“Digitalization and operational excellence are invariably linked, in fact, it’s hard to do one without the other.”

Adriano Leone Osti,

Program Lead Manufacturing Excellence Industry 4.0, Sandvik

 

Digitalization with a Purpose

Sandvik, a Swedish multinational engineering company specializing in products and services for mining, rock excavation, rock drilling, rock processing, metal cutting and machining, recently underwent a comprehensive rebranding. At the heart of that rebranding was digitalization.

For Sandvik, digitalization was something that they knew they needed to do. The challenge was the ‘how’ and the ‘what’. “We knew we wanted to digitize in order to reduce costs and increase efficiency,” says Adriano Leone Osti, Program Lead Manufacturing Excellence Industry 4.0 at Sandvik. “What we didn’t know was where to begin.”

For Osti, an obvious place to start was with the customer experience. “We built a digital platform that our customers can use to monitor the performance of their machines and predict potential failures” he says.

Not only was this individual platform a success, it also served as a clear case study on how to implement a successful digital transformation project. “Digitalization takes time, which is something that tends to be in short supply” adds Osti. “More often than not, management wants to see results and they want to see them fast.”

 

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Clear Long-Term Results

This means that change managers need to keep senior managers convinced about the importance of these long-term digitalization projects. “It is essential that you keep management updated about a project’s progress and how it will ultimately benefit the company” , says Osti.

Another challenge is that a change manager will sometimes be required to discuss a project with someone with little to no knowledge of the topic. “Having a successful example with clear results in your back pocket – such as our customer application – can certainly help overcome this hurdle” notes Osti.

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Digitalization and Operational Excellence – Two Peas in a Pod

A key aspect of Sandvik’s digital transformation is that it is tied directly to operational excellence. “Digitalization and operational excellence are invariably linked, in fact, it’s hard to do one without the other” explains Osti.

For Osti, operational excellence is the roadmap that guides all his team’s digitalization projects. “In doing so, we can ensure that we aren’t digitizing just to digitize, but that each project serves the purpose of advancing our operational excellence” he says. By providing a comprehensive view of where the company is, where it wants to go and how digitalization will help get them there, this roadmap lets the company optimize the tools and processes they already have instead of changing the entire system. It also allows those people working on a specific project to see the ‘big picture’ benefits of their work.

“When an employee, whether they be middle management or on the shop floor, sees where their work fits into the big picture, they feel a part of that picture and are thus motivated to embrace the change” notes Osti.

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 “If you have a performance management system in place, then you’re already well on your way to a successful digitalization project.”

says Osti

The Importance of Partners and Performance Management

For those just getting started on their own digitalization journeys, Osti offers two final pieces of advice: invest in your partners and in a change management system.

As to the former, the key to a smooth digital transformation is having the right partners. “The projects that succeed tend to be the ones who are able to select the right partners and who get those partners to work together,” says Osti. Last but not least, Osti stresses the importance of having a performance management system in place. Such a system allows one to monitor all the relevant data and weed out everything that doesn’t matter, leaving you with a clear picture of what you want – and often need – to do.

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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!