource Optimisation
Common applications for RTPI in manufacturing are using its detailed knowledge of the process to achieve objectives associated with improving material and energy consumption. Material and energy use is easily categorised into production and non-production outcomes. Manufacturers are identifying where wastage of resources are occurring and where attention is required.
When coupled with improved plant utilisation or speed improvements the outcomes are further enhanced.
Operational Changes
RTPI strategies include identifying how automation, production needs and operational processes affect production. This is often a unique formal ‘picture’ of the facility and where automation and Dx can be focused to provide real achievable benefits.
2. Mining:
The mining industry, known for its challenging robust environments and complex operations, is also reaping the benefits of RTPI. By integrating real-time data collection and analysis into their operations, mining companies create more visibility and therefore can significantly improve efficiency, productivity, sustainability, and safety.
Resource Management and Sustainability
Efficient resource management is crucial in mining, where the cost of extraction and processing can be significant. RTPI enables mining companies to optimise resource extraction by providing real-time insights into ore quality, equipment performance, and operational conditions.
Furthermore, RTPI also supports sustainability initiatives by allowing companies to minimise environmental impact. For instance, real-time monitoring of energy use, water consumption, and waste management processes helps in reducing the ecological footprint of mining operations.
Integration of Siloed Data
Generally mining equipment tend to be separate machines and systems that work together to provide a result. However existing information tend to be very segmented with elements supplied by different vendors who often have their own information systems focused on their needs. They ignore the other conditions and events in a mine, and how they affect outcomes.
Some examples are separate silos of information exist for mine plans, mining equipment,, development, extraction, transport, materials handling, processing, and delivery. Where there is some Dx activity, it tends to be disjointed. Reporting tends to be based on periodic outcomes and/or low resolution, or how and when maintenance occurs more than improving capacity.
RTPI enhanced the understanding of how systems interact and provides critical information to direct production staff when they need it. This is both in real time and understanding historical events and how they affected other systems and ultimate mine output.
Remote Operations
Mining for example often has a remote services element, whether this is a formal Regional Operations Centre (ROC) or technical support. The methods of visualisation of information are not part of this article, however the information presented by RTPI, including analytics, and alerting abnormal operations, delivers invaluable insights for remote personnel.
Processing Plants
Mining process plants gain most of the advantages already highlighted for manufacturing processes, with some variations in emphasis.
Most mining processing plants are not combining material to make a product and often resources are consumed in the process. Energy use and consumption of such things as flocculants, chemicals, and additives to facilitate the process are not so much about lost production but efficiency and use in normal operation.
Quality is often a function of what is being mined and so has less impact, however RTPI can be directed to other aspects such as yield.
The Future of RTPI and Digital Transformation
As industries continue to evolve, the role of RTPI in digital transformation will only grow in importance. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) provide important tools, enabling even deeper insights and more sophisticated decision-making processes.
The benefits of combining RTPI and Dx are clear, however it is important to acknowledge the challenges involved. Implementing RTPI requires data, not just from sensors but operations and quality. Additionally, organisations must ensure that they have teams aligned with the objectives and their workforce is trained to interpret and act on the insights provided by RTPI.
For organisations that are ready to embrace the future, the combination of RTPI and Dx offers a path to sustained success in an increasingly competitive landscape. By leveraging real-time data to drive digital initiatives, companies can not only survive but thrive in the era of Industry 4.0 and beyond.