Revolutionising traditional industries with modern technologies

ADI has successfully made progress in the cement manufacturing industry by operationalising Data Science and Artificial Intelligence in the latter’s processes.

Aboitiz Data Innovation (ADI), the Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DSAI) arm of the Aboitiz Group, is advancing an over-century-old company’s transformation journey into becoming the Philippines’ first techglomerate by operationalising DSAI across its business units, including the manufacturing and infrastructure industries.

This undertaking aims to simplify the complex world of data to advance business and communities and promote a data-driven culture in the organisation.

Its chief responsibility is to transform data into business outcomes, exploit information to make better decisions, reinvent business models, and develop high-value solutions to create new processes, products, and services.

ADI, being guided by this vision, was able to create a solution that utilised DSAI to revolutionise the cement industry and reduce carbon emissions in the cement production process. The cement industry has not experienced much disruption or innovation. The group took on the challenge of working with Republic Cement to explore how cement is made in the Philippines and drive progress in terms of operational efficiency, product consistency, and environmental sustainability in what would be considered a ‘traditional’ industry.

“ADI’s collaboration with Republic Cement shows the possibilities of how AI can be applied in novel industries to create long-term value for customers and the environment,” said Dr David R. Hardoon, ADI Managing Director.

For ADI and Republic Cement to achieve their desired outcomes, they worked together to look at Republic Cement’s processes and see how DSAI could help optimise them. For instance, it used to take the organisation almost a month to evaluate the compressive strength of cement, which is crucial to the acceptance of the product for concrete mixes used in constructing vertical structures. 

The group, in its belief that a more efficient method could be achieved, used a predictive modelling tool, which includes data transformation, modelling, and deployment, to create an AI-powered solution for Republic Cement that was able to do the same thing almost instantaneously. 

AI was used to predict the compressive strength of cement based on historical data to help operators and quality managers optimise concentrations of raw materials and save time. This not only resulted in better resource management and increased operational efficiency but also in improved consistency of cement products whilst reducing carbon emissions. The predictive modelling tool effectively reduced annual CO2 emissions in Republic Cement’s manufacturing plants.

This innovation, made by ADI in close collaboration with Republic Cement, showed its capability to operationalise DSAI into impactful solutions. It also showed the organisation’s desire to challenge the status quo in traditional sectors—not for disruption but to drive better business, social, and environmental outcomes for both people and the planet.

ADI’s commitment to improving processes has been recognised by the Asian Technology Excellence Awards, with ADI winning the Philippines Technology Excellence Award for AI - Technology award.

The prestigious awards programme aims to recognise exceptional companies that are riding the digital disruption wave and leading the technological revolution and digital transformation journeys in their respective industries.

The Asian Technology Excellence Awards is presented by Asian Business Review. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2023 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's outstanding retail initiatives, please contact Jane Patiag at [email protected].