Conference Programme

Digital transformation is inevitable for the downstream industry to survive and thrive. It helps to increase plant efficiencies, increase productivity and reduce operating cost by leveraging a plethora of IR4.0 technologies such as AI, Augmented Intelligence, AIoT, ML, VR/MR, Big Data Analytics, and Cloud computing. These technologies could become the corner stone in achieving Autonomous Plants (self-learning, self-optimizing and self-sustaining). Panelists will share their experience and address the following key-questions facing the downstream industry in their digital transformation journey: - How the new-age technologies be applied in the downstream industries? - What are the business verticals within the downstream industries that can benefit the most? - What are the key challenges, risks and obstacles? How to manage them? - What will be the role of human workforce in such autonomous plants? - What are the best practices for achieving a successful digital transformation?

Downstream industry is faced with unprecedented demands on its human capital due to high percentage of ageing workforce, low in-take of fresh workforce, technology disruptions, cultural & skill diversity, multiple roles, multi-tasking, aggressive deadlines and handling uncertainties. It is vital to maintain a happy state of mind to ensure maximum productivity with minimal health impacts.   This panel will address the following key-questions facing the downstream industry now and going forward:  - What can we do to achieve effective knowledge transfer from retiring experts to young workforce at fast pace (2-3 years)?  - How can we attract young engineers to join downstream industry?  - How can we develop programs to ensure skill-diversity together with re-skilling and upskilling the workforce? - What needs to be done to build high performance resilience at work  - What power skills are needed to embrace future work environments where humans will have to co-exist with Robots, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning?  - How can the multi-cultural workforce be integrated with local society/culture in order to work as a homogeneous team delivering high performance?  - What are the long-term human resource consequences of Covid-19, and what needs to be done now to avoid issues in the medium and long term, as its impact may permanently reshape the current young minds who would later enter the work-force?