Survey reveals "silo sickness"

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 8, 2002

A recent survey carried out by Cadcentre reveals that the engineering industry is suffering from "silo sickness".

The engineering industry is suffering from "silo sickness" according to the respondents of a recent survey.

The majority of respondents (95%) believe that their company suffers from acute symptoms of isolated information silos, having no intelligent links between IT systems and the information they support.

The survey carried out by Cadcentre suggests that this nonintegrated environment may be the number one barrier to operating as a truly global business today.

The ever-increasing number of engineering projects conducted on a global scale creates a need to manage the workflow and data more effectively during the project lifecycle.

The survey which was conducted at the recent DaratechPlant 2002 Conference in Texas, USA, shows that while a quarter of the survey population (26%) cites IT integration as the biggest engineering headache, the majority (60%) believe an integrated environment would cure the "ailments" associated with the management of information.

One in five respondents thinks their organisation lags behind competitors in terms of engineering IT.

Statistics revealed by the survey point the blame at mismanaged data.

Lack of specialist global design tools was seen as a problem by only 4% while over 79% claimed that project information is being poorly utilised.

This suggests that the problem lies in the immediate absence of well-deployed and integrated solutions within the industry.

The survey also shows that the decision to employ a more strategic approach to engineering IT lies mainly with the IT department (57%) rather than the board.

In terms of business priorities for 2002, most organisations will focus on increasing market share and profile and reducing costs (48%).

This indicates that companies are looking for tools that offer faster and more cost-effective project execution.

All respondents to the survey agreed that engineering IT will play a "very important" role in determining the future development of the engineering industry.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Derek Middlemas, vice president of strategic programmes, Cadcentre said: "Within the engineering industry the demands to compete on a global scale and meet project deadlines are intensifying.

The survey reveals a consensus of opinion that the integration of engineering tools can help companies command greater market share and reduce costs and that engineering IT will enable this change.

The key to future success means better communication and strategic planning by key decision makers and project handlers.

To achieve this, they will need to formally recognise that breaking down the prolific silos of information is as much a business issue as an IT issue.

By integrating workflow with the systems that hold vital project information, owner operators and EPCs can benefit from elevating the role of information across the project lifecycle through consolidated data sources and content".