Converting raw data into information-the CEMEX PIMS approach

In the 1970s and 1980s, automation was used as a necessary means to maintain production and safety during continuous operation in cement plants. During the 1990s process control and information systems combined to form an essential management tool for cement manufacture. Development has continued and accelerated so that, in this information age, we are able to integrate process control not only with plant management systems, but also with asset management into a comprehensive business structure. PlantWide Information Management System (PIMS) Technology has been developed as a means to integrate process information. At the plant level, the PIMS's goal is to integrate all the process information islands and to make this information available throughout the plant to support decision making at operational, management and executive levels. Raw data can be converted into information, information can be converted into knowledge and knowledge can be converted into profit as a result of better informed and smarter business decisions. Additionally, thanks to the power of the Internet, the information can be delivered throughout the company worldwide. Through successive levels of data acquisition and integration, the manufacturing operation is combined with the enterprise management systems in a comprehensive information management system yielding enormous power when used efficiently. The purpose of this paper is to show how this PIMS technology is applied in the cement industry to facilitate smarter business decisions.