| Ishan Ibrahim |
THE President and CEO of Siemens Singapore, Dr Armin Bruck recently had a talk on digitalisation with the Weekend Bulletin, on what it entails and the consequences as well as the impact it has on society.
Siemens Country Manager (Brunei), Kamaljit Singh Gill was also at the meeting.
Dr Armin began by saying that digitalisation has a huge significance not only on businesses but also in society.
In businesses, there are ‘fundamental aspects’ that drives productivity. If productivity does not progress, a business may resort to cutting costs and inevitably it will mean the end of the business, he said.
Dr Armin pointed out that Siemens’ customers will have to follow the trend of digitalisation.
“Many of them have considerable and invaluable investment assets such as in machinery with high costs in maintenance, for example,” he said.
The companies have to decide how to make the best from these assets in order to get the Return on Investment (ROI) in terms of increasing the productivity and efficiency levels to an acceptable standard, he explained.
However, Dr Armin said, with digitalisation the assets can be intensively controlled.
“In many instances the company can remotely control their assets without being at the site itself,” he said.
The assets can be monitored and controlled online 24/7 even in cases of ‘failures’ or outages. This can prevent a situation from getting worse; it is a kind of ‘preventive action’, he added.
Dr Armin said digitalisation can also be utilised to compare investment assets globally.
For instance, a company can check why an asset in a certain country is more productive, and this can be emulated in another country to increase productivity.
In addition, Kamaljit explained that with digitalisation, a company such as in the oil and gas industry in Brunei can make huge savings in terms of operational costs.
Dr Armin added that a company can monitor its asset on an oil platform digitally via a computer; a digital twin asset on the computer with its physical twin on the platform can be remotely controlled or monitored without the need to be physically there.
Digital tools are enabling manufacturers to create a digital twin, not only of the product but of the entire physical enterprise, from development lab to shop floor, from showroom to service.
He said digitalisation is capable of increasing productivity and efficiency, and it can lower the overall costs of running a business; digitalisation can also help create a predictable environment that can be properly controlled and thus prevent avoidable circumstances.
For example, in the running of a train, the machinery and parts can be monitored in case of failures that can have negative consequences, he explained.
Digitalisation has the ability to predict this with its advanced detection algorithms. It can also constantly monitor the train’s ecosystem effectively – an alarm can immediately be raised and the train’s operator informed to prevent any untoward incidents.
Dr Armin said that in the hospital environment where saving lives is imperative, digitalisation can be utilised to control and monitor advanced equipment such as a CT scan machine.
In this context, Siemens can work with its business partners, organisations, and institutions to help them grow their businesses by increasing productivity.
In the current trend of rapid advancement in digitalisation, some people are fearful that this will take away their jobs.
To counter this, Dr Armin said, it is the responsibility of every player – the government, education systems, and providers such as Siemens – to help the society by accommodating them, making them aware of the rapid advancement in technology and assisting them to be part of this trend.
– Digitalisation, Dr Armin said, can benefit the society in terms of providing faster learning in schools, colleges and universities where students do not need physical books.
Digitalisation can also help governments provide faster and efficient services to the people, such as in the housing and employment sectors, he explained.
Kamaljit also said that the Brunei Government has worked hard to diversify its economy and this is evident where it provides excellent education and training platforms for the people.
The young people in Brunei are given high quality education in schools, universities and other educational institutions. And they are proving to be invaluable assets to the country in terms of digitalisation and technological advancement, Kamaljit said.
Siemens has a long history with Brunei companies, which began in 1972 with its development of boil-off gas compressors for an LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) system in the oil and gas industry.
Other projects included the introduction of healthcare equipment in 2005, and in 2007 the installation of the first 64-Slice Computed Tomography Scanner at the Jerudong Park Medical Centre.
In 2011, the first major partnership with Brunei Shell Petroleum Co Sdn Bhd (BSP) for the Champion 7 offshore oil-drilling complex; in 2011, the installation of the Verio 3-Tesla MRI system for the radiology department at Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital; and in 2012, the establishment of a long term service agreement for TurboCare to provide total maintenance service for the Department of Electrical Services (DES) fleet of turbines in Brunei over a six-year period.
Another venture was signed in 2013 with Brunei LNG for the Cogen II project to supply power and distribution transformers, 11-kV GIS and 6-kV AIS switchgears, generator circuit breaker and other associated equipment.
The meeting was held at the Radisson Hotel in the capital.