Saudi Aramco joins ten new manufacturing sites in the WEF’s Global Lighthouse Network of leaders
The World Economic Forum has announced the addition of ten new factories to its Global Lighthouse Network, a community of world-leading companies that have succeeded in the adaptation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution at scale. The list includes Saudi Arabia’s Aramco. Other new entrants include companies from Asia, Europe and North America.
Saudi Aramco (Khurais) is the only Middle East addition. As part of Aramco’s dedication to increase the resiliency of its operations, the Khurais oil field was built as a fully connected and intelligent field, with over 40,000 sensors covering over 500 oil wells spread over 150km x 40km. This enabled autonomous process control, remote operation and monitoring of equipment and pipelines, resulting in maximizing the oil well production with at least 15% attributed to smart well completion technology alone.
In the face of unprecedented disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic, these manufacturers have found ways to improve sustainability, competitiveness and customer satisfaction. The network and its 54 factories are a platform to develop, replicate and scale up innovations, creating opportunities for cross-company learning and collaboration and for setting new benchmarks for the global manufacturing community. The goal of this community is to share and learn from best practices, support new partnerships and help other manufacturers deploy technology, adopt sustainable solutions and transform their workforces.
Research based on learnings from the network reveals that four shifts in manufacturing and supply chain have emerged: agility and customer centricity; supply chain resilience; speed and productivity; and eco-efficiency. The new report, Global Lighthouse Network: Four Durable Shifts for a Great Reset in Manufacturing, expands on these new trends and how factories have adapted to the industries and production contexts. They set the benchmark for a “next normal” in manufacturing and highlight how the industry is contributing to the Great Reset and shaping the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
The extended network of “Manufacturing Lighthouses” will be officially awarded at the Global Lighthouse Network Annual Meeting 2020 on 17-18 September. To better understand and identify solutions for the future, the Global Lighthouse Network, a World Economic Forum project in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, is gathering leaders from its exclusive group of advanced manufacturers. Click here to watch sessions live at the Global Lighthouse Network Annual Meeting 2020.
