Adam Forbes

At Eigen, we build and deploy live data models as part of a digital twin for oil and gas facilities. One of the challenges in doing this is how to combine the physical and the abstract into a working data model. And a great example of this is the bow tie – a diagram showing all the protective measures against hazardous events and their potential consequences.

The automobile and industrial designer Freeman Thomas said “We were promised a simpler life, and technology has only complicated our lives.” In complex domains, like oil and gas, technology may well have simplified some things but it has certainly complicated others, particularly where data is concerned.

Death and taxes may historically have been the only two certainties in life, but we might consider a third – increasing volumes of data. With ubiquitous sensing, unlimited cloud storage and insatiable demands from every walk of life, data is growing exponentially.

Much of the focus of digital transformation is given to big data, clever systems and game-changing innovations, like robotics, AI and IoT. But what is often missing is the focus on people, who have been irrevocably transformed by digital.