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Integrated Oil Field Automation to Deliver the Right Data

Miguel López - Rockwell Automation
Regional Director

STORY INLINE POST

Fri, 01/17/2020 - 18:06

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Q: What makes Rockwell Automation the best automation partner for oil and gas companies?

A: The success of the company is based on two elements. The first is that we focus solely on the customer. The second is that we are flexible and adapt our activities and resources to the market’s reality. We offer the best services possible to the oil and gas industry because we listen to our clients and completely understand their needs. This may sound extremely basic but in reality, there are few companies that actually do that. We know that every client is different and before venturing into any kind of diagnosis to improve our clients’ operations, it is extremely important to truly listen to their problems, challenges and concerns.

Q: How has Rockwell Automation evolved amid the cost and timeline restrictions in the international oil and gas market?

A: Customers are increasingly asking us to take care of their assets because, ultimately, we are the experts. We are a technology company and we should help oil and gas businesses focus solely on their core activities. This paradigm change is due to market conditions that require increasingly cost-efficient operations that have extended life spans. We are, therefore, evolving our business model from an immediate and capital-intensive sale of products to focusing more on long-term services and long-lasting relationships. This is achieved by shifting from a vision that was centered on capital-related activities like sale and installation of equipment to O&M services.

Q: What integrated services, such as digitalization and Industry 4.0, is Rockwell Automation introducing to the Mexican oil and gas industry?

A: We recognize that there are many players in the industry that want to digitalize their operations. While we understand this and have a strong set of solutions that offer that service, we always try to avoid being part of trends that do not truly add value to customers and are mainly used as marketing strategies. Instead, we prefer to understand the business evolution of our clients and offer them the best solution based on those factors. Among our solutions to connect our clients’ old assets to new equipment for increased production is The Connected Enterprise platform. This enables new technologies to be better integrated into existing facilities to digitalize operations and allow them to achieve higher efficiency, decrease risks and increase safety. Some automation companies only focus on gathering data from clients and then put it all in a database of information that the client cannot really use due to the complexity of the system. Instead, we focus our activities in a user-friendly way, using cases that are based on decision-making that benefits the company. This way of working is proving to be extremely beneficial for customers that have existing infrastructure and that want to improve operations. In the end, it is all about picking the right data to create the right message and deliver it to the right people so the right decisions can be made.

Q: How does Rockwell Automation work with partners to provide cutting-edge solutions to overcome new challenges in the industry?

A: Technologies are being merged and integrated for the benefit of industrial operational safety and efficiency. One example is that some years ago, manufacturers had their own private network. Today, increasingly global operations require an open internet network to connect facilities. At the same time, this introduces new risks like cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is extremely important to us, not just in terms of the network but also in our devices. We work with CISCO to provide our customers with greater protection. In June 2018, we announced a strategic partnership with a company called PTC. PTC is a key market leader in the area of industrial IoT. Thanks to this investment, we will be working with PTC to provide a seamless experience for our customers through virtual reality, digital twins and other state-of-the-art like big data analysis.

 

Rockwell Automation supplies integrated oil-field automation and SCADA solutions for process control, motor control, safety and asset management in various applications to improve operations.

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