cement industry has become a necessary question for the high-quality development of enterprises. However, after investing a lot of money in the construction of digital platform, many enterprises find that the actual effect is far from expected-the large screen has been built, the system has been built, whether the kiln condition is more stable, whether the energy consumption is reduced, but it is not clear. Where is the digital transformation stuck? How can enterprises push forward in order to truly release the value of transformation? In response to these problems, China Cement Network interviewed Professor Tao Yong of the National Key Laboratory of Silicate Science and Advanced Building Materials of Wuhan University of Technology.
Core bottleneck: It is not the lack of technology, but the lack of real integration
of digitalization and production. "The most difficult part of digital upgrading of cement enterprises is not the lack of technology and software, but the lack of real integration of digitalization and on-site production and operation." Tao Yong pointed out the crux of the problem.
According to his analysis, cement production is a process with strong continuity and highly related links. Fluctuations in any link from mining, raw material, firing, grinding to shipment may affect energy consumption, quality and output. This means that in order for digitization to be of value, it must first be able to accurately capture the real changes in the production process and respond accordingly. But the reality is not optimistic.
"There is a lot of data, but not much that can be used." Tao Yong said that many enterprises have accumulated a lot of data, but there is not much data that can really be used for analysis and decision-making. On the one hand, some old equipment can not collect data, and some instrument data are not accurate enough; on the other hand, the data are stored in different systems such as DCS, quality inspection, energy, equipment, ERP and so on, and they are not connected with each other. "On the surface, there is a lot of data, but in actual use, it is often not right, can not be found or can not be analyzed continuously."
Tao Yong further pointed out that in the past, some digital projects paid more attention to the number of platforms, large screens and systems, but did not pay enough attention to what problems were solved on the spot. For example, whether the kiln condition is more stable, whether the coal consumption and power consumption are reduced, whether the quality fluctuation is reduced, and whether the equipment shutdown can be warned in advance-these are the real concerns of enterprises, but they are often neglected under the "bright" platform construction.
There is also a practical problem to be noted: there are few compound talents who understand not only cement technology, but also data and artificial intelligence, and communication barriers are prone to occur between process technicians and IT technicians. As a result, when digital projects are implemented, there is often a disconnection between "those who understand IT do not understand technology, and those who understand technology do not understand IT".
To sum up, Tao Yong believes that the biggest obstacle to digital upgrading lies not in the advanced level of technology itself, but in whether the on-site problems can be clarified, the data base can be solid, and ultimately the application of technology can be transformed into visible and clear operational benefits.
AI production map is for reference
only. How to promote it: Starting from the most pressing problems, small incision verification and promotion
. Talking about how enterprises should promote digital transformation, Tao Yong first emphasized a premise: "To think clearly about a problem-what should digitalization solve for enterprises?". We should not digitalize for the sake of digitalization, nor should we pursue the construction of a large and complete platform at the beginning. "
He suggested that enterprises should start with the most urgent and valuable problems in production and operation.". For example, whether the kiln system can be more stable, whether the coal consumption and power consumption can be further reduced, whether the clinker strength can be predicted in advance, whether the equipment failure can be found in advance, and whether the admixture content and logistics efficiency can be optimized. "These scenarios have clear objectives and easy to measure effects, and are more suitable as a breakthrough in digital transformation."
Tao Yong particularly emphasized that no matter which entry point is chosen, the premise is to lay a solid data foundation. Enterprises need to gradually unify data standards and equipment coding, improve key instruments and on-line detection, and open up production, quality, energy, equipment and management systems to make data real, continuous and traceable. Without this step, the analysis and decision-making of the upper level will lack the foundation.
"Small incision, quick verification, mature promotion one by one." In terms of implementation methods, he suggested that a pilot project should be carried out in a production line or a key link to verify the effect before replication and promotion. Compared with the one-time launch of a large platform, this gradual approach has lower risk, faster error correction, and easier to see the actual benefits in the short term.
Tao Yong said that digitalization should not only be the work of the information department, but also involve production, technology, equipment, quality and management personnel. At the same time, enterprises can also cooperate with universities, scientific research institutions and professional and technical teams to train talents who understand both on-site and digital technology, which is the most scarce resource in the current industry.
Benefit orientation: Whether energy consumption can be reduced and quality can be stabilized is the test standard
for the effectiveness of digital transformation, and ultimately it should be measured by business indicators. Tao Yong believes that the success of a project depends on whether it can help enterprises reduce energy consumption, stabilize quality, reduce downtime and improve efficiency.
"Only by truly integrating into daily production and management can digitalization continue to create value." This sentence seems simple, but it points out a key criterion: digitalization that is divorced from the actual production is only a "flower shelf" no matter how advanced it is; digitalization that can solve the real problems on the spot and bring quantifiable benefits is worth investing and promoting.
At present, the cement industry is in a cycle of overcapacity and profit pressure, and enterprises are more cautious about every investment. In this context, if digital transformation is to truly play its value, I am afraid it is more necessary to return to the basic logic emphasized by Tao Yong: first clarify the on-site problems, make the data base solid, and then talk about the platform and application. This is not a shortcut, but it may be the safest path.
On July 29-30, China Cement Network will hold the 15th China Cement Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Technology Exchange Conference and the 7th Intelligent Summit Forum in Wuhu, Anhui Province. This conference focuses on the practice of carbon market performance, the path of energy saving and carbon reduction technology, the experience of ultra-low emission transformation and the intelligent operation and maintenance scheme to help the industry go steadily and far in the "double carbon" era. At that time, Professor Tao Yong of the National Key Laboratory of Silicate Science and Advanced Building Materials of Wuhan University of Technology will be invited to attend the 15th China Cement Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Technology Exchange Conference and the 7th Intelligent Summit Forum . And make a keynote report on the theme of digital transformation of cement industry!
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