Operations & Maintenance

Key insights on data integrity, standardization and breaking down silos from our customer panel at the Hexagon LIVE Make Data Make Sense Series event in Dallas, Texas. 

At the Hexagon LIVE Make Data Make Sense Series event held in Dallas, Texas, customer panelists from various markets, including engineering, infrastructure, food and beverage and oil & gas, joined us on stage to share their insights on facilitating seamless digital continuity across the lifecycle. During the discussion, the guests communicated the criticality of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into their operations to optimize performance. Here are some key takeaways from the conversation.

The Importance of Data Integrity 

As organizations increasingly rely on AI to drive decision making, the accuracy and reliability of the underlying data become paramount. The panelists, including Sandeep Kumar, design technologist senior manager at Black & Veatch, emphasized the role of data integrity in AI. Panelists agreed that AI can only be as effective as the data it processes and without a solid foundation of clean, standardized data, even the most advanced AI tools will fall short. 

For example, Shannon Mika, project information lead at Sempra, works with her team to do a digital handover of project information for data integrity. “We want to use our digital asset visualization system to ensure all the information received during engineering and construction is correctly captured and easily accessible to our operations team,” she said. This effort to consolidate and streamline data handover processes remains crucial to maintain data integrity across the project lifecycle.

Standardization for Credible Data  

Standardization also plays a key role in AI. “Standardization, quality and integrity of your data make your data credible,” said Tami Ryley, equipment reliability program manager at a major beverage company. Companies that establish clear standards and definitions across the organization can help everyone work from the same playbook. This approach enhances the data's credibility and facilitates greater collaboration across different teams and departments. 

Ryley and her team, with support from industry groups, worked to define and enforce consistent terminology and processes across their organization. This effort started with foundational questions like: What are we calling work orders? Are we all using the same terminology? What processes underpin the information we're using? When an entire organization understands and accepts these organizational standards, it creates a solid foundation for AI initiatives, which leads to meaningful and actionable insights.

Break Down Data Silos  

Data silos emerged as a significant challenge discussed by the panelists. “How do we break these silos and look at the data holistically?” asked Mika. The panel agreed that data integration across departments helps maintain data quality and transparency for informed decision making. This approach helps all stakeholders, from project teams to executives, to understand the broader impact of their decisions and actions. 

AI for Enhanced Decision-Making 

The panel discussed AI’s potential for better decision making with real-time insights and predictive analysis. “AI plays a vital role to make sure the data captured is validated and searchable,” Kumar said. This capability allows organizations to quickly access and analyze relevant data to identify trends and make informed decisions easily. 

A former senior controls and excellence manager at a major Gulf Coast refinery, shared how her team integrated AI into their capital portfolio management for better decision-making-making. “We started from the basics: Where's the data? What's the data telling us? What's the quality?” she said. She set a strong data foundation and integrated AI into their processes. Her team was able to build Power BI dashboards that provided real-time insights into the impact of their decisions across different projects. 

AI and the Future: An Industry Approach  

Lessons shared by the panelists at Hexagon LIVE Dallas highlight the importance of data integrity, standardization and breaking down data. Mika emphasized the importance of companies getting involved with industry associations to establish data standards across the industry. She said, “We need companies to provide input, share lessons learned, and communicate what’s working and what’s not, so that we can bring everyone on board.” 

By working together, companies can ensure that AI initiatives lead to smarter, more informed decision making. To learn more about the Hexagon LIVE Make Data Make Sense Series happening around the world this year, click here and stay tuned for exciting news about our upcoming AI launch!