Page 28 - Impiantistica Italiana

zed tools are utilized to analyze code, and security and automation design tasks. Common templates
testing of the product is performed. These actions of proven and validated functional modules simplify
help to ‘harden’ products, making them more resi- the engineering. Clear and well-defined interfaces
lient against cyber-attacks. In this way, as new pro- ensure consistency and simplify data and model
ducts replace old, entire systems evolve to become management.
more cyber secure (figure 2).
Influencer #6: Blockchain
Business benefit derived A blockchain is an automated distributed public
Investment in robust cybersecurity precautionary ledger that records transactions from multiple
measures generates business value through avoi- sources in a highly secure, trusted environment.
ded costs. Some estimates put the average energy Blockchains are the technology behind the digital
company’s annualized cost of cybercrime at only currency known as Bitcoin and have the poten-
around $15 million [6]. But a major incident could tial to improve trust and visibility along the supply
easily incur costs running into hundreds of millions chain with respect to flow of goods and money.
of dollars and, more importantly, risk people’s lives Blockchain records all transactions, including im-
and the nearby environment. pressions, clicks and audience segments that oc-
cur throughout the entire supply chain (for exam-
Influencer #5: Siloed systems to converged ple, a full copy of Bitcoin’s block chain contains
systems every transaction ever executed in the currency).
For years, the goal of oil & gas enterprises has Networks of computers use cryptography to allow
been to move beyond traditional operational silos each participant on the network to update the led-
that lower process efficiencies and drive up costs. ger in a secure manner, without a central authori-
However, the possibility of con- ty – virtually eliminating the possibility of hacking.
vergence has never been either As blockchain enters into the mainstream, a new
In order to execute affordable or technically feasi- breed of suppliers will emerge providing solutions
the unifying vision of ble. This situation is now begin- based on this technology.
convergence, users and ning to change. Consider the
technology providers will example of two important pillars Business benefit derived
Blockchain technology can help reduce the time
of oil & gas company opera-
need to team up in order tions, power management and and cost associated with lengthy back and forth
to plan, design, implement process management that have business processes and facilitate the tagging of
and maintain a true “power traditionally remained separate items in the supply chain without revealing sensi-
aware” and secure process systems, without common ar- tive data. Blockchain applications are at the na-
control system chitectural and communication scent stage and performance data at this stage
standards. Because these sy-
in non-existent. As more digitization technologies
stems each contain data that support oil & gas operations, their compatibility to
can help to optimize the performance of the other, blockchain implementations will become more im-
increased productivity and profitability can result portant.
from the convergence of such systems.
In order to execute the unifying vision of conver- Influencer #7: Tracking and linking process
gence, users and technology providers will need to dynamics to market dynamics
team up in order to plan, design, implement and Oil & gas industry supply chain operations use a
maintain a true “power aware” and secure process host of different tools and software applications to
control system. address operational challenges. This has resulted
in hundreds of people working in isolated silos - wi-
Business benefit derived thout visibility into or knowledge of the implications
Integrating the worlds of power, motor controls/ their individual decisions had on the overall supply
drives, automation systems, and safety control sy- chain performance.
stems into a single decision-making environment This lack of alignment costs oil & gas enterpri-
facilitates continuous operations because any ses tens of millions of dollars annually. By using a
unforeseen electrical or process disturbance is cloud-based approached to implement a unified
handled in real-time. System convergence facilita- supply chain management solution linked to out-
tes interoperability which is an important aspect of side oil and gas marketplace conditions, collabora-
reaping the benefits of digitalization. Interoperability tion can be enabled across the entire supply chain
is required to capture nearly 40% - and in some to help traders, planners, and schedulers make
cases, 60% - of the total potential of IoT [7]. reliable decisions, manage risks, and increase pro-
In addition to streamlining operations, convergen- fitability. Visualization dashboards make accurate,
ce enhances efficiency at the design, engineering up-to-date information available.
and construction phases of projects. For example,
multi-disciplinary software tools enable engineers Business benefit derived
to better perform the various mechanical, electrical By linking the information sourced through analytics

26 Impiantistica Italiana - Marzo - Aprile 2018