Saras Group, constantly driven by innovation
The energy industry is increasingly dependent on multidisciplinary, environmentally aware human resources, ready to seize new opportunities and engage in dialogue with all stakeholders.
The Saras Group supports, by financing a scholarship, the SAFE masters course in ‘Energy Resource Management’, which covers integrated energy resource management methods and continuing training.
In a highly competitive, international sector such as the oil industry, the ability to innovate, to keep up with new digital technologies and maximise production efficiency, including energy efficiency, are essential in order to maintain market share, always in pursuit of respect for the environment and hence sustainability.
Sarlux’s role in the energy industry’s digital revolution
Over the years, the Sarlux refinery has adopted a single HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) management system. The Energy Team handles the refinery’s energy management while other sectors of the refinery work on the constant improvement of energy performance (Operations, Technology) and on maintaining the plants’ efficiency (Assets).
For this reason, it is essential to rely on professionals fully able to develop and manage the Energy Management System (certified compliant with standard ISO 50001 in 2018).
The same skills are also required at Sartec (Saras Ricerche e Tecnologie) another subsidiary of the Saras Group, where the ESCo team deals with the design and implementation of energy efficiency projects with a particular focus on the O&G sector.
Project ‘Digital by design: organisational solutions in the age of the digital revolution’
The digitisation of processes and the introduction of new smart systems (machine learning, big data tools and technologies and analytics) are the challenges that the Saras Group has decided to take up in the coming years, also by investing in training appropriate professionals
For the 20th edition of the SAFE Master in Energy Resource Management, a team of students developed the project ‘Digital by design: organisational solutions in the age of the digital revolution’.
The introduction of digital technologies into business processes also has disruptive impacts on organisational structures.
The project makes a comparative analysis of digitization overhauls by other energy companies, especially in the Oil & Gas sector, analysing how and with what tools these companies have integrated digital solutions in their organisation, what changes they have made and what impacts they have generated in their processes, working methods, corporate culture and people management.
By benchmarking those experiences, we have identified best practices in the energy sector, enabling Sarlux to manage the change brought about by digitisation of its processes and to move smoothly from the pilot project stage to a new organisation that thinks, speaks and operates naturally in digital mode.
#digitalsaras
The Sarlux refinery’s digitisation programme known as #digitalSaras exploits the potential of the industrial revolution 4.0 and aims to bring about an evolution in technology and mindset: besides identifying numerous digital technologies focused on the ability to improve staff work and optimise production processes, the plan also involves various aspects of ‘company life’.
The digitisation process involves 75 per cent of the plant’s staff, with 2000 hours of face-to-face and online training on technologies and new tools, and 430 hours of training in change management.
The digitisation of refinery processes comprises four levels: Digital Units, Asset Management, Digital Foundations and Field Operations. Some technologies have already been deployed on an industrial scale, while others are under development.
Field Operations (Digital checklist, Health Safety and Environment) is the area with the strongest impact on the organisational structure: tablets supplied to workers, digital devices connected to the control room for occupational safety and devices to improve the management of odour emissions.
The Saras Group is one of the main European oil refining operators and is also active in the electricity generation sector. Directly and through its subsidiaries, the Group sells and distributes petroleum products on national and international markets. In addition, the Group produces and sells electricity through its subsidiaries Sarlux Srl (IGCC plant) and Sardeolica Srl (wind farm). The Group also supplies industrial engineering and research services to the oil, energy and environmental sectors through its subsidiary Sartec Srl.