Innovation in engineering is necessary to better adapt and address today’s global challenges.
This is why, to celebrate World Engineering Day, which takes place on 4th March, we had a chat with Stefano Parma, FOMAS Group's Production Processes Manager and Process automation, Factory & Digitalization Project Leader.
- Hello Stefano, you are in FOMAS since 2006, and your role is FOMAS Group's Production Processes Manager and Process automation, Factory & Digitalization Project Leader. What is your view regarding digitalization and how do you think digitalization can be functional for the sustainable development of a company?
As you know Digital Transformation or Digitalization is a widely used term in recent years, linked to what some people define the fourth industrial revolution; it identifies paths and technologies that companies are following to become more efficient, cost-effective, innovative. It involves a rethinking of processes, organization and strategies and is a powerful enabler of informed data-driven decisions thanks to the availability of large amount of reliable real-time data.
Sustainability is increasingly a key factor for the company’s success and is strictly linked with digital transformation. Today the available data enable production processes optimization, waste reduction, natural resources use minimization… in other words, new tools are available to reduce the environmental impact of company's operations.
In addition, the advanced technologies for energy and consumption monitoring are essential to identify the most energy-hungry elements in order to activate tailored initiatives aimed to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
- What do you think will be the future developments of engineering in the field of industrial digitalization?
The field of industrial digitalization is constantly evolving at an ever-increasing speed, so it is very difficult to predict which solutions will be available in the future and how these will impact our processes.
But surely Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) will continue to grow, enabling the automation of more industrial processes, bringing increased efficiency and productivity as well as more accurate data analysis and prediction (for example finer prediction of failures, or simulation of parallel scenarios in order to choose the right path to follow, etc..).
Also Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies, already being used in some industrial context for training and maintenance purposes, are under continuous development and I imagine will be available within solutions able to simplify and assist manufacturing processes.
Finally, as industrial digitalization becomes more widespread, cybersecurity will increasingly be a central theme because cyber attacks can literally lock down companies.
- What advice would you give to young people who want to approach this career path?
As mentioned before, we are in the midst of an epochal change, with game-changer solutions periodically coming to surface and able to alter the overall context.
In this scenario I think we need a good technical foundation to have an overall understanding of the processes. But above all I deeply believe that curiosity is the most powerful engine that leads inclined people to deepen everything that catches their attention. So don't be afraid to deepen, try, make mistakes, try again because this is the path for innovation!
Thank you, Stefano, for sharing this with us!
Find out more about this day here: World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development | UNESCO