Nokia

Manufacturing is a catch-all term for companies that make articles on a large-scale using machinery. As it happens, not all manufacturers are alike. And none is more unique than the chemical manufacturing industry.

When we spoke with many manufacturers in Europe and the United States, this was an important learning about their digitalisation journeys. There are lots of challenges in common: communications among teams, improvements in security, sustainability, and real-time data transmission.

Looking at our recent research, what stands out is how much more complex the challenges the chemical manufacturers face are. With 65 percent of chemical companies in a 2022 EY report expecting digitalisation to impact their business significantly, managing these challenges while pursuing digital transformation is critical.

Challenge #1: The industry is like a giant lab. It’s consuming data on a huge scale and has been doing so for at least 40 years. Now it’s looking to gather that data in real-time to advance process simulations and control rising production costs – especially now, as they face supply chain constraints, labour shortages, and inflation. 

Challenge #2: Disruptions to business have global implications. In 2021, chemical products were the world’s third most traded product, equating to 10.4 percent of total world trade, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).

Challenge #3: It’s tough to attract and retain quality talent, given the industry’s often rugged working environments. Innovation in operations is a must to drive recruitment and keep skilled workers, as well as to capture and transfer knowledge and expertise to future generations.

Most admit their biggest regret is not starting to digitalise sooner – even up to five years ago. AI and machine learning (AI/ML) holds much promise because more automation will translate to less chance for human error and, in parallel, make businesses more efficient, allow for better and faster decision-making, and improve their operations' security, safety, and sustainability.

Feeding the Data Monster

Still, wherever an organisation finds itself on the path to digitalisation, they risk being overwhelmed by the potentially Sisyphean task they’ve set for themselves. Even if whole departments have been established, championed by the executive suite and led by chief digitalisation officers, they may yet hit a wall where they wonder whether resources are being spread too thin across too many projects.

Certainly, digitalisation can lead to a noticeable drop in paperwork and printouts even as it connects more processes and generates better dashboards. That's the upside. What an organisation does not want is for digitalisation by itself to become the goal. Rather, optimising and improving their platforms and software will prove more beneficial than collecting data solely to feed the monster, otherwise known as a content management system.

Ultimately, data compiled for a specific purpose can lead to greater efficiency, better worker security, and enhanced productivity. So how do chemical manufacturers avoid the data collection trap and realise the benefits of digital transformation? First, let’s look at some of the hurdles to a smooth digitalisation journey.

1. Siloed Processes

Today, 70 percent of industrial assets, machines and field workers are not connected, and the two dominant languages used across offices and factory floors – information technology and operational technology (IT/OT) – are often incompatible. This puts even more emphasis on collecting, storing, processing and communicating data from all aspects of the operation.

Getting these legacy systems to talk to each other will allow for end-to-end optimisation – but getting there can be expensive and require additional customisation, which can prove complex.

2. Data Deluge

Many chemical manufacturers have implemented IoT technologies and are using the information today. In fact, according to an ABI Research report, 5G-connected IoT devices inside chemical manufacturing companies are expected to multiply to more than 4.8 million by the end of this decade.

" Ruggedised industrial devices revolutionise safety and efficiency, making harsh and noisy environments – typical of manufacturing sites – more attractive as workspaces "

The challenge is to collect real-time data. While some chemical manufacturers are using digital twins or automated models that run alongside actual processes, running the model in real-time allows them to see what the process is currently doing and to simulate where it is going or could go. This predictive ability will enable them to control quality, adjust resources, save energy, and avoid potentially dangerous outcomes.

3. Security Threats

Cybersecurity is a growing threat, and when companies integrate their operations digitally, it also broadens the attack surface and creates new opportunities for intrusion. Integration with partners and suppliers can have a similar impact, and the weight of new government and regulatory actions around cybersecurity and compliance may add further dimensions to the problem.

4. Wi-Fi Inadequacy

Wi-Fi networks at plants and campuses were not designed to connect everyone and everything or turn data into meaningful insights. These networks often can’t interface with legacy environments or enable mission-critical processes that demand high bandwidth coverage, low latency, strong security, and 24/7 availability. Coverage gaps caused by Wi-Fi gaps can interrupt real-time monitoring and control of chemical processes, with potentially serious consequences, such as erasing gains in process efficiency or impacting adjustments to precise parameters. 

Truly Digital Plant

Given these challenges, increasingly, more organisations are turning to private wireless networks to ratchet their digitalisation efforts.

Private wireless is a connectivity solution that can interface with legacy hardware and software environments, provide robust security across the threat perimeter, ensure systems have flawless 24/7 availability, and guarantee deterministic performance for the kinds of mission-critical processes this industry relies upon.

Importantly, this technology isn’t restricted to large manufacturers who can secure their spectrum. Small manufacturers can access shared spectrum – available from CBRS in North America, for example -- or via a 'slice' of a communication service provider's 5G network. Cost barriers are also being removed by adopting private wireless in an 'as-a-Service' model.

Combine private wireless with on-premises edge data processing, and chemical manufacturers can meet the real-time data needs of advanced Industry 4.0 use cases – with the latency and capacity to manage new use cases like digital twins to monitor the network and manage devices, scene analytics based on real-time video and IoT streams, and aerial insights from connected drones. Recruitment and knowledge transfer are boosted by AI/ML capabilities, enabling advanced real-time simulations and AR/VR-augmented training modules and processes. Ruggedised industrial devices revolutionise safety and efficiency, making harsh and noisy environments – so typical of manufacturing sites – more attractive as workspaces.

Insight into the Next Steps

Chemical industry leaders need partners who can remove the complexity. Only by capturing good quality real-time data can these companies implement AI/ML analytics to fully optimise operations, make split-second decisions, reconfigure processes and achieve new efficiencies, especially around automation.

The optimal choice is a partner with a holistic platform approach to integrating digital technologies across operations. This starts with robust wireless connectivity to integrate sensors and run low-latency, high-bandwidth applications and should include edge solutions for local processing of data, ready access to application libraries and pre-integrated industrial devices to connect workers, all secured against cybersecurity threats.  

When it comes to the unique challenges chemical manufacturers face, a trusted private wireless networks partner can make the digital transformation as simple as possible.