This week, the UptimeAI team attended the IEEE-ACA conference where cement industry leaders gathered to discuss the future of operations in an era of rapid technological change. AI took center stage in the day 2 agenda, and across the sessions, three themes emerged that will shape how both domestic and global producers think about AI adoption.
1. AI Won’t Replace Your Workforce, But It Will Expose Its Gaps
In a session called “Building Tomorrow’s Workforce” experts in cement, technology and staffing joined forces to discuss the current and future labor force, and the role AI will play in bridging the transition.
Erica Flukinger, Digital Director for Growth & Success at Heidelberg Materials, highlighted the gaps will that AI exposes will include “Technical gaps plus behavioral gaps. Technical gaps like gaps in our data. Behavioral gaps in teamwork” and cross-functional collaboration.
If your operational documentation is poor, AI will expose it. If your teams struggle with data quality, AI will reveal it. “AI is putting pressure on us to do the things we’ve been putting off because it’s required to get the ‘magic’ out of AI,” Flukinger said. At Heidelberg, the expectations around documentation have been elevated in anticipation of a future where AI is querying from it.
David Campain from Fuller Technologies described the gaps as “similar to the gaps we saw when we started adopting automation.” Exceptional change management programs will be critical to getting people fearing the change on board to adopt it. Many of the technical and organizational gaps that AI is exposing are not that different than what we’ve experienced before, they’re just being revealed faster.
2. AI as the Great Equalizer for Smaller Producers
One of the most optimistic insights came from the discussion about competitive dynamics in the industry. Fast moving technology evolutions will favor smaller, more agile producers, who can adopt and recognize value from AI quicker than their larger, more bureaucratic counterparts. They’re less burdened by legacy systems, complex approval processes, and organizational inertia. In the AI era, agility matters more than scale.
“AI is going to be a great equalizer because smaller companies are going to be able to adopt AI at a faster rate than large multinationals like Heidelberg,” Flukinger noted candidly.
This is different than past technological revolutions. Historically, large cement producers had advantages—deeper pockets, larger technical teams, more resources for pilots and implementation. But AI has proven that equation wrong in many applications.
The low barrier to entry to apply AI technologies means the knowing –> doing gap is closing. Unlike past technology waves, which came in 5-10 year cycles, AI projects can be tested out in a span of weeks. This has contributed to the pilot purgatory felt across the industrial sector, with <5% of AI pilots scaling to production. To avoid this, both the Heidelberg and Fuller panelists recommended drawing a firm deadline on pilots for the scale or kill decision.
3. Operator + AI, Not Operator vs. AI
A mindset shift is already occurring in how operators think about technology in the control room. This is different from past technology waves. Early Advanced Process Control (APC) applications lacked contextual awareness, often resulting in operators taking the unit back into their own hands when bad instruments or process fouling were tricking APC.
Industry leading organizations have curated cultures where the operators’ motivation is that the plant operates at the highest possible level, leveraging all available knowledge, skills, and toolsets to get there. Drawing on decades of APC experience, Fuller’s Campain explained— “If you incentivize [operators] towards this, you’re saying it’s not operator versus APC who can optimize better. It’s operator by themselves versus operator + technology.”
This theme continued throughout the sessions. Edmo Gutierrez from CEMEX drew an analogy that resonated broadly. “Would you get onto a plane without a pilot? No, and [at least for now] you won’t get a plant fully autonomous without an operator to supervise them.” And you certainly aren’t getting on a plane with only a pilot and no modern technology.
The role is evolving, not disappearing. “The role of the console operator will change. They need to be able to do more things, be more productive, but they also need to be able to take control of things at any time.” — Edmo Gutierrez, Digital Transformation Executive at CEMEX
Our Advice to Cement Industry Leadership
The cement industry has a tough job ahead of them. You need to produce more than ever before, with lower carbon than ever before, and a less experienced workforce than they’ve ever seen. AI can provide operational longevity when the right approach is taken.
- Anticipate the gaps technology could expose. Address what you can, and choose partners that can help you overcome the rest.
- Message technology investments appropriately. You aren’t trying to replace humans. You’re investing in the people you have so they can successfully move up in their current or future roles.
- Stay curious. As IEEE’s keynote speaker and World Champion of Magic Jason Latimer repeated, “The right question changes everything.” Continuing to ask questions uncovers new problems and new ways of doing things. The best use case for AI in cement could still be undiscovered.
UptimeAI is excited to be collaborating with leading Cement industry companies like Buzzi Unicem and Ultratech Cement, who have helped us tune our solution to anticipate technical and organizational gaps, and whose questions are the drivers behind new product innovations.
See you at IEEE 2027 in Sacramento!
