The continued and expanding use of digitalization technologies in the process industries have pushed facility operations from “automated” — featuring distributed control systems, programmable logic controllers, safety instrumented systems and others — toward “autonomous” operations, where technologies like machine-learning, open-software-defined automation, robotics and others allow the performance of a wide range of operations tasks with minimal or no human involvement.
New industry survey data provides some insights into how the evolution of automated to autonomous is progressing and gives observers a sense of how trends in automation, digitalization, electrification and decarbonization are converging. The study, commissioned by Schneider Electric (Rueil-Malmaison, France; www.se.com), surveyed 400 senior-level executives in the energy and chemicals sectors in 12 different countries, and reveals a sense of urgency surrounding the pursuit of increasingly autonomous operations.
The survey assesses progress using the Autonomous Operations Maturity Model (AOMM), a five-level hierarchy of technology adoption developed by the ARC Advisory Group (Dedham, Mass., www.arcweb.com). The AOMM categorizes the spectrum of autonomous operations from Level 0 (no autonomy) to Level 5 (full autonomy).
The study indicates that progress toward autonomous operations in the global energy and chemicals sector may be stronger than many have assumed. Organizations report operations at an average maturity level of 3.52 out of 5 on the AOMM index, with ambitions to reach level 4.02 by 2030. On the AOMM scale, Level 4 is characterized as “select autonomy,” or true autonomy for certain situations, such as the detection of imminent pump failure and automatically switching to standby pump, for example.
Regionally, progress is somewhat uneven. Data indicate that although Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates) and Asia currently lead in maturity levels today (3.78), North America is targeting the fastest acceleration over the next five years (from an average current level of 3.31 to 4.16 by 2030).
Nearly one-third of executives surveyed (31.5%) said advancing autonomy is a ‘critical’ priority in the next five years, rising to 44% over a ten-year horizon. Very few rate it as a low priority. The industry leaders generally cite several commercial pressures as driving the adoption of technologies that allow autonomous operations. These include higher operating costs, talent shortages and declining competitiveness. On the other hand, key barriers to adoption include high upfront costs (34%), legacy systems (30%), organizational resistance (27%), cybersecurity concerns (26%) and regulatory uncertainty (25%).
Nearly half of survey respondents identified artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, taken collectively, as the largest enabler of autonomous acceleration, followed by cybersecurity advancements, cloud and edge computing, digital twins, advanced process control and open, software-defined automation.
The report states: “Electrification, automation and digitalization are converging to create an environment where autonomous systems can thrive, and where early movers will shape the next era of the energy sector. What the industry needs now is a clear migration path, a prepared workforce and collaborative partnerships to scale autonomy responsibly.” ■
Scott Jenkins, senior editor