Harnessing the power of Ai and Robotic automation in the Energy Industry
Experts in the field of Digital Transformation in the Energy sector are quick to stress that Artificial intelligence is only as smart as its data. A statement Kojima Kazuyuki, the person in charge for Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) and Digital Transformation for Oil and Gas projects at JGC, reiterates on a regular basis to colleagues and piers. The detail and lengthy preparation process Ai and robotic automation requires before integration into EPC work practices is rarely appreciated by those outside the process.
Easier Said Than Done
JGC is a Japanese Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) organization who are specialists in the creation of Greenfield projects, and in particular, Megaprojects across the world. You would presume that harnessing the labor saving and processing power of robotics and Ai in such multi-million-dollar engineering projects would be of the highest priority, and it is! But as Kojima explains, it is ‘easier said than done,’ the planning and preparation phase is crucial for a successful outcome and for Engineering and Construction projects of the size JGC produces, it is no surprise to hear that time is the biggest factor.
“We have been looking at, and in many of our departments we are already using, some sort of artificial intelligence and robotics for quite some time now. In our EPC industry we absolutely can reap the rewards of digital transformation in our processes and in fact, we have made enormous strides using digital software solutions to manage and control our business especially in Work Packaging, Materials & Quality management, Commissioning, Progress control, all the way through to Handover.
What we require for transforming our engineering and construction tasks is a way to automate calculations and reduce physical interaction by EPC platform managing Activities. It’s not just a money-saving goal but also a safety factor and if we can reduce the number of people in high-risk situations and reduce the human-error factor too, all the better.
Input, Activity, Output
To explain this a little more simply is to look at any job or task, let’s call it an Activity. For all Activities, they need input, information in. And after the Activity has taken place, you’ll achieve the result or output — Input, Activity, Output.
We are creating an automated data transfer system on our EPC platform, but we must ensure that there is sufficient and accurate data fed into the process to achieve the ultimate output desired. By using Ai and automation, complicated calculations are effortless, and humans are then free to concentrate on reviewing the output. This is the kind of platform we are working on, and we can link it to robotics or 3D printing, whatever we want.”
Kojima is confident that all their EPC digital platforms and data foundations will be fit for purpose and functional by 2025. JGC will gain the benefits of the years of planning and preparation of this crucial and most valuable ‘digital input.’ Harnessing the power of Ai and Robotic automation will only add to the boundless benefits Digital Transformation has to offer Energy Sector EPCs. And without a doubt allow them the ability to easily diversify into new business sectors fully equipped with all their digital platforms, processes and automations making them a formidable force for the future.
For the full interview with Kojima San, read our blog.
This article first appeared on the MODS Energy Industry Blog https://blog.mods.solutions/ai-and-robotics-in-the-energy-epc-sector
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