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DIRECTORY OF SINGAPORE PROCESS & CHEMICALS INDUSTRIES 2021/2022
• Stage 3 identifies advanced technologies that SMEs can adopt to strengthen their competitive edge. For instance, robotic solutions can perform laborious and repetitive tasks such as blasting and painting, cleaning and disinfecting. This provides employees the opportunity to take on higher-value roles and reduce risk of workplace accidents.
Plant owners take the lead
Alongside this, the DITA Workgroup began working on a Digitalisation Readiness Index (DRI) using the BPPII to help members assess their existing level of digitalisation so that it could gain an understanding of their state of readiness across various business functions. It will help to benchmark companies against the industry level of digitalisation to assist them in their digitalisation plans and implementation.
As part of its concerted effort to drive outreach to members to tap on the IDP, the Association had earlier engaged a full-time programme manager, Mr Ethan Chia, to join ASPRI’s Secretariat team.
Before the launch of the PCM IDP, an online conversation was held with the Chairman of the Singapore Chemistry Industry Council’s Advanced Manufacturing (SAM) Committee, Mr Tom Madilao, to share his insights on some of the issues faced by the industry and what could be done to help bring member companies’ capabilities to the next level. He was joined on the panel by DITA’s two co-leads, Mr Danny Chua, Secretary, and Mr Steven Nah, Treasurer, of the ASPRI 13th Executive Council.
They shared their perspectives on the challenges facing ASPRI members’ digital journey, the existing state of development and what they hoped to see happen.
Plant owners have had a head-start in their DX journey. The Singapore Chemical Industry Council (SCIC) set the wheels in motion with the
formation of the SAM in 2017 with Mr Goh Koon Eng, Vice President of Commercial for Chevron Oronite, as Chairman and sponsor.
Mr Madilao, Technical Services Manager at Chevron Singapore, is currently the SAM Chairman. He said SAM is trying to help ensure that the foundation in transformation is understood so that companies are better equipped to evaluate technology that may or may not bring them value.
He shared that many plant owners have been on this journey early because of the industry’s rapid changes that drives the need for DX. And it has been especially evident during the COVID pandemic.
He said the pandemic has laid bare the critical importance of digital technology in business sustainability. With border closure, digital tools have enabled specialists worldwide to perform troubleshooting and remedial tasks remotely.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the use of technology in our work processes. We can have our technician in another location wearing smart glasses looking at the things that they typically look at physically. They go through the details and fix the problem. This is done during turnarounds, in projects for
factory acceptance tests and in many other troubleshooting related areas,” said Mr Madilao.
He pointed out three important elements that have to be considered in a DX journey.
“The most important in my view are people and culture in any transformation. Second is the business processes and how we operate. And the third is technology.
“I never worry about technology per se, as it is an enabler and is easily available. I worry most about how we can change people’s mindset, how we can change culture. Because the transformation will impact a lot of the people in the industry,” he said.
Explaining why transformation touches a lot of people culturally, Mr Madilao gave an example of using the Best Productivity Practices Implementation Index (BPPII) tool. The tool is designed to assist in planning jobsite activities and making the data available on a dashboard to boost productivity in construction and maintenance.
He said, “Many of the things that took a couple of days to do with Excel can be accomplished in just a couple of hours by using BPPII. But if you don’t manage the people well, there will be this sense of fear that, ‘Oh, my
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