Smart XXXX: What does it mean!!!

So often today you hear the word “smart” put on the front of a segment describing the transformational program encompassing many of the Internet of Things concepts.

Smart Cities, Smart Farms/ Agriculture, Smart Airports, Smart Plants, Smart Fields etc.

Are they different or do they all come down to a basic set of concepts, transformations that are applied to that industry to significantly shift the needle in operational efficiency?

 Fair question, and so often lately I am being asked what is the difference between IT/OT, IOT, and Smart xxx? So I thought it was worth a discussion, as I suspect there different interactions.

To me the discussion of “smart/intelligent” industrial it is all about achieving “operational Optimization/ Excellence”, to suite the required production at the most effective time, cost. This is a shift from time based production and managing the process to managing the production of product/service. Driving the optimized execution of work / actions on operational processes for that product/service delivery.

At the core it is about changing the way in which we manage and execute work tasks, either automated or actions with human intervention so that only required work is performed at the correct time.  

“Smart Strategies” are fundamentally different from current IoT, Big Data etc. thinking:

• The IoT, Big Data etc. Initiatives/trends can be characterized as offering the 5 “any’s” – any information, in any context, at any time, to any user, for any action
• “Smart” products and operations can be characterized as offering the 5 “right’s” – the right information, in the right context (operations situation), at the right time (which is often earlier than “real-time”), to the right users for the right actions (which are often preventative and at best prescriptive).

All fundamental on the journey towards “operational excellence.”

That said “Smart Strategies” will employ the services of IOT, and big data, but the key is “Smart” is about tightening the execution of an operation process relative to the current product delivery expectations. A key concept is that the Operational Process, (no matter if it is in a city, airport, or production line) understands:

•        What it is expected to deliver in characteristics of product or service, and when
•        It is “self-aware” of it’s condition and ability to deliver that product/ service, due to capability, materials and the situation it is in.
•        It is able to then request and interact with other process, applications, assets and people to gain the required actions needed to succeed and when. 

This is a transformation from just understanding it is taking control of the process, as opposed to time schedule actions.

Can you have Smart Cities without Smart Citizens?

For the last couple of weeks I have been engaged in smart cities investigation, interviews and understanding the landscape. While I keep abreast of this developing and over crowded market, we have a focused team in this area that requested my input on investigations and defined strategies.

Enjoyment in these exercises is the interviewing and learning. It was clear that many of the initiatives we seen in the industrial sector apply to here but differently in smart cities. So in a visit to Singapore I had the opportunity spend time with a number of “city authorities” involved in their smart city vision.

The head of the Urban Planning   made some very interesting comments, around what a Smart City is! Too often we read about the efficiencies of smart devices, and management of energy across a city, the transparency across a city to systems.

But he raised the point that a “smart city requires smart citizens, and smart service workers”, this took my interest as the concept aligned with my thoughts on empowerment. On digging deeper he broke up his thoughts into:

• Workers: Workers being the people who work in different jobs in the city, but use the services of the city to get to and from work, and to execute their job each day.

• Service Workers: These are the people who provide the services to keep the city running, from bus drivers, to city clerks, to maintenance electricians, to firemen, and the other 1000s of job roles in the city.
• Citizens These are the above and everyone else enjoying and living in the city, no matter if they in the park, at a concert, at a football game, shopping, or out to dinner, or just living at home. All the time they using services of the city.

In my discussions with the planning authority, and then with one of the universities, and others it became clear that they faced a similar problem we have in Industry, but on different scale and angle with the empowerment of people, and processes. In order to change the culture for them to use the services of the city in a more efficient way, and allow people more enjoyment time.  Remembering that the average age in most cities is going up, and we do not have transition of population, but yet we require an “operational change in culture” in the way they use their city services.

When discussing this concept I was reminded of a concept of the modern wealthy: “today’s wealthy been wealthy in enjoyment time, not necessary money.”   A reflection on our current times where we are always connected, always working, and not disconnecting and really enjoying. The modern wealthy have learnt how to execute work effectively while maximizing their time to enjoy.

This came up in a conversation in Singapore around “smart work” when asked the answer related to “worker” category of person above. To the way they need to change the way they work from being able to work anywhere, not a new concept called “activity based” work. He went on to talk about a worker not wasting time in travel, or in a train, but to use that time effectively, giving increased output, and giving back time to enjoyment.

The real area that caught my interest and debates were around the “changing of the culture” in all the citizens in the city to use services efficiently and turnoff lights, use less water, change habits. Like we have changed over the last 20 years to wear seat belts naturally in the car, how can we evolve the way people operate their house, their work environment, and their enjoyment environment.

I reflected on how my family’s culture had changed when we lived our yacht for ten years, both in California and travelling, as the boat is a small micro grid for power generation storage and usage, and we make our water from seawater or capture water. But we set the boat up with LED lights, and taps that force turn off, installed efficient shower heads, and on goes the list. My sons turnoff lights; they watch the power; it becomes a core part of daily KPIs, similar to weather.

When discussing this required cultural change the real concept of “smart Citizens” came into play. It was not just about the app on my phone to understand how to order taxi’s or understand the transport system. Tt was also about the applications that embed best living practices on how to operate the house, etc. So that through the natural use of these applications in the house, on the phone, etc. the user inherently executes the best-operational practice and increases efficiency. As that operational practice in tuned and improved, the embedded procedure is updated and effecting 1000s, to millions of people, without them realizing, but with significant impact to cities use of services and therefore improved efficiency.

This discussion does not take away from much of the focus today in smart cities around empowering the “service worker” and the associated services provided to citizens to attract them to live in the city. How a smart city will make these “service workers” situationally aware of conditions in the city not as they happen, but in the future detecting conditions from historical patterns bringing awareness of situations before they occur.

A “smart City” is about the city systems, services status, and capability being intelligent, and empowering right decisions faster to bring service satisfaction higher in the city. But all of this must happen while significantly reducing the impact on the environment, with goals of 50% reduction in energy usage and carbon footprint from cities by 2030, if not more, not counting waste and water usage. A lot more than just the systems must change, or the efficiency of the services and people are operating them. The way in which we as citizens go about daily life must change, so we enjoy more, but execute in the most efficient and natural way to increase the efficiency of the city.

It is certainly an interesting opportunity, but draws on many parallels whit the “operational Transformation” in the industrial space, and merging of concepts can only help accelerate the transformation in both landscapes.  

Clear KPIs for Measuring “Smart Plant/ Factory” Success is Key, Again Operations, Humans are Difference in this 4th Industrial Revolution

I seem to have been involved in Smart Fields, Smart Facilities, etc for years, and a lot of the discussion and thought leadership was around information, and more intelligent devices. But many have had limited success, until now, why is because many “smart” strategies did not cover all the bases.

During last week a colleague and I had a number of workshop sessions around forward strategy, reviewing specifically what is different this time round with smart, looking at the “Operational Transformation” event we seeing unfold, what is different and core this time! It was very clear, but so was the significant discontinuity in the market.

When we talk Smart concepts too often, the discussions goes quickly to the “smart/ intelligent” devices, and data and information, with the hype around the “Internet of Things” this continues. But when you really get down to what people are trying to achieve is decisions faster, and flexibility / agility through awareness and operational transparency.  

Yes the real impact here of this Operational Transformation is not just that devices are becoming smarter, “self aware” but the need to gain consistency in operations, and reduce errors. There is significant discontinuity happen in the market, as the logical way to eliminate the errors is through experienced workforce. As we all know that actually the workforce in 5 years will dramatically be less experienced than the workforce of yesterday or today.

The diagram below shows the experienced workforce  today is responsible for most of the unscheduled shutdowns.

So the outlook in the next 5 years is grim as we move to the in experienced workforce, unless our systems and operational processes change that is why “smart xxx” is real.

The major outcomes of the drive towards “smart factories, airports, fields etc” is to embed the operational experience, and self awareness in the Smart Devices” and “Smart Processes” .

Too often we do not have clear goals, but it was interesting to see a leading coming define very clear goals constantly to monitor the direction, and success of this "journey". 

Below is their goals:

Key drive is for zero human, equipment and process shutdowns and errors; this drives towards a significant embedding of process and automation on process and analysis to predict situations so that planned / controlled actions can take place limiting unnecessary shutdowns.

Key is the recognition that number of experts that are going to be available due to new generational work-space is going to be limited, and it is key to dramatically reduce the dependency on these experts by 90%. Another shift is to Global centers of excellence that must have access to timely information in context and trusted to interact with the local teams.

100% optimization of Feed/ Energy/ and Product usually plant have 1 maybe two of these tuned , but not 100% optimized, but this is not as simple as it looks when Feed stocks vary, Products instruction is increasing and Energy is totally variable, but the company has recognized to minimize impact of variability is optimization.   Also the knowledge of the system must be embedded, so the system is intuitive and self aware, enabling operational workers to rotate while maintaining consistency in operations and process.

Intelligent Alarms, and awareness will have to natural, so state / condition pattern analysis the move to the “to be” state is key. Many companies have significant programs in play now for transforming their current alarm structure to enable rapid, intuitive awareness of where that “pin” is in the haystack of alarms, and events.

As the plant becomes more intelligent and able to operate, key decisions and follow through actions in a timely manner are fundamental. This will not be one person; it will be a set of actions, and decisions across a team. So the operational system will be designed with collaboration in mind, the natural ability to guide, have built in operational process, natural documentation of actions, and passing of actions to the next person. Key will be the ability to “Resolve Operational Tasks” through tracking and an operational work system within the system, optimizing the human assets as much as the physical assets and processes.