On Thursday, November 7, 2019, Christel Bories, Eramet’s Chairman and CEO, received the Digital Manager of the Year award at the 15th annual BFM Awards at a ceremony that celebrated French success, investment, innovation and international reputation.
This prize recognizes the fundamental progress made by the Eramet Group, which, under the leadership of Christel Bories, has embraced digital transformation and digital intelligence as an opportunity to improve the way it produces so as to support the ecological and energy transition, which it has made a central focus of its growth, competitiveness and operational performance.
Over the past two years, Eramet has been undergoing a transformation with a clear vision of the industry of the future: smart, connected, safe and responsible mines and factories that benefit people as well as natural resources. This vision has been implemented through three major initiatives:
- digitization of mining and factory operations thanks to new technologies (drones, big data and artificial intelligence, augmented reality, Internet of things, 3D printing, etc.), thus placing the emphasis on operational efficiency, safety and environmental protection;
- creation of the digital twin of the mine, to optimize operations and resources, improve planning, and provide real-time mine management;
- transformation of industrial processes for greater efficiency, while at the same time supporting the development of the business lines.
In 2019, the pace of Eramet’s transformation accelerated as it was scaled up considerably. The execution of these projects has made it possible to improve employee safety (using fatigue detection systems for example), to speed up the modeling of mining deposits (which is now 15 times faster), to map annually an area that is 100 times larger than was possible using traditional methods, to reduce fuel consumption, to perform predictive equipment maintenance and to contribute to the improvement of mine and plant productivity.
At the ceremony, Christel Bories, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Eramet, made a point of sharing this award with all the Group’s employees: “A new Eramet has begun to take shape as a result of the far-reaching transformation that has been spurred on at several levels: strategic, managerial and digital, and this award is a recognition of the work that has been accomplished collectively. Faced with ecological and energy challenges, I am convinced that Eramet has a special responsibility and that digital technology will help us to have a positive impact on society, to re-invent our businesses and to give back by becoming an increasingly committed, socially responsible company.”
