“Our primary objective is to use technology, to use digitalization, to make our processes smarter and more efficient and to make everyone’s lives easier and keep our businesses competitive in front of the market challenges ahead.”

Nikolas Rocon,

LATAM Smart Manufacturing Leader, Cargill Agrícola S.A.

 

Connecting the Digital Dots

Cargill’s digitalization journey involves advanced automation, data and analytics.

At first glance, Cargill might not look like your typical tech company. As a global food corporation, you’re likely to see more silos than servers. “We have something like 160 grain elevators, with many located in the middle of nowhere – which can make it difficult to digitize,” says Nikolas Rocon, Regional Smart Manufacturing Leader at Cargill Agrícola S.A. in Brazil.

But if you look a little closer, you’ll see that these are more than just farms, they’re part of a state-of-the-art, highly connected agricultural supply chain. “Cargill has been automating its operations for the past 30 years” adds Rocon.

Using this automation as a foundation, the company is now in the process of adding a new layer of digitalization to its global assets – an ongoing process that is being rolled out via three key steps.

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Step 1: More Tech

In the first phase of Cargill’s digitalization journey, the company looks to enhance its legacy automation solutions with next generation capabilities. “We’re adding artificial intelligence, connecting robotics, and exploring emerging technologies that can enhance the level of automation we already have in our plants and facilities” explains Rocon.

But Rocon is quick to note that automation is not meant to be an alternative to human talent. Instead, every new technology incorporated into a plant or facility aims to support the company’s people and streamline its operations.

“Nobody wants to climb four levels of stairs to open a valve or make a trip to turn on a motor, and why should they when it is something we can easily do by connecting automation with digitalization on the shop floor” remarks Rocon.

Speaking of technology and employees, Cargill also makes it a point to look at how its people interact with technology. For instance, knowing one is more likely to use a technology when they understand it and are comfortable with it, the company looked at ways to design applications that employees could install on their own digital devices. As a result, employees can often monitor quality, raw materials and finished products from the palm of their hand, and a significant amount of the paperwork once involved with these processes has been all but eliminated.

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Step 2: Enhanced Data

In addition to improving efficiency, this new layer of automation also results in the collection of massive amounts of data. Thus, the second step of Cargill’s digitalization journey is defined by data.

“What’s unique about this data is that it comes from our operators. Again, sometimes using their own devices, our people can collect images and recordings that add an important human perspective to our data collection process.” explains Rocon.

According to Rocon, this human-collected data has the potential to enhance all the data that is automatically generated by the company’s equipment. But doing this involves advanced analytics, which just so happens to be Step 3 in the Cargill digitalization journey.

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“By connecting our entire agriculture supply chain, we’re creating an ecosystem of interconnected data and applications that we can use to power our business optimization profess”

says Rocon.

 

Step 3: Analyze This

Data without insight is meaningless. The way you get that insight is through analysis. For Cargill, that means using advanced analytics, such as machine learning algorithms, to analyze all the data that’s being collected from across all sources and sites, and then turning that information into actionable insight. “By connecting our entire agriculture supply chain, we’re creating an ecosystem of interconnected data and applications that we can use to power our business optimization process,” says Rocon.

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Three Dots on a Page

Advanced automation, data and analytics. Individually, they’re nothing more than three dots on a page. But connected, they form a direct path to a digitalized supply chain.

“Analytics needs data, and useful data doesn’t grow on trees, it comes everywhere but needs automation and technology to be captured, treated and further used” concludes Rocon. “The beauty is when connected, these three components create a connected company ready to lead the future.”

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“Regardless of how digital a company becomes, you cannot remove the human factor.”

 

Kyle Tansill,
Digital Manufacturing Solutions Architect, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics

 

Revolution 4.0

At Saint-Gobain, which designs, manufactures and distributes materials and services for the construction and industrial markets, the Industry 4.0 revolution is just as much about people as it is about digital.

2018. That was the year the revolution started. “There was a lot of hype but also a lot of confusion” recalls Kyle Tansill who, as an automation engineer, was on the frontlines of Saint-Gobain’s Industry 4.0 revolution.

According to Tansill, who today serves as Digital Manufacturing Solutions Architect at Saint-Gobain Life Sciences, the spark that lit the digitalization fire was a spur of acquisitions. “Facing a low level of standardization for our machinery, we turned our focus to automation and connectivity” he says.

It was also a matter of bringing the company from the Paper Age into the Digital Age. “We got to work using Google Maps on our smartphone, but once we are there, we switch the phone for pen and paper,” explains Tansill.

However, as Tansill is quick to point out, the solution to this problem wasn’t as easy as replacing the pen and paper with tech and apps. Change is never so simple. “We brought in all these sexy tools and then we realized that while everyone knew we should be doing something with them, nobody actually knew what that something was,” he adds.

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Bridge a Disconnect

To bridge this digital disconnect, the company took a couple of steps back. They started with skills, ensuring that its people had basic automation skills. They also upgraded their PLCs and invested in automation infrastructure.

As a result, today Saint-Gobain is in a position where most of its strategic machinery features updated PLCs and some form of connectivity. Most importantly, its sites are staffed with people who understand automation.

“Our teams didn’t know what an industrial network was just a few years back” remarks Tansill. “Since then, they’ve developed the necessary skills, which puts us in a really strong position going forward.”

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Digitize Your Head

While going forward does mean increasing automation, it does not mean replacing people. “Regardless of how digital a company becomes, you cannot replace the human factor,” says Tansill.

So, how does one preserve that essential people component in a sector notorious for having a high turnover?

Somewhat ironically, the answer is digitalization.

“Turnover means more than just having to train new people, it also means constantly losing your company’s knowledge base” explains Tansill.

To help plug this leak, Saint-Gobain is in the process of digitizing its know- how. One approach being implemented involves utilizing data to establish standardized operating procedures for its machinery. This ensures that the operational steps are embedded within the machine itself, rather than relying on an individual’s memory or personal knowledge.

The company also decided to bring in a ringer. “We employed a top-level senior software engineer who was an incredibly talented Python developer and all-around software genius,” says Tansill.

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“I don’t even like the term Industry 4.0, believing it gives the false perception that one comes in, does digital, and then is done.”

Achieving the Goal of Performance

While the developer was only with the company for less than two years, his impact remains. “Having this developer allowed our automation developers to learn how to develop properly and then implement a proper continuous integration lifecycle and support system” adds Tansill.

We’d All Love to See the Plan

Over the course of six years, Saint-Gobain went from Industry 3.0 to Industry 4.0. Yet its journey is far from over. In fact, Tansill doesn’t even like the term Industry 4.0, believing it gives the false perception that one comes in, does digital, and then is done – which clearly is not the case.

“Digital shouldn’t be seen as the end but the means to achieving the goal of improved performance” says Tansill. “Whatever domain you’re working in, you need to accept that even though your expertise might be digital, you are just as responsible as everyone else for the company’s performance.”

Yet while Saint-Gobain’s digital transformation may be an ongoing work- in-progress, they do have the benefit of hindsight – meaning they can offer some sage advice for those just starting off on their journey.

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Having a Clear Plan is Key

“Do not start this journey without a clear plan of where the business is going” warns Tansill.

As Tansill explains, without a plan, you risk deploying technology for technology’s sake. “But with a well thought out roadmap, you can match technology to objective, ensuring that every investment gets results, improves performance and, ultimately, advances the company towards where it wants to be” he concludes.

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Want to know more?

Whether you have any questions or need more info, we would be happy to help!