Digital Technologies in Chemical Plant Operations Beginning to Drive Profits, Fueling Further Investments, Accenture Research Finds

Greater connectivity also prompts concerns over cybersecurity risks

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Digital adoption is increasing in chemical companies’ plants as more
firms recognize the technologies’ financial and operational value,
according to Accenture’s (NYSE:ACN) new “Digital
Technology in Chemical Plant Operations” survey. Yet, digital
technologies are still in the early stages of deployment on the plant
floor.

That may be changing, however. The survey of 360 chemical executives
from 12 countries revealed 80 percent of respondents are investing more,
or significantly more, in digital technologies for their plant
environments, and 85 percent expect overall digital investment to
increase in the next three years. Moreover, 92 percent of chemical
executives are satisfied with the benefits received from their digital
investments, with effective plant management the top cited benefit,
followed by improved product quality.

An overwhelming number of respondents (95 percent) are also seeing the
tangible financial value of utilizing digital in their operations. Just
under one-third (31 percent) saw an operating profit improvement in
production/manufacturing operations of 10 to 20 percent, with an
additional 20 percent seeing gains of 20 to 40 percent. This is
supported by our recent Industry
X.0 research, which showed that combining technologies like
augmented reality/virtual reality, autonomous vehicles, big data
analytics and digital twin to increase operational efficiency could
realize initial savings of more than US$90,000 per chemical company
employee.

Although many chemical companies have started pilot programs across
their operations, full deployment of digital technologies remains
limited. Even for technologies where executives see more widespread
adoption, including cloud, robotics, artificial intelligence,
mobility/wearables and cybersecurity, less than one-third of respondents
cited using each technology broadly.

When it comes to pilot programs, analytics is the technology in which
chemical companies are investing most often, cited by 43 percent of
respondents. Just under half (46 percent) listed analytics in their top
three digital investment areas over the next three years, as it provides
a way to drive more value from the large amounts of generated data. In
fact, half (51 percent) saw analytics as one of the top three
technologies with the most return-on-investment potential in the next 12
months, more than for other technologies. Of this group of chemical
executives, one in three plans to allocate 21 to 40 percent of their
digital budget to analytics.

“In the chemical industry, there is a growing understanding of the
potential for the digital reinvention of industry – or Industry
X.0 – where businesses use advanced digital technologies to
transform their core operations, worker and customer experiences and
business models,” said Tracey Countryman, managing director and lead for
Industry X.0, Accenture Resources. “By harnessing this reinvention,
chemical companies can release value trapped in the enterprise not only
by realizing efficiencies through smart connected assets but also
through new digitally-enabled sources of revenue.”

Meanwhile, chemical firms’ plant operations are becoming increasingly
connected, leaving them open to the growing threat of cyberattacks. In
the past 12 months, 73 percent of respondents had more than 30 attempted
breaches of their plant operations, more than half (54 percent)
suggested more than 30 attacks were successful, and 50 percent indicated
it took days, weeks or even months to detect them.

Yet, faced with this challenge, chemical companies’ abilities to
identify, handle and respond to the threats are severely lacking.
Currently, only 42 percent can manage the financial risk due to a
cybersecurity event targeting their plant operations, or minimize the
disruption. Even less (39 percent) can identify the cause of a breach,
and only a third (33 percent) are able to monitor for breaches.

The repercussions of successful cyberattacks could be considerable. “Commercial
consequences” was cited as the top cybersecurity risk to plant
operations by 16 percent of respondents. This encompasses production
loss and breach of customer supply contracts, which demonstrates that
successful cyberattacks could have a serious impact on the bottom line.
Environment, health and safety (15 percent) and operational
reliability (14 percent) risks were ranked second and third,
respectively. The former suggests cyberattacks on plant operations could
present a threat to the security and health of employees and the wider
public.

“Chemical companies must invest urgently to bolster cybersecurity
resilience and response capabilities for their industrial operations,”
said Robert Boyce, managing director and cybersecurity lead, Chemicals &
Natural Resources, Accenture. “As chemical plants typically have
legacy operational technology systems, the technology across sites is
not standardized and there are gaps in their security controls, leaving
them exposed. Agile
and adaptive capabilities are needed that can effectively react to
and intervene with cyber threats to protect industrial operations.”

Research Methodology

Accenture conducted an online survey of 360 C-level and top management
executives and functional leaders in the chemical industry. The survey
focused on chemical companies with a total annual revenue ranging from
US$500 million to more than US$20 billion that are currently leveraging
digital technology in their core operations. The survey was fielded in
mid-March through mid-April 2017 and included respondents from Canada,
France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Singapore,
Switzerland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the U.K. and the U.S.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a
broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital,
technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and
specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business
functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network –
Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help
clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their
stakeholders. With approximately 435,000 people serving clients in more
than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the
world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

Contacts

Accenture
Guy Cantwell, +1 281 900 9089
[email protected]
or
Matt
Corser, +44 755 784 9009
[email protected]