Al-Katani S-Oil CEO "Promoting Digital Transformation Across All Sites... Essential Condition for Survival"

Completion of Digital 'Smart Work' Environment Construction in 2023
Ulsan Plant Fully Equipped with Comprehensive Digital Solutions Across All Fields

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Al Katani, CEO of S-OIL, stated, "We will invest all resources and capabilities to swiftly drive digital transformation and fundamentally improve the company's performance."

On the 10th, CEO Al Katani announced the 2023 digital transformation roadmap, emphasizing that "digital transformation is not a choice but an essential requirement for survival and competitive differentiation." The strategy aims to establish digital factories, digital marketing, and smart work environments to secure future competitiveness based on digital technologies.

As part of this, 11 tasks to be applied to the factories have been selected, and a comprehensive digital solution will be built to integrate and manage all areas of the factory, including production, safety, maintenance, and quality control. The factories are expected to improve efficiency and productivity by utilizing big data and artificial intelligence to monitor factory conditions comprehensively and make data-driven decisions.

First, the latest industrial digital equipment will be introduced to factory sites to enhance productivity and safety. The drone inspection system, introduced in 2019 and proven effective, will be actively utilized. Drones inspect flare stacks (chimney-shaped combustion devices for processing waste gases in the process) over 100 meters high. The drones inspect upper facilities that are difficult for humans to access, and personnel analyze the recorded footage for maintenance and repairs. This enables inspection of facilities installed at high locations without risking worker safety, improving work efficiency and reducing time.

Smart helmets, wearable devices equipped with cameras, will also be introduced. Workers wear smart helmets and move around the site, sharing situations in real-time through video conferencing functions. All device functions operate via voice commands, allowing remote sharing of photos and drawings, and augmented reality features assist effective communication.

The working environment for employees will also be improved through digital transformation to enhance work efficiency. Last year, S-OIL introduced a work collaboration tool to activate collaboration and communication, establishing a smart work environment foundation. Additionally, robotic process automation (RPA) was pilot-applied to simple repetitive tasks in sales, finance, and purchasing areas. A work support chatbot was built to effectively respond to frequently occurring inquiries within the company, improving work efficiency, with plans to continuously expand its use in the future.