A Conversation with Dow Chemical: Maximizing the Value of Process Data – How Dow Implemented EMI

Dow Chemical had a Very Big Data Problem – they collected huge amounts of process data in many databases at many locations but were limited in how they could use it to produce actionable information to improve operations, drive down costs and increase efficiencies. How could they increase the operational value of all that data?

Dr. Lloyd Colegrove, Director of Fundamental Problem Solving, will discuss how Dow unlocked the value of the data with an innovative new approach to enterprise manufacturing intelligence (EMI) that uses their existing infrastructure and is within reach of almost every manufacturer today.

Managing a multinational chemical firm and its supply chain requires every bit of decision support management can muster, but to quote ARC, “Everyone is drowning in data, but starving for information”. In their studies ARC identified the top three wish list for manufacturing software solutions:

• Analytics– the key to creating actionable intelligence;
• Collaboration– the means to leverage collective knowledge;
• Cloud– finding the most efficient way to distribute real-time information.

These all point to Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence as the realistic means for manufacturers to control and optimize their processes and improve corporate management.

To reach the EMI goal, Dow faced the complex data problems common to every manufacturer – multiple generations of data systems from multiple vendors each in its own silo and no direct way to consolidate and analyze the data to support comprehensive process management.

During this conversation, Dr. Colegrove will open the Dow EMI playbook to present a real-world approach to EMI that any manufacturer can apply to the process data collected in historians, LIMS, MES or other process databases.

Our Guest – Dr. Lloyd Colegrove, Fundamental Problem Solving Director, Dow Chemical. Mr. Colegrove is a 23 year veteran of chemical production. From R&D to process optimization, he has led the successful effort at Dow to integrate process data and implement scalable EMI.