Over the years, working with data as an engineer in the aluminium industry, I encountered my share of problems. The impact of these problems ranged from missed deadlines to failed projects. Five common data problems stood out in particular. 1. Data silos The different departments of any aluminium manufacturing plant have their own data systems. […]
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Dominance of spreadsheets I’m not exaggerating when spreadsheets have been the de facto tool for number crunching in aluminium manufacturing. Whether it’s a budget forecast, a process calculation, or a metal chemical composition, a spreadsheet is usually the format for storing and sharing both the data and the calculation logic. Why are spreadsheets so popular? […]
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I stumbled into the aluminium rather by accident. My first job in an aluminium smelter: As I was driving on the highway through the Alps on a snowboarding trip, I passed a large aluminium plant by the little French town Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. At that time, I was an Erasmus student looking for an industrial internship to […]
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