The impact of autonomous operations in the process industry

An interactive discussion with the audience and a panel of experts. This seminar is offered to you in collaboration with the WIB. The WIB is a user association for instrumentation and process control and provides knowledge sharing, reviews and evaluations of process instrumentation and control for industrial members. The WIB represents more than 40 companies that use instrumentation and process control systems that are essential for the safe, efficient and sustainable operation of complex process industries.

Through working groups within the WIB, experienced specialists in the field of process control and industrial field instrumentation are involved in specific projects and test programs. Ruud Litjens is chairman of the Autonomous Operations working group and Jasper Rutten of the Workforce of the Future working group, which deals with human aspects. Together with Johan Ike, Technical Consultant WIB, and Dennis Klok, Customer Success Manager at ATS Applied Tech Systems BV, they form an experienced expert panel during this interactive seminar.

In collaboration with NAMUR, the WIB working groups have developed a maturity matrix. NAMUR is an association of users of automation and control systems in the process industry and focuses on promoting the development and application of process automation and instrumentation systems. The maturity matrix assesses the maturity and development of industrial companies in various areas, with the aim of helping companies with further professionalization and growth.

During this seminar, the expert panel, led by a moderator, will actively discuss with the participants. We interact with the audience based on questions and statements. The following topics are covered:

Trends that move us: Dennis Klok uses key figures and trends to discuss the challenges in the process industry, such as the aging population, the labor market, the investment climate, legislation and regulations, and education and training.
People who make this possible: The moderator guides the discussion from trends and developments to the people who make Autonomous Operations possible. What role does Generation Z play in this? Will the current functions still be sufficient? Can we train and educate our current staff? Could there be functions in 2035 that do not yet exist?
Technologies that support this: We discuss the technologies that enable Autonomous Operations. What does the audience think about the role of Autonomous Operations in the industry? We discuss topics such as AI, AR and VR, robotization, the connection between IT and OT, and the willingness of asset owners to share open source code.

Panel Members:

• Jasper Rutten, chairman of the WIB Workforce of the Future working group and Digital Manufacturing Manager Huntsman
• Ruud Litjens, chairman of the Autonomous Operations WIB working group and Regional Process Control and Automation Engineer Cargill
• Johan Ike, Technical Consultant WIB and Industrial Process Control expert
• Dennis Klok, Customer Success Manager at ATS Applied Tech Systems BV
• Erik Jan van den Heuvel, Seminar Moderator, Autonomous Operations WIB working group and former Technology Leader at Dow Terneuzen.