The Saga of CIOs

Chapter 2: Implementation of CIOs in Various Industrial Sectors

Date: 09/01/2023

Authors: Ariana Carrazana Di Lucia, Herman Aguirre-Jofré

In the previous chapter, we provided you with an introduction to Integrated Operations Centers (CIOs) through a series of comparisons between this technological concept and the Star Wars movie saga. Using notable European examples, we constructed a narrative that delivered concepts, the current state of CIOs, and their potential evolutions.

These centers, which we compared to the "Force" wielded by some key warriors in Star Wars, are powerful tools that enable companies to control and manage their operations more efficiently and effectively. Just as in the Star Wars saga, where the Force enables its protagonists to achieve extraordinary feats such as telekinesis, precognition, and exceptional environmental awareness, Integrated Operations Centers offer similar abilities in the business world.

CIOs are the "business Force," endowing organizations with the ability to coordinate and synchronize their operations remarkably. Just as Jedi and Sith use the Force to foresee the future and make informed decisions, CIOs allow companies to anticipate trends and make data-driven real-time decisions.

From the food industry to automotive, CIOs have enabled greater efficiency in the value chain, reduced delay times, and increased production capacity. Simply by aggregating data within a sector and extracting information from it, it's possible to redefine a plan and redirect efforts with greater harmony and less strain. Furthermore, the digitalization and automation of industrial activities have enhanced safety and reduced costs.

Welcome to the fascinating world of CIOs! In this blog, you will discover a list of CIOs that we have researched and studied. Current CIOs can operate in various fields, including the production and manufacturing sector, disaster management, cybersecurity, logistics, and more. MiningiDEAS stands out for its innovative approach, problem-solving abilities, and maximization of opportunities. We will explain how they have transformed the way business is conducted in different industrial sectors. Get ready to be amazed!

Description of Some Notable Centers in Europe

1. UK Railway Line Operations Center: Established in 2014, this center aimed to break down the silos between the control and signaling team of the railway tracks. It analyzes the state of lines, accidents, and delays.
2. European Counter Terrorism Operations Center: After the terrorist attacks in Europe in 2015, members of the European community collaborated in an unprecedented way in the exchange of intelligence information at borders, deployment of forces throughout the territory, detection of terrorist financing, operational analysis support, and, most importantly, the development of centralized support strategy capabilities [1].
3. Counter Terrorism Operations Center in London: A center very similar to the previous one but particularly focused on the city of London [2]. These prevention centers become purely strategic in the fight against terrorism. It was developed after the terrorist attacks in 2017 [3].
4. Bristol Operations Center: Allows analysis of city traffic, surveillance of public spaces, and remote medical services analysis. It operates in conjunction with the municipality of Bristol and has become a strategic reference for municipalities in the UK.
5. Network Operations Center: At ESOC [4], the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, the NOC monitors the global network of ground stations of the ESA, using sophisticated automation and remote control systems to reduce personnel costs and increase efficiency. A station operation team is on duty 365 days a year, ensuring the receipt of vital data from spacecraft operated by the ESA and numerous associated agencies [5].
6. Red Eléctrica de España (REE): It has a center called the Renewable Energy Control Center (CECRE). The large number of producers in the electrical system requires a secure connection between Red Eléctrica and the Generation Control Centers (CCG). The CCGs receive information from affiliated generators and transmit it to the CECRE. The CECRE provides integration guidelines [6].
7. ENDESA Spain: Since June 2022, the Integrated Operations Center has been operating from the Canary Islands and is the most modern of ENDESA in Spain. With a cost of 2.3 million euros, its objective is not only to connect and distribute energy but also to monitor and manage the 26,000 kilometers of power lines. This center has a strategic component because it was built with the aim of enabling the use of electric cars and promoting self-consumption [7]. It is the first time that ENDESA has a regional control center that allows the Generation and Distribution teams to collaborate. ENDESA's control centers have a long-term perspective due to their collaboration with municipalities.
8. ENAGAS: Spain has 3 centers that control all gas pipelines, plants, and gas storage facilities. Its location is confidential [8-9]. There is a Main Control Center where information from the 3 centers mentioned above is centralized. Quoting the source directly: "Spain has a unique gas entry and exit management model for its plants in Europe, making the entire national gas system work as if it were one giant common storage. All the gas that a company brings to Spain by pipeline or by ship is as if it were put into a common piggy bank, and that company can take out the same amount to resell it anywhere else in the country, through any other pipeline or by ship from another regasification plant" [9].
9. ADIF Train Control Center (León, Spain): The line between the capital of El Bierzo and Brañuelas had the first Centralized Traffic Control on a single track on the continent, installed in 1954 with American GRS telecontrol technology, built ten years after Spain's worst railway accident in Torre del Bierzo, from which the modern León Regulation and Circulation Center, inaugurated in 2020, is descended [10-11]. This control center was already considered an important milestone for Spain's strategic energy reserve in 1944, due to the coal mines in the area.
10. Metro de Madrid CDP (Spain): Since 2020, it is under construction for a Strategic Center that will manage information from 5 other CIOs [12]. The new Global Data Processing Center will host the operational, maintenance, and suburban information management systems. The project has an investment of 11.7 million euros.



Other Centers Around the World

11. Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville: The Operations Integration Center manages and directs strategies related to research and serves as a link between Earth and scientific activities in space [13]. As NASA's primary scientific command post, the operations team coordinates all U.S., European, Japanese, and Canadian scientific and commercial experiments, synchronizes activities with international partners, and manages communications between station crew members and researchers worldwide with experiments on board. Since 1998, more than 3,000 scientific investigations and experiments have been conducted on the station. In recent years, the number of science hours has more than doubled. To assist the crew in carrying out record amounts of scientific studies, the operations center has personnel on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with three shift controllers in highly defined strategic roles [14].
12. Rio de Janeiro City Hall Operations Center (COR): With origins in IBM's smart cities effort, this "control room" gathers various forms of information supplied by weather stations, traffic flow cameras, and mobile apps to optimize circulation and security. The Rio Operations Center is responsible for controlling the city's daily operations, integrating various departments involved in the city's routine, as well as managing crisis and emergency situations [15].

So far, we have highlighted some Operations Centers in Europe that have innovated, solved problems, and maximized opportunities. CIOs are a powerful tool that enables companies to control and manage their operations more efficiently and effectively. What we emphasize about these new work environments is that they:

• Enable greater efficiency in the value chain
• Reduce delay times
• Increase production capacity
• Enhance safety
• Reduce costs

In the next chapter of this saga, we will tell you about the benefits of CIOs in the mining industry and provide some recommendations for their successful implementation. Because at MiningiDEAS, we believe that...

Welcome to the fascinating world of CIOs! Don't miss Chapter 3.

Do you want to learn more about the benefits of Integrated Operations Centers? Write to us at contact@miningideas.com, and we will be happy to assist you. If you want to read about our services related to CIOs, click here.

References:

1. European Counter Terrorism Centre-ECTC
2. Year In Review 2021. Plans for Counter Terrorism Operations Centre unveiled
3. Counter Terrorism Operations Centre unveiled-Security Service MI5
4. ESOC Agency – The European Space Agency
5. ESOC Agency Network Operations
6. Centro de Control Eléctrico de Red Eléctrica (Cecoel)
7. Endesa invierte 2,3 millones en el nuevo centro de control de la red eléctrica de Canarias, el más moderno a nivel nacional
8. Centro Principal de Control- ENAGAS
9. La red de búnkeres que controla todo el gas que llega a España
10. Ábalos inaugura el nuevo Centro de Regulación de Circulación Multi-Red de León
11. Nuevo Centro de Regulación de Circulación de León- YouTube video
12. El primer centro de control de ferrocarril de Europa en Ponferrada del que es heredero el nuevo CRC de León
13. Metro de Madrid comienza las obras del nuevo complejo tecnológico de Metro que integrará los centros de control estratégico del suburbano
14. Space Station Science Operations and Integration -NASA
15. Rio Operations Center

Continue reading The Saga of CIOs Chapter 3: Benefits of CIOs in the mining industry and recommendations for successful implementation.

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