“Challenge Persists in Harnessing Digital Technology to Accelerate Innovation”

How would you describe the current status of digitalization in the coatings industry?

The coatings industry is gradually moving toward digital transformation, leveraging technology to optimize operations and enhance customer engagement, thereby increasing competitiveness. The industry’s embrace of digital technologies means a move toward more data-driven, efficient, and environmentally conscious operations. However, a significant challenge persists in harnessing digital technology to accelerate innovation within the industry, particularly due to the absence of robust data infrastructure. At Dow, we are addressing this gap by leveraging a modern, centralized data framework, standardizing the data format and procedure for test methods, and accelerating data collection through automated workflows and high-throughput research equipment. These initiatives enabled the launch of our digital platform “Dow Paint Vision,” which combines scientific insight from thousands of paints tested in Dow laboratories with technology to deliver data-driven solutions for the paint industry.

What role does the standardization in test methods play?

In the coatings industry, test method standardization is a critical aspect in the era of digitalization, where data forms the basis for advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and other digital technologies. The standardization of test methods plays a pivotal role in improving both the quality and quantity of comparable data. Primarily, test method standardization contributes to increased consistency and reproducibility, thereby enhancing the quality of data. This ensures reliability across laboratories and platforms globally through the elimination of unnecessary error or bias. Precision in data is crucial for making well-informed, data-driven decisions and enables fair comparisons. This standardization should include not only the specific procedures used by researchers in the laboratory, but also the automation of these methods and the application of advanced machine learning algorithms to assess the outcomes of these measurements and eliminate subjectivity. Additionally, standardization is crucial for boosting the volume of usable data. When utilizing data for digital tool development, metadata such as substrate and drying conditions, becomes essential for the effective aggregation of data from multiple sources. Without effective test method standardization, disparate conditions can result in numerous isolated datasets, hindering the integration of information for meaningful, data-driven insights.

To tackle these challenges, Dow's focus has been on developing a comprehensive data architecture system.

This includes significant investments in building automation equipment, creating advanced computer vision algorithms for reliable appearance-based performance testing, and establishing a robust data architecture. This ensures the retention of all metadata, making collected data usable and facilitating the integration of diverse datasets for more meaningful analysis and insights.

In addition to technical developments, what is also important when addressing digital transformation in companies?

In addition to technical advancements, the successful implementation of digital transformation in companies requires a comprehensive approach. These areas include:

• Strong executive leadership support, vision, and strategy: Leaders need to articulate a clear vision for digital transformation aligned with the company's broader goals. Digital transformation is viewed as a critical enabler for Dow’s business strategy and has been supported through heavy investment over the past five years, reinforcing our commitment to a digital future.
• Effective change management: This area involves managing the human aspect of transformation: preparing employees for change and ensuring readiness to adopt new technologies and processes. Dow places a high value on leadership engagement and communication. We believe these elements are critical to managing change effectively. In addition, we follow human-centric design principles to ensure that our developments genuinely add value for our internal team and customers.
• Talent and data science skill development: As digital technologies rapidly evolve, it is essential to have a workforce skilled in data science. To address this need, we have launched a citizen data science program at Dow to enhance data literacy. We also utilize external learning platforms to supplement this educational development. We firmly believe significant value for our industry lies at the nexus of technical domain knowledge and data science expertise.
• True digital ecosystem approach: It is impossible to create a meaningful and sustainable platform if a company is not receptive to collaboration and growth through joint innovation. At Dow, a material science company which is advancing on a digital journey, this path has been accelerated by strategic alliances to catalyze projects such as “DOW Paint Vision.”