Dow Benelux at the PPA event: “Measuring for the sake of measuring, we need to be critical of that”

On February 5, 2025, FHI will organize the Production Process Automation (PPA) event in Congrescentrum 1931 in 's-Hertogenbosch. One of the speakers is Maarten de Caluwé, Manufacturing Technical Architect, at Dow Benelux.

Maarten has been associated with Dow Benelux in Terneuzen for over 25 years. In addition to being a manufacturing architect, he calls himself a wireless ambassador: he investigates how he can make people in the field mobile and to what extent wireless sensors can contribute to matters such as predictive maintenance. In his role within the Operations IT/OT Team, he emphasizes collaboration and the importance of good communication.

IT+OT

Dow has chosen to create a new group between IT and OT: the Operations IT/OT Team. The team is the connection between IT and OT. Whereby they combine the best of both worlds. The Operations IT/OT Team bridges the differences between IT and OT and wants to prevent island formation - a challenge that many will recognize.

Dow is a large company that has a huge diversity in technical installations on the OT side due to mergers and acquisitions and the fact that they developed their own Decision Support (DCS) System in the eighties, which is still operational. The IT side is focused on standardization and cost reduction. Due to this complexity on both the OT and IT side, collaboration is essential.

Pots and pans

Dow is a continuous company. Dow wants to operate continuously 24/7, 365 days a year. This is complex and there is diversity in this as well. A plant like a cracker operates continuously. A cracker breaks down raw materials into basic materials, which form the raw materials for various products lower down in the chain. Lower down in the chain are Dow plants that are more batch-oriented, but the basic product at Dow is a continuous process.

OT and IT are different worlds, Maarten explains. “IT: commodity and efficiency. OT: diversity and value creation. Reliability and availability are central to OT. Even if it costs a bit more.”

Another big difference between IT and OT is centralization vs. localization. IT is looking for cloud solutions, standardization and centralization. OT is in many cases local. OT is tied hand and foot to the plant, to the pots and pans. To the pump, to the sensors. OT demands reliability. And because of this, the focus is more local. The further away you are, the harder it is to oversee all the consequences. One of Dow's goals is to create as few "single points of failure" as possible. The longer the network, the higher the risk. "Less is more", Maarten summarizes. "The less you need to do something, the better. Everything that needs maintenance can break."

Communication is crucial. The Operations IT/OT Team, stands between the men, between the two worlds and must connect. IT thinks globally, thinks centrally, thinks big. While OT has local specific questions and needs. The Operations IT/OT Team stands between these and safeguards the various interests.

The look ahead

On February 5, Maarten will be on stage at Congrescentrum 1931. Visit the PPA event and discover how Dow is future-oriented in connecting the worlds of IT and OT.

Register