| |DECEMBER 202219CIOReviewCXO INSIGHTSBy Ali Nooraii, Director of Digital Transformation for Operations, AlcoaDigital transformation in the mining and metals industry, like many others, has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a HYPERLINK "https://www.axora.com/innovation-forecast/metals-and-mining/" recent HYPERLINK "https://www.axora.com/innovation-forecast/metals-and-mining/" Axora survey, 99 percent of decision makers at mining companies see technology and innovation as critical to their company's survival. And a World Economic Forum report projects digital transformation efforts will bring more than $425 billion in value, along with increased sustainability and safety.However, just as critical as why companies are executing on digital transformation is how. The technology itself is only part of the story. Integrating innovative new technology into company culture and ensuring that new, digital tools and processes are delivering efficiencies and value is critical.At Alcoa, our digital transformation story doesn't start with the technology itself ­ it starts with our people. This approach ensures that we understand the opportunities and test and deploy the right technologies as part of a holistic solution, rather than looking for a use case for new technologies with no clear business application. And we're already seeing progress as a result.For example, when Alcoa employees found they were wasting time on tedious administrative tasks and that their productivity was hampered by lack of timely access to information on equipment and processes, we took action. Through a partnership with Asset Management Centre of Excellence, we worked to define a standard workflow for our maintenance crew and built a series of tools to embed and institutionalise that workflow, all while providing timely information so workers could execute the job efficiently. Enter Connected Worker. Centered on an application named Mobile Worker, this program provides employees with tools so they can be more productive and connected to each other, as well as the assets and underlying systems. The suite of solutions in Connected Worker focuses on improving operational productivity and performance through global standardized workflows, real time access to supporting knowledge and subject matter experts, integrated analytics, and more. And by focusing first on the needs of our employees, we developed a people-first approach to our digital transformation journey that can serve as a roadmap for others. Letting employees lead our digital transformationFrom AI to automation, new technologies are transforming the mining industry and the way we go about our work. As processes shift, efficiency and productivity can reach new heights. Listening to employees can help companies looking to integrate more technology into their everyday operations define clear needs, especially in industries like mining and metals where the move to digital hasn't always been easy.A big pain point for companies like Alcoa is the ability to capture and manage knowledge, and share it across our people, especially new team members. As technology transforms workplaces around the world, we see innovative digital solutions A PEOPLE-LED APPROACH TO DIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONAli Nooraii
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