ANALYSIS
Engineering Ahead
Our Thought-Leaders, Consultants and Researchers gather for an introspective discussion on the road ahead for the Engineering, Industrials and Technical businesses within the Local and Regional context over the near-term.
Contact the Authors
Gwen KUA
Senior Partner, Industrials Practice gwen@bayesrecruitment.com.sg
T | (65) 6908 0777
Serene WONG
Senior Partner, Commercials Business serene.wong@bayesrecruitment.com
T | (65) 6908 0555
Developing Trends on Technical Verticals
Developments within the Process Engineering industry such as specialty chemicals and petrochemicals, moves at an even intensive breakneck pace. Every responsible government understands the unparalleled benefits that this niche heavy industry brings – a statement of economic competitiveness, infrastructure and energy support for the nation, comparative advantage for the local workforce, and a prestige in attracting top-talents to the country. Larger-scale, innovative and complex projects are incrementally gaining rapid pace across continentals even through the period of Oil’s instability.
With every niche specialty chemical plant, upstream exploration or downstream processing, it brings an insatiable demand for a niche and skilled workforce that are often outstripped by a limited supply pool. Specialized talents for major and niche projects are effectively thinning – our Research teams have identified a significant shortage of industry talents within specialty chemical processing, downstream processing and EPC-Infrastructure site-work within the coming years. Additionally, the workforce within the process industry is facing greater attrition with factors such as wages, need for global mobility and intensive work-hours key obstacles to Employees maintaining their interest in the industry.
The Challenge for Industrials
Two distinct trends will plague the Heavy Industries – Consolidation strategies to become leaner in operations will become prevalent, as plant asset owners focus divesting noncore assets and operations that are not fundamental to operational strategy to counter the capital intensive nature that these plants function on. Becoming leaner in operations ensure that these companies attain greater efficiency in order to compete, an objective the concept of digitalization and automation can support by driving operational improvements. In becoming leaner, another focused aspect will be to supplement utility infrastructure with investments that increase security, reliability, flexibility and speed, while also reducing future maintenance costs. Information is the backbone of today’s utilities, and with new IoT concepts sprouting that relays all forms of critical health-check information pertaining to plant status, the initially outlay of costs will more than offset with preventive maintenance strategies.
Power generation and energy distribution plants, including facilities such as energy storage and batteries, are becoming a key element of the grid of tomorrow, helping to support flexibility to enhance system efficiency and cost stability. Because the global demand for such energy infrastructure will only continue to increase, there is ongoing pressure to improve reliability and increase investment to address aging infrastructure, heightened scrutiny from regulators locally and globally, and customer sensitivity to network performance, and continue growth. At the same time, there are restrictions on capital availability and funding not least due to its exorbitant costs and respective overheads. A lack of policy frameworks will prohibit the growth within this area – which in turn leads to a detrimental effect on the Industrials industry; essentially a snowballing effect that contemporary societies can no longer be exposed to.
Within the Utilities Infrastructure environment, further regulatory negotiations and heavy capital investments will be required as government focuses their attentions on the array of challenges that these infrastructures will undertake. There are plenty of issues to contemplate – fluctuating costs of raw materials, energy prices, and a chronic lack of niche labour, evolving societal expectations for business and the changing demographic profile of the world’s population and the economic emergence of developing nations, means these conglomerates have to be quick to navigate the changing competitive landscape. Disruptive technology throws a further curveball and leads to a re-thinking of business and technological models along every aspect of the value chain.
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There are structural concerns to contemplate – fluctuating costs of raw materials, energy prices, and a chronic lack of niche labour, evolving societal expectations for business and the changing demographic profile of the world’s population and the economic emergence of developing nations, means these conglomerates have to be quick to navigate the changing competitive landscape.
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Technical skillsets remain a key necessity
Manufacturing Plants of the consumables industry require a high degree of precision, quality, technical mastery. The need for such clinical abilities offer immense challenges to all disciplines from R&D, technical industrial engineering and production. To compete aggressively, production & processing plants are leveraging on new techniques of technology, automation and Artificial Intelligence to gain a foothold, which has been developing at break-neck speeds. While regional priorities and attitudes alter, traditional methods of consumables production outcomes remain an essential part in every design phase. The manual and technical workforce too has to conform, as modern processes and technologies are kept in check by the rigors of smart technology and systems. With labor trends shifting as we transverse generations of workforce, we believe how the consumables industry restructures and organise their existing workforces to remain relevant and at the forefront of their competitors, will determine their successes beyond the next decade.
The pharmaceutical industry is big business, but the investments and capital outlay required to function are even – more employers are demanding innovative pharmacy solutions to manage high-cost specialty pharmaceuticals and the emergence of personalized medicine. Providers are utilizing how a consumer’s genetic profile ties to personalized approaches to disease management, disease treatment, and early detection initiatives. Companies today have access to large amounts of information from across the value chain, and can utilize this to create unique, precise, personalized offerings. Many drugs and medical treatments have been developed using a “one size fits all” approach, which can lead to ineffective treatments for specific people or populations. Precision medicine offers the opportunity to tailor disease treatment to a specific person, by considering their genetic and biological make-up, the environment in which they live, and how they live their life.
Modern capabilities within the pharmaceutical industries introducing the concept of precision medication are changing the players involved and the way in which health and healthcare systems function. A more tailored approach to screening, diagnostics, treatment and cure can improve outcomes and potentially lower costs. Resulting governance protocols also sees the introduction of innovative partnerships, new norms and standards, or new models of supporting innovation. Especially so in the Agriculture and Agrosciences business, it is critical to ensure key decision makers strategically place the right people to manage strategic. The volatility and unpredictability of logistical trends are further compounded by frequent changes as organisations deal with a diverse array of issues such as corporate governance, risk management, increased industry regulation and ever-changing economic conditions, a right hire is imperative as it impacts the success of an organization. Evolving societal expectations for business and the changing demographic profile of the world’s population and the economic emergence of developing nations, means these conglomerates have to be strategic in navigating the challenge of workforce solutions. Increasingly common, the issue of increasing capital expenditure to ensure system integrity, scrutiny from regulatory commissions and investor pressure to increase profits are issues that companies struggle to address. Pressures across the industry to improve reliability, accountability and behavioural standards complement issues of aging infrastructure, customer satisfaction to performance, and continued load growth are omnipresent.
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