During the live Q&A portion of the webinar, "Remote Monitoring: Replace Instinct with IIoT Insights to Improve Equipment Efficiency," Chris Lebeau, global director of IT for Advanced Technology Services, Inc. (ATS), and Paul Miller, principal analyst for Forrester, discuss the importance of IIoT.
PS: For companies that struggle to implement a strategy around digital transformation, do you have any advice on the first steps they can take to move in that direction?
CL: Digital transformation is very much a buzzword and the question is, what does the digital version of your business or your plant look like? The first thing to take a look at, the conversation I've had with a couple of customers about this is, "Where are your inhibitors to smooth operation? Is it common breakdowns? Is it analysis of your overall maintenance costs? Is it availability to parts?" Then use these data to really drive where you need attention, and then take a look at how those things are addressed from a process perspective. Often a digital transformation is nothing more than a business process improvement exercise with better tools and better information about the processes being executed. It can be more complicated than that. In essence, it's in its most basic form.
PM: I would add: listen to your customers. Find out what they think the pain points are in their engagement with you. What do they wish you would do differently? What new thing do they wish you would do that you haven't been doing? Do not necessarily assume the customer is always right and therefore do anything, but listen to them, reflect on why they're saying what they do, and have a very serious internal conversation about whether or not the company needs to change direction a bit or possibly dramatically. Then, take advantage of data-driven, insights-driven opportunities to do that. The thing you think you valued for might not be valuable to your customers anymore, so don't assume that it is.
CL: That's true, Paul. The internal view of digital transformation was where I went with my answer, and the external piece is equally important. For example, if you look at General Electric with jet engines, they sell you an engine and then they used to sell you maintenance services. Now they sell you jet propulsion as a service and they're monitoring that engine to determine when and how they do work to it. So, is there a digital complement to whatever it is you manufacture or offer your customer? And then how do you basically present that data and deliver that?
PM: Absolutely.