The progression of technology used in everyday life seems to be in a state of constant expansion, as there always seems to be some new gadget or device hitting the market to make life easier.
Shell outlines path for industrywide tech advancements
Shell Geismar’s David Mustain presents to industry leaders at TEC-Next in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
This 21st century progression is not exclusive to the consumer market — it’s impacting the energy sector as well.
TEC-Next is an annual conference in Baton Rouge, La., centered around security, data, technological improvements and more — all as they relate to industry. Sponsored by ExxonMobil and Shell, the event took place earlier this year and featured a variety of demonstrations and speakers, one of whom was Shell’s David Mustain.
Based in Shell’s Geismar, La., plant, Mustain is the innovation and digitalization manager. Among his many duties, he and his team are responsible for the technical assurance and support of all field instruments, including process analyzers and safety instrumented systems, as well as all associated digital systems, control systems and process control domains. Mustain explained that Shell Geismar is a safe and fun place to work, and that Shell consistently aims to make workers happy.
Regarding Shell’s position of systemic advancement, Mustain’s talk, at its core, posed the question, “What’s next?” Many of Shell’s ventures into the application of modern technology have come in the form of robotics — and virtual reality. These technologies are being used for tasks including robotics for pipe cleaning, using AI for analytical and data practices and easily viewing the layouts of facilities, machinery and other assets using VR. Mustain said implementing these technologies has been a process of trial and error, but finding flaws is essential for any progress to be made.
“It’s okay to call the baby ugly,” he explained, referring to the notion that to perfect a practice, a team has to be productively critical of any present or potential shortcomings found in a project. “Find mistakes if you want to improve,” Mustain said. Shell strives to envision every aspect of interactions people will have with its products, and from there anticipate every outcome.
In addition to anticipating every possible scenario, Mustain stated that envisioning key challenges is another way to stay on top of things. The system in place at Shell to ensure as few snags as possible is to establish foundational platforms in a system, replicate the process to stake out issues and then proceed with local experimentation/application. This replication of integrated digital ecosystems, Mustain said, is to ensure all solutions not only work, but all work together. This ‘holistic’ process ensures all problems are solved early on so that challenges become far less likely to appear later in the process.
Mustain delivered a call to action to the TEC-Next audience, rallying support to further enable technological improvements in industry. First, he said, fund the foundational work and invest in whatever it takes to achieve the goal. “Do it now and put your money where your mouth is,” he said. Second, he urged industry leaders to replicate and collaborate with the team(s) involved in process advancement, once again espousing the “fail fast” practice of sorting out the problems early on. Thirdly, he encouraged experimentation. “We’re not the smartest in the field; we need experts,” he supplemented.
Mustain further explained that investing in the future is foundational for all of these technological strides, namely in providing information and education to youth demographics to draw them into industry.
“Learn from each other and envision what’s next,” Mustain concluded. “What’s next? You’re next. Stay tuned for what industry has in store for 2023.”
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