Operational data: the driving force behind transparency

The industrial sector is going through a profound transformation. As it becomes increasingly connected, transparency is essential and is prompting industrial companies to upgrade their business models and innovate. Transparency is the cornerstone of ESG reporting and a powerful tool for building trust, promoting sustainability and meeting the growing expectations of various stakeholders.

This shift is driven by data from industrial control systems and operational technologies.

Thanks to advances in technology, we can now collect, analyze and share data quickly and efficiently. There’s a lot of data that can provide valuable information to those who know how to manage it:

• It gives decision-makers a detailed and accurate understanding of their activities, infrastructures and all their inputs and outputs to support their decisions with measurements and comparisons.
• It improves cohesion among work groups, optimizes the work experience and enhances health and safety in the workplace, which in turn helps with employee retention and attraction.
• It gives stakeholders—communities, investors, legal bodies and governments—up-to-date and accurate information so they can objectively assess an organization's operational performance. For example, it helps improve social acceptability and build trust.

“Having a holistic overview of your operations is extremely valuable,” adds Souheil Sabbagh, Vice-President, Digital Expertise at BBA, “but digital allows us to go even further. By combining our data with external data, such as meteorological, governmental or societal data, we can make even more accurate forecasts and optimize our operations even further. I see this as an important lever in offering responsible solutions to the global challenges we're facing.”

Throughout this process, it's obviously vital to take steps to guarantee the integrity of connected infrastructures and sensitive data through a cybersecurity program. But with a well-prepared roadmap, industrial companies can progress toward a sustainable business model that meets society's growing ESG expectations, and thus shape a more ethical and environmentally friendly industrial future.