Is your asset ready for a digital twin?
Before you choose a platform, answer the questions that decide whether a digital twin pays back, or becomes expensive shelfware.
By Calum Johnson · Founder, Upskill Energy Advisory
Digital twins are moving from hype to scrutiny. Boards are right to ask whether, and when, a twin is worth the spend, not just which platform to buy. The hard part of a digital twin is rarely the technology. It is whether the asset, the data and the organisation are ready to get value from it.
The wrong first question
The most common mistake is to start with the platform. The better starting question is simpler: what decision do we want this twin to change? A twin that does not change a decision, protect production or reduce a risk is a very expensive dashboard.
Three readiness tests
Before committing capital, a twin needs to pass three honest tests.
- A decision worth improving: is there a real, recurring, costly decision the twin will inform?
- Data that is good enough and accessible: is the underlying data trustworthy, connected and current enough to support that decision?
- People and process to act: will the people who own the decision actually use the output, and is the workflow ready to absorb it?
Build the case on value, not capability
A strong business case ties the twin to a specific outcome: a safer start-up, fewer trips, a better-informed turnaround, a cheaper inspection regime. Capability for its own sake does not survive a budget review. Value tied to a named decision does.
Get an independent read before you spend
A readiness assessment from the party selling the platform is, by definition, conflicted. An independent, client-side review tells you plainly whether you are ready, what to fix first, and whether the value is real, before the major spend rather than after it.