Access to real-time production performance provides commercial advantage to the process industries. Increasing pressure to achieve higher efficiency in operational productivity is driving the adoption of mobile business intelligence (BI). The chemical and energy sectors generate enormous data daily and managing this in context drives better and faster real-time decisions to meet commercial goals. Globally, mobile application usage in manufacturing is rising and easy access to vital plant information can be the platform to profitability. 

Organisations face on-going operational complexity and the need to manage fast-moving global manufacturing trends. Keeping pace requires agility and the use of technology to efficiently manage performance and deliver quality products that meet customer expectations. Organisations need to innovate and adopt robust technologies to remain competitive and drive profitability. Many traditional BI solutions are typically not effective in responding to unanticipated, time-critical needs. Recent technology innovations in mobile technology, however, have allowed traditional BI to be disseminated to a much broader internal audience. The trend in business technology adoption is towards greater mobility. A Gartner survey published in 2012 on Critical Capabilities for Mobile BI indicated that of 1364 organisations that use BI tools: 8% are actively using mobility for BI; an additional 13% are running pilot initiatives; and a further 33% have plans to deploy mobile BI within 12 months.

Mobile BI empowers employees to perform more flexibly as it improves access to manufacturing data to drive quicker decisions. Event notifications, coupled with mobile analysis tools, enable faster adjustments to minimise production issues. 

A plant manager needs to make business decisions quickly and mobile BI can help streamline processes. Information management-focused mobile applications improve data accessibility, driving numerous manufacturing benefits:

• Enables faster, better-informed decisions to improve profitability
  – Improved access to accurate manufacturing data drives quicker decisions.
  – Event notifications coupled with mobile analysis tools enable faster adjustments to minimise impact of production issues.
• Increases troubleshooting efficiency
  – Visualisation techniques improve employee effectiveness.
  – Data access reduces analysis time and time to identify root causes and take corrective action.
• Minimises training and installation costs
  – Intuitive interface enables faster time-to-value.
  – Stand-alone application leverages existing implementations while supporting existing network and security policies.

Visualisation and customisation are also crucial. Users can start realising benefits quickly with little training and software utilises flexible hierarchical user interfaces with role-based access privileges. The mobile software allows users to solve plant problems and configure e-mail and text alerts for notification of significant process excursions before finding the source of plant issues. Mobile BI is most effective when users are provided with visualisation tools (e.g. charts and graphs). This ‘self-service’ BI empowers them to customise the presentation of information. Moreover, unique log-ins enables data to be restricted to unique individuals. One measure of success with a BI initiative is the ability to find the right information at the right time. Being late can be costly. Mobile BI helps unshackle people from the desktop and increases the odds of responding effectively to new situations. 

With desktop BI, users waited until they returned to their desk to learn about a situation in the plant, giving them little time to respond to an issue. Managers who have access to mobile BI frequently report operational disturbances are promptly mitigated, avoiding production or equipment interruptions because of alerts delivered via a mobile device. 

Having a finger on the pulse of the plant can deliver immediate benefits. With access to accurate, reliable information, a manager on-the-go can cut operational expense and safeguard margins. Many companies have adopted AspenTech’s Aspen InfoPlus.21 Mobile, for example, which optimises plant and process design, operational performance and supply chain planning. Expanding the accessibility of critical manufacturing data improves employee effectiveness and supports continuous improvement efforts. The software is a smartphone application that enables users across the enterprise to access and analyse real-time and historical plant data from an Aspen InfoPlus.21 database. Crucially, companies have real-time access for visualisation and analysis of performance data. This drives enhanced decision-making and faster troubleshooting – delivering increased profitability, reduced variability and improved asset utilisation. 

Manufacturing execution systems, including mobile BI, have become platforms that integrate multiple business processes within a site and across the enterprise. This is vital as manufacturers can enhance their current and future capabilities in order to align their overall manufacturing operational strategy. Process industry managers and production engineers can use mobile BI anytime, anywhere to understand an issue and quickly propose solutions.