ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the ProcIndustries’ story. After a transformer accident disrupts refinery operations, management asks how the lack of information after such incidents can be avoided in the future. The current state of the company is assessed, and the problems are identified through a series of information-gathering meetings with key players: Workers are not getting the necessary real-time information they need, when they need it, to make better decisions and improve their work processes. The company needs to digitize through advancing technologies, such as the industrial Internet of things and build a digital data infrastructure to apply smart thinking, engineering, and analytic tools to proactively improve real-time situational awareness, maintain the highest levels of safety, and avoid operational losses. With an enterprise industrial data infrastructure (EIDI), information can be obtained and shared, and best practices can be developed so the organization makes better decisions more quickly to improve operations. A digital transformation needs to be aligned with the company mission and implemented as a continuous program rather than a finite project. The notion of an operational excellence program is put forward, with operational and safety issues at the forefront. This chapter ends with a three-step deployment plan approved by management.
