HOW TO DEVELOP THE SKILLS NEEDED FOR NEW AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

ACCORDING TO THE 2020 FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION BENCHMARK BY KPMG, LESS THAN 40% OF AUSTRALIAN LEADERS FEEL THEY HAVE THE STAFF WITH THE NECESSARY SKILLS TO IMPLEMENT NEW TECHNOLOGIES.

Here the AIPM speaks to Piers Hogarth-Scott and Shane O’Sullivan, Partners at KPMG, to discuss the opportunities that Industry 4.0 provides to organisations and how project managers can ensure they have the capabilities needed for successful delivery using disruptive technologies.

THE NEXT TRANSFORMATIONAL ERA

As part of KPMG’s Digital Delta Leadership Team you both have a large amount of experience working with contemporary technologies. How would you describe Industry 4.0 and what opportunities does it offer to organisations?

Piers Hogarth-Scott

(Source: KPMG)

Piers: When we talk about the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the sort of technologies we are referring to are Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, robotics, quantum computing, augmented/virtual reality, nanotechnology, robotic process automation, digital twins and even potentially things like the cloud, 5G and autonomous vehicles. It really is a fundamental change to the way that we live, work, and ultimately relate to each other and in many ways is a new chapter in human development enabled by technology advancements. When you have the merging of the physical and digital worlds it presents great opportunity to automate processes and drive operational efficiency.

Shane: What we are entering is another transformational era in terms of how mankind uses technology. It is transforming the way we leverage, interpret and act on data. We are producing far more data than we did in the past and we now have technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning that can make sense of all that data and act on it through intelligent automation. What these technologies do is massively improve an organisation’s ability to manage and make good decisions around data. This can mean very different things depending on what sort of an organisation you’re dealing with. In a hospital it might improve the flow of patients or help provide a judgement to address a particular condition or illness. In a lot of retail organisations it’s about being able to quickly and at scale, learn about customers and clients and be more proactive in offering them services and relevant products.

SUPPORTING CLIENTS AND BUILDING TRUST

What projects has KPMG worked on that tie into Industry 4.0 and what challenges did your clients face?

Piers: Our work ranges from helping clients implement their networks for predictive maintenance, developing Artificial Intelligence algorithms and strategies to harness AI and robotics process automation, through to our work in digital twins to help create a digital version of a physical environment. In terms of challenges, it often starts with several questions:

– What is the business case to invest in these technologies?

– What is the likely return on investment?

– What are the risks that should be considered?

– What is the impact on the operating model?

Other challenges could be the skills might not exist within the client organisation. One of the things we try to do when we work with the client is transfer the knowledge we have to the client to enable them to participate in evolving that particular solution.

Shane O’Sullivan

(Source: KPMG)

Shane: We are working with one of the state-based ambulance operators and are using Industry 4.0 technologies, including vehicle IoT, and some of the more sophisticated Cloud analytics capabilities, machine learning and AI to help bring down response times for ambulances in that state. In the Telco sector we have done something that is much more customer oriented, building them a cloud analytics platform which monitors the national networks and proactively sends messages to customers in affected areas to notify them of coverage outages. I think for some organisations it’s gaining trust in these technologies, and that these capabilities are real. This can take time for someone who hasn’t kept pace with some of the technology advancements that have been coming down the line. It’s about getting used to new and different ways of work and understanding how transformational these technologies can be and thinking of the outcome rather than just a tool to be deployed.

GETTING USED TO NEW WAYS OF WORKING

How can project managers prepare themselves for advancements in technologies and what are the key success factors for a successful Industry 4.0 transformation?

Piers: When we surveyed Australian leaders, we found that while the concept of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is known to most, the majority lack a deep understanding of these new technologies and do not feel they have the staff with the necessary skills to implement them. It’s about developing skills in these technologies and understanding what they are, their impact, how to use them and when or when not to use them. Immerse yourself in understanding what these technologies are and what their potential impact is. That is probably the best thing people can do to upskill themselves and take advantage of these opportunities. The key success factor for these types of projects is the outcome. So in other words, in what way has the benefit been embraced by the overall operating model? Also consider the risk appetite, from the point of view of reducing risk through confidence in using the technology as well. And most importantly, coming back to our original points around lack of skills, is the uplift in skills and capabilities around the Industry 4.0 technologies.

Shane: One of the key things I would suggest is making sure you’re comfortable with modern delivery practices, such as Agile and DevOps. With most of the technologies we’ve talked about, you can build Lego blocks of whatever you’re trying to do, show it to people, have them provide feedback and then you’ll plan the next sprint, which will run over 3 to 4 weeks. This is very different to following a Waterfall style approach, where you do a big design phase, write down functional requirements and hand it over to the Build team for nine months to a year. A lot of people think Agile means it’s unstructured but it’s definitely not the case, it’s just a different style of governance. Project managers need to get really comfortable with these new ways of working. From a technical perspective you need people who understand how these technologies stitch together for the solution you require. Make sure you’re investing in the right skills for the solutions you’re going after. So have a willingness to learn and explore, as well as a disciplined delivery.