How to help Ukraine to a more robust infrastructure & Industry

Blogs

The war in Ukraine, still raging violently at the time of writing, has caused a lot of infrastructural damage in addition to human damage. Key utilities (electricity, water and gas) are exposed to incessant attacks by drones, missiles and bombs. Technical service providers are doing their utmost to rebuild the infrastructure, but have to contend with outdated assets, disrupted spare parts supplies and obsolete working methods.

BEMAS held a webinar on 13 December 2022 to call on Belgian companies to share knowledge, solutions, tools and parts with Ukraine, not only to restore the most critical assets at present, but also to help the country move towards a 4.0 industry in reconstruction.

For years, BEMAS has been in contact with APPAU, the Association of Industrial Automation of Ukraine, and its president Alexandre Yurchak. He is also the chairman of the Ukranian Cluster Alliance (UCA), in which Ukrainian organisations from different sectors work together to rebuild critical infrastructure and utilities. Other clusters focus on basic needs such as food, clothing and medication.

 

The impact of the war

Currently, about 50% of the country's energy infrastructure has been damaged, with power cuts of up to five times a day in several regions and cities. Buildings such as schools and hospitals rely on generators out of necessity, and many businesses have had to drastically scale back their operations. Moreover, it is extremely difficult to repair damages because of the delay in the delivery of spare parts.

 

Satellite picture Ukraine blackout

Yet the power grid has held up remarkably well during this war. In fact, Ukraine's power grid, of which construction started only 100 years ago, is the best in all of Eastern Europe and even generated significant surpluses that were being exported. Thanks to the skills and commitment of network operators, this grid has been adapted to current needs. Unfortunately, since October, Russia has focused its attacks even more on power plants and facilities, increasing the risk of a complete blackout. 

Picture: Satellite image of the blackout in Ukraine on 23 November 2022

 

 

If this situation continues and temperatures continue to fall, water supplies in cities will also be cut off for safety reasons. On one hand because pumping stations need electricity to keep running, on the other because the freezing temperatures could lead to irreparable breaks in the water supply network.

What about Maintenance?

85% of Ukrainian companies (95% of which are SMEs) are still operating at Asset Management 1.0 and 2.0 levels. So there are still many opportunities to evolve into a 3.0 and 4.0 industry, but growth is hampered by several factors. Unlike most Western European countries, the Ukrainian government does not take initiatives or support projects to enable this evolution. There are also no modern service centres or organisations committed to training and sharing expertise. Moreover, there is a culture in most companies that is not yet aware of the benefits of asset management, and the overall digitalisation and modernisation at company level is very fragmented with big differences between different sectors.

Especially in the current circumstances, the focus is now mainly on safety, getting spare parts and making sure that as many people as possible can stay on the job. This unfortunately implies the strategic dilemma between committing to Asset Safety Management or to Asset Performance Management, with safety taking priority at the moment. 

 

How can your company help?

In the short term, Ukraine has a very urgent need for high- and medium-voltage electricity equipment (35-110-330-750 kV) and electric generators for backup power supply. But there is also a need to invest in post-war projects, such as introducing and applying standards, setting up technical training and retraining, and growing from a reactive maintenance culture to a preventive and predictive one. 

The list below contains a concrete enumeration of materials needed to restore the power distribution network, on the one hand, and to provide back-up power to industrial consumers and SMEs, on the other. Please contact APPAU if you can provide assistance.

1H4U

You can also make a difference as an employee, even with just an hour of your time. With the 1 Hour 4 Ukraine initiative, set up by Autoware, your employer can turn the overtime you donate into a cash donation for Ukraine. Read more or register your donation.

 

Global cooperation

The above initiative is supported among others by CSIA, Control System Integrators Association. This US non-profit organisation is a trade association that strives worldwide for promoting the integration of control systems in the industry. The association saw in the current circumstances the perfect opportunity to form a bridge between the US, where there is a severe shortage of technically skilled profiles, and Ukraine, where such workers are unemployed because of the war. Conversely, the US companies can share their knowledge around systems integration with them, and valuable relationships are being built in the meantime that will be worthwhile in rebuilding the country and its industry.

The Ukrainian company IT-Enterprise is also doing what it can to help rebuild critical infrastructure in this hard-hit country. This company designs and implements digital solutions at companies to optimise business processes and transition to a circular economy. Many of their clients are Ukrainian organisations active in the energy industry, such as power and gas plants. They therefore want to use their international connections and resources to find partners who can provide services to these critical infrastructure companies. Contact them via it-enterprise.com to discuss how you can help through them.

 

BEMAS Corporate Sponsors