The war on talent in the energy sector is intensifying. An aging and shrinking workforce means that organizations must modernize to stay competitive and create an attractive workplace for aspiring talent. Workplaces that invest in modern technology are better positioned to attract talent looking for growth and learning opportunities.
However, staying competitive in the talent market is about more than attracting new talent. It also means giving your current workforce AI-powered tools to share and apply their knowledge, while helping less experienced engineers scale up and operate the plant safely and efficiently.
This is particularly crucial in the OT environment. Ensuring your control systems perform optimally is essential for guaranteeing continuous uptime, driving productivity and also creating an exciting career opportunity for young engineers and operators. The smooth running of your control systems is reliant on the experience of the team. As experienced staff retire, advanced automation solutions that use digitalization, AI, and machine learning can help new teams close the skills gap. This strengthens current operations while supporting knowledge transfer and preparing the workforce for the future.
The great knowledge transfer
At ABB, we help energy companies continuously modernize their control systems. This strategy builds new solutions onto existing infrastructure, which allows for a smooth knowledge transfer as experienced operators retire and new talent joins the workforce.
Our suite of augmented, machine-learning algorithms can capture patterns from experienced operators and make that expertise more accessible to new hires. This can help reduce knowledge gaps and shorten onboarding time. With the advent of GenAI, these capabilities can scale further, supporting faster learning and more consistent onboarding. These tools can only run on an up-to-date control system.
The continuous approach helps retain existing talent, attract new hires, and bridge generational knowledge gaps. Unlike costly rip-and-replace strategies, it also avoids significant downtime, keeping your production running smoothly with no loss of revenue. This is the process we used at Naphtachimie’s major facility near Marseille in France.
We’ve worked with Naphtachimie for almost 40 years, and recently, the company asked us to modernize its legacy control system. Due to our long-standing relationship, Naphtachimie trusted us to modernize its legacy control system through a progressive automation program that has optimized performance, availability and reliability across the facility – while also extending the life of the control system by decades.
The pathway to peak performance
Modernization is your pathway to peak performance. Updated control systems streamline operations, boost efficiency, and create seamless knowledge sharing between your experienced team and emerging talent. The result is a workplace that attracts top performers while maximizing your existing expertise.
For energy companies facing workforce transition, modernization can be a practical way to strengthen operations while preserving critical IP and expertise, and we’re here to guide you every step of the way.
