According to an article this past week by AutomationWorld (Chicago, Ill., USA), many if not all industries are facing digital disruption these days. But if you want to see an industry that’s been hard hit for quite some time by digital evolution, take a look at (our industry) pulp and paper—not surprising, given our ever-continuing move away from paper-based media.

 

With extensive expertise in pulp and paper—remotely monitoring and supporting close to 150 mills today—ABB is launching the first in a set of ABB Ability Collaborative Operations Centers specifically geared toward the industry and rebuilding it. The new center in Ohio will function as the central focal point for resources and for systems that are equipped with ABB technology. It will provide remote connectivity, secure access to process performance information, and technical support for customers.

 

Later this year, ABB will open two additional centers in Helsinki, Finland, and in Singapore, focused on the pulp and paper industry. 

 

 

 

Sensors and operation-critical systems will transmit data on the health and performance of paper machines to the centers, where advanced data analytics will be performed on a 24/7 basis. The insights gained will allow engineers to quickly diagnose potential issues, advise on preventive maintenance, or suggest measures to improve performance. ABB experts and customers work in close collaboration, making data-driven decisions in real time that increase operational performance and business profitability.

 

"The new center demonstrates our leadership in delivering the real benefits of Big Data to our customers, changing insights into actions to improve their processes," said Jim Fisher, ABB’s global product group manager for pulp and paper.

 

ABB Collaborative Operations is part of ABB Ability, the company’s new branding for its collection of digital products and services. Collaborative Operations provides performance management, remote monitoring, and preventive analysis technologies to ensure security, and improve efficiency and productivity in various industries.