Overview
A global energy company operating multiple refinery sites needed a faster way to identify why actual performance deviated from plan. Root cause analysis often took days due to fragmented data spread across historians, laboratory systems, planning databases, and manual reporting tools. Proclink developed a descriptive analytics solution that consolidated operational data, automated performance tracking, and enabled near real-time identification of performance deviations and their underlying causes.
Key Outcomes
- Reduced root cause analysis time from days to minutes
- Enabled near real-time diagnosis of plan versus actual deviations
- Improved visibility across multiple refinery teams
- Reduced reliance on manual analysis and spreadsheets
- Strengthened planning feedback loops and operational decision-making
The Client
The client is a global energy company operating integrated refinery assets across North America and the Middle East. Managing large-scale operations and complex planning environments requires continuous monitoring of production performance, operational constraints, and margin-impacting deviations.
The Challenge
Each month, actual refinery performance drifted from planned targets. While deviations could be identified, understanding why they occurred required extensive investigation across multiple disconnected systems.
Performance data was scattered across plant historians, laboratory systems, forms, and planning databases. Root cause investigations were manual, time-consuming, and often delayed corrective actions. As a result, planning teams lacked timely visibility into the operational factors driving performance gaps.
Objectives
The organization sought to:
- Compare plan versus actual performance in near real time
- Identify the root causes behind KPI deviations
- Improve visibility into operational performance drivers
- Enable business users to perform analysis directly from dashboards
- Support faster decision-making across planning and operations teams
Our Approach
Proclink implemented a descriptive analytics framework designed to transform operational data into actionable insight.
The solution focused on consolidating performance information from multiple systems, identifying recurring deviation patterns, and presenting findings through intuitive dashboards that business users could access without relying on manual data collection.
Key activities included:
- Tracking and monitoring critical refinery KPIs
- Classifying recurring deviation patterns and root causes
- Integrating live operational and planning data sources
- Building dashboards that supported investigation and corrective action workflows
What We Delivered
Proclink developed a scalable dashboard and analytics environment supported by a lightweight task management layer. The solution was introduced through a phased rollout, beginning with a focused MVP and later expanding across critical performance areas.
The implementation provided:
- Tracking for 49 high-impact KPIs
- Monitoring of approximately 900 related operating parameters
- Coverage across multiple refinery sites
- Integration with four key operational and planning data sources
- Near real-time identification of deviations and their likely causes
Business Impact
By transforming root cause analysis from a reactive, manual process into a near real-time capability, the client significantly improved operational visibility and decision-making.
Results included:
- Root cause analysis reduced from days to minutes
- Faster diagnosis of plan versus actual performance gaps
- Reduced recurring deviations across shifts
- Improved collaboration across refinery teams
- Less dependence on spreadsheets and manual follow-up processes
- Greater operational stability and margin protection across sites
