Insights

In this interview, Philipp shares his perspective on the slow pace of digital adoption across the sector, the operational benefits of predictive maintenance, and the practical lessons learned when implementing digitalisation projects in complex industrial environments.

Topics covered

• Predictive maintenance in oil and gas
• Industrial IoT and condition monitoring
• Extending asset life through predictive maintenance
• Lessons from implementing digital solutions in industrial environments

Tell us about yourself and your experience in the industry.

Our core experience lies in IIoT predictive maintenance solutions for industrial applications such as wall thickness monitoring, valve and steam trap monitoring, rotating equipment monitoring and leakage detection.

In addition to digital solutions, we also work with adhesive repair technologies for industrial equipment such as pumps, motors and pipes, as well as corrosion protection and specialised coatings.

How is your Henkel responding to digital transformation in the industry?

As a chemical company ourselves, we are also operating industrial assets and therefore use predictive maintenance solutions to transform our own maintenance processes.

“We use sensors, AI and data analytics to turn industrial equipment data into actionable maintenance insights.”

We apply this experience directly within our LOCTITE Pulse predictive maintenance portfolio, using sensors combined with AI and data analytics to generate meaningful insights from industrial equipment data.

What outcomes do you hope to achieve by participating in the Digital Oil & Gas Summit?

From a learning perspective, we are keen to exchange insights with peers who are working on similar operational and digital challenges.

We are also interested in gaining new market insights, identifying emerging opportunities and receiving feedback on our LOCTITE Pulse offering so we can continue refining it.

From a commercial perspective, we aim to extend our network and create leads and opportunities for the LOCTITE Pulse solution portfolio.

What excites you most about the topics explored at the summit?

The opportunity to explore new ideas and pioneering technologies that can help improve industrial operations.

What do you see as the biggest challenges affecting the industry over the next 12 months?

Some of the key challenges include climate change pressures, cost management and skilled worker shortages, particularly across Europe.

There is also increasing pressure on companies to position their brands responsibly in relation to sustainability and energy transition.

What surprises you most about digital transformation in the industry?

What surprises me most is how slowly digital solutions are being adopted and how low the priority still is in some organisations.

How do you see digitalisation and automation improving the sector?

Digitalisation and automation can deliver several important improvements including:

• Increasing asset life
• Reducing downtime
• Improving product quality
• Saving resources
• Making field work easier and more efficient
• Increasing operational safety

“Digitalisation helps increase asset life, reduce downtime and improve safety across operations.”

Can you share examples from your own projects?

Some examples include:

• Rotating equipment condition monitoring to extend asset life
• Online leakage monitoring to reduce safety risks and environmental impact
• Steam trap and valve monitoring to reduce energy waste
• Continuous wall thickness monitoring to improve compliance, reduce manual inspections and enable more proactive maintenance

These solutions help organisations identify potential issues earlier and reduce operational downtime.

What are the biggest challenges when planning and implementing digital strategies?

There are several practical challenges.

Often the outcomes are uncertain at the beginning, which can slow decision-making. In addition, high data security requirements can make rollouts more complex.

Another major challenge is stakeholder management, particularly when the person using the digital solution is not the same person who benefits financially from the project.

What lessons from your projects could help industry colleagues?

One important lesson is that management needs to be involved in the decision-making process, for example the plant manager.

Another key factor is ensuring that every digitalisation project clearly includes three roles:

1. The application or usage beneficiary
2. The monetary beneficiary
3. The digital lead responsible for implementation

What advice would you give someone entering the industry?

Bring patience and give yourself time to learn the sector. Industrial environments are complex and change often happens gradually.

Why should industry colleagues attend the Digital Oil & Gas Summit?

To learn about successful real-world implementations of digital solutions and see how companies are applying these technologies in practice.

“The most valuable conversations happen when operators share real examples of digital solutions working in practice.”

We would like to thank Philip Esser and the Henkel LOCTITE Pulse team for sharing their perspective on predictive maintenance, digital adoption and operational performance within the oil and gas sector.

Philip will be joining senior industry leaders at the Digital Oil & Gas Summit, where discussions will focus on practical approaches to digital transformation, automation and data-driven operations across upstream, midstream and downstream environments. We look forward to continuing the conversation in person at the summit.

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