144 INTERVIEW BY REBECCA GIBSON Stephen Reynolds of AVEVA explains how AI-powered solutions will help chemical companies to turn challenges into new opportunities How can AI transform the chemicals sector? Today’s marketplace continues to challenge the modern chemical industry. Geopolitical pressures are disrupting traditional flows of material and energy, which is impacting global supply chains. Economic forces and sustainability initiatives are changing consumer sentiment, often forcing them to choose between cost effectiveness and environmental sensitivities. Companies are reviewing their businesses and assets to protect their stakeholders. The chemical industry is no longer the attractive employment opportunity it once was. To confront these hurdles, the industry is embracing continuous improvement, progressing from operational excellence to digital transformation. Companies are focusing on cost, reliability and performance while maintaining environmental and regulatory compliance. The safety and wellbeing of their personnel remains paramount, even as modern technologies and changing workplace cultures attract the next generations of talent and expertise. Stephen Reynolds, industry principal for chemicals at AVEVA, explains more. In your opinion, how are digital technologies like AI helping organisations to address challenges around geopolitical pressures, macroeconomic uncertainty, sustainability and workforce gaps? Within the chemical industry, digital technologies are at the forefront in addressing many of these challenges. As the sector shifts from reactive to proactive solutions, automation and AI are becoming standard. There is greater access to data, information and analytics than ever before. AVEVA’s AI-infused solutions have augmented industrial teams’ capabilities for several years; these technologies will continue to enrich industrial outcomes through enhanced troubleshooting, predictive and prescriptive monitoring, planning and AI-assisted process and product design. How is AVEVA helping chemical companies to tackle their biggest challenges using AIpowered solutions? AVEVA builds upon the foundation of industrial data to manage industrial intelligence across the asset lifecycle – engineering and design, operation and optimisation. Connecting people and data through AI accelerates the journey from insight to response. Personnel at all levels now have access to real-time condition monitoring, design data and performance visualisation and forecasts. For example, digital twins – which mirror physical assets, systems or processes – infuse end-to-end lifecycle data with AI analytics, giving teams “ With AI at the core, companies are not only solving today’s challenges but also preparing for tomorrow’s opportunities”
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