Talking the future at Honeywell user group

Oil and gasoline are not going away, so manufacturers better start preparing for the refinery of the future, said Michael Sarli, technology program leader automation and optimization division for ExxonMobil Research and Engineering at Tuesday’s Honeywell User Group conference in Phoenix.
Tuesday is the day where users grab center stage and offer presentations and papers on various topics throughout the industry.
Sarli’s talk focused on “A refinery of the future.” Let’s face it, he said, “we are in a commodity business. The days of trying to sell one brand over the other are gone.”
He said from the year 2006-2020, his company will continue to offer the same products, but they will begin a transition to other alternatives.
One of the goals in achieving success in the future, Sarli said, “will not only be able to predict what will happen, but when it will happen.”
He said some of what a company will have to do is set global standards for security, global product lifecycle cost management, global life expectancy management, and a plan for global remote access.
In essence, Sarli said, for any company to achieve increased productivity and profitability in the future, they have to heighten their sense of “discipline and consistency by using global standards. You can’t have 45 different ways to apply process control.”
Sarli’s talk was just one of the highlights throughout a busy day at the user group conference.
User group meetings used to bring about blunt discussions of a company’s product offerings and what were the good points and how can they make them better. As of late, these meetings often turn into an opportunity to market a company’s products. But with Tuesday’s lively give and take in the question and answer sessions following the presentations, the sessions seem to go back to the roots of what a user group is all about.
Talk to me.