Smart Operations: Turning AI into operational value
MARJAN MILOSEVIC
Head of Smart Operations
Digitalization is reshaping how industries operate, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is accelerating that shift. At Â鶹´«Ã½, we see AI as a strategic accelerator for our NextGen Growth 2030 strategy, helping us improve performance, strengthen customer centricity, grow net sales and advance sustainability.
Our purpose is clear: to build progress for people and the planet. With sustainability and innovation at the core of NextGen Growth, we are using digital technologies to turn that ambition into measurable impact across our business. Our focus is on four areas where AI can make a real difference: production, logistics, commercial and administration.
AI making operations more efficient
At the heart of our production transformation is Plants of Tomorrow, Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s overarching Industry 4.0 program. It brings together digital technologies, data and AI to transform how our plants operate, paving the way towards cutting-edge plants that are safer, more efficient, more reliable and increasingly sustainable.
Smart Operations is an important part of this journey. Across our network, we’re putting AI and digital solutions into the hands of our teams to make daily work safer, more seamless and more efficient, while giving people better information to make timely decisions.
A strong example is M-Predict, which correlates smart sensor data to predict maintenance of critical machines, helping us identify equipment needs before they fail. By moving from reactive repairs to predictive, data driven maintenance, M-Predict has already helped prevent more than 100 machine breakdowns. In just two years, it has been implemented across more than 1 700 critical machines worldwide, making it an important part of our progress towards our long term AI ambitions to achieve CHF 200 million in net recurring EBIT benefits by 2028 - split roughly equally between cost savings and cost avoidance.
We’re now building on predictive capabilities with Generative AI and agentic applications to help our teams turn insights into action. M-Guide, which complements M-Predict, is an example of this next step, supporting the move towards prescriptive maintenance by helping teams interpret equipment insights and identify appropriate next actions. The ambition is to go beyond knowing when equipment may need attention to better understanding what should be done about it.
Advancing operational performance through AI
AI is also helping us improve decisions earlier in the production process. Q-Predict uses AI models to optimize the quality of cement formulations and reduce the clinker factor, which helps cut production related emissions. More than 7 000 cement formulations have already been tested, giving our teams new ways to balance quality, performance and resource efficiency.
With P-Predict, AI moves directly into the production process. P-Predict enables the prediction of cement properties in real-time, allowing for the adjustment of clinker factor and the energy mix. Our ambition is to have P-Predict deployed across 40 kilns by 2028.
Together, M-Predict, Q-Predict and P-Predict demonstrate how Plants of Tomorrow is bringing AI into different stages of industrial operations, from equipment maintenance and product formulation to real-time process control. These solutions are part of a broader transformation towards NextGen Plants, where digital capabilities support better decisions, stronger operational performance and progress on our sustainability ambitions.
Combining digital intelligence with human expertise
For plant teams, my advice is simple: treat an M-Predict alert as a live handover from a virtual colleague. When a virtual sensor identifies a change in normal equipment behavior, combine that insight with your experience on the ground. This combination is where the real value of AI comes through, helping us act earlier and avoid unnecessary downtime.
While AI saves valuable time and provides a useful starting point, our judgement and expertise remain essential. Our people still make the final call, and as our Head of Digital Transformation and AI, Lily Wong, writes here, the future of sustainable construction will be human-led and AI enabled.
This is how I see Smart Operations developing: not technology for its own sake, but practical tools that help our people make better decisions, run our plants more reliably, improve how we serve our customers and create greater value across Â鶹´«Ã½. The technology is advancing quickly, but the real transformation happens when we put it to work where it matters most.
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