While some industries, such as software development, have been able to move seamlessly to working remotely.
The world has undergone unprecedented change because of COVID-19, with energy and materials sectors such as oil and gas, mining, metals, and chemicals among the most heavily affected. A sharp decrease in demand has shifted market power to customers, further intensifying market competition. This, combined with supply-chain disruption, has created a severe margin squeeze for energy and materials businesses. Many companies are not only seeking solutions to improve their performance in the short term—and increase their competitive edge in shrinking markets—but also to ensure long-term sustainability in the next normal through healthy transformation.
While some industries, such as software development, have been able to move seamlessly to working remotely, many energy and materials companies must retain at least some highly skilled operations and maintenance workers on-site. Still, those that adopt new tools or structures to enhance remote ways of working could improve their future operating models, attracting top talent or reducing costs. In this article, we review the challenges facing energy and materials manufacturers, suggest best practices to strengthen remote ways of working, and discuss the dimensions of a long-term transformation.
Energy and materials companies transitioning to remote ways of working face immediate communication challenges, many of which are compounded by inadequate technology infrastructure and reduced organizational efficiency. On the former, relying on existing digital tools alone is often an inadequate solution, as many remote sites face certain limitations, such as insufficient internet bandwidth. And on the latter, organizational chaos may be compounded by deteriorating company culture, as large teams are sometimes split up across different locations.
Finally, the very nature of working remotely presents its own challenges. Our research shows that remote workers, even in times of normalcy, often feel like they don’t have the skills to be successful for extended periods of time. In fact, they worry that such arrangements make them less valuable. With COVID-19, these pressures will likely be intensified. Therefore, the measures companies previously took to protect the well-being of workers and maintain operational efficiency may no longer be good enough.
As part of an initial response to COVID-19, many companies were forced to quickly introduce emergency plans to ensure site safety. Measures were put in place to adjust rotation schedules and provide personal protection equipment (PPE). After that, ongoing projects were reviewed, prioritized, and recalibrated to account for available resources. Teams and individuals eligible for remote work were then identified and necessary role changes were assigned. As a result, all non-essential employees—those not required to ensure continuous operations—were moved to working remotely and were equipped with laptops, mobile phones, and data access. In the meantime, site leaders developed simple infrastructure for newly adopted operating models and project managers defined routines to ensure the progress of teams. They also found and assigned the right talent to the right areas, fast-tracked decision making, and established crisis-response centers. Such day-zero response efforts were critical to handle the immediate effects of the pandemic, though it became clear that a more comprehensive transition to working remotely was needed This Mckinsey report was written by Greg Kudar, Lapo Mori, Jonathan Oswalt, Sebastian Reiter, Robert Samek
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