S08 TRME 3 2021 Country focus_Layout 1 13/05/2021 15:20 Page 28
Automation
28
Photo Credit : ABB Energy Industries
Ronan O’Sullivan, digital lead for ABB Energy Industries IMEA region.
Advancing autonomous operations Ronan O’Sullivan, digital lead for ABB Energy Industries IMEA region, speaks to Technical Review Middle East on how digitalisation is shaping the post COVID-19 recovery in the energy sector, and accelerating the drive towards more sustainable and autonomous operations. HERE CAN BE no doubt that the COVID19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, driving the need for remote and automated operations and forcing companies to fundamentally adapt their working practices. ABB Energy Industries has had to adapt its operations in two key aspects, Ronan O’Sullivan explains. “One is the service aspect and how we take care of our existing customers. Our service models have had to adapt to difficulties in sending people to sites. We had to overcome that very quickly through some of our digital solutions to connect our
T
customers in the field with our subject matter experts sitting remotely, or where customers themselves were unable to get to their sites, connecting a subject matter expert sitting in their headquarters or at home. So it has certainly accelerated all the remote connectivity to enable us to provide services for customers. “On the project side too, we’ve really had to adapt. Last year we launched Adaptive Execution, a project methodology leveraging years of experience which offers an optimised way of executing projects. So we incorporate our people, SMEs or an expert team that
Technical Review Middle East - Issue Three 2021
could be connected globally for a project, we look at the years of project execution, and have streamlined that into our adaptive execution methodology. “The other part of it involves making more use of our technologies, and making them more modular and more standard, so that we can deploy projects globally in a more efficient and effective way. “Last and not least, is looking at infrastructure as a catalyst, utilising cloud technology to have remote connectivity project execution on a cloudbased infrastructure, to allow that acceleration of project optimisation as a whole. www.technicalreview.me