Without gender diversity, full potential of innovations may not be discovered: Romy Ludwig, Dow IEC

The Chennai-based Dow India Engineering Center (IEC), a part of Dow Chemical International Pvt Ltd, is one of Dow’s two global centres of excellence (the other being based in Houston, Texas). From supporting Rs 20-billion Sadara project in Saudi Arabia to solving niggling processing-related challenges, IEC provides engineering solutions to Dow’s manufacturing sites across the world.
 
As the President of IEC, Romy Ludwig has the overall accountability of the centre, including its global and regional integration. In this interaction Rakesh Rao, she emphasises on the need to have gender diversity in today’s corporate world and explains the importance of India to global engineering companies. 
 
Engineering was considered to be a male bastion. What prompted you to choose engineering as the career?
I have always been eager to see and touch what I influenced at the end of the day. Engineering science did seem to be the right spot for that as it would require the combination of theoretical knowledge and practical approach. Even the thought of starting a career in this space sounded much more exciting than other more women focused areas.
 
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I choose a slightly different education on purpose, by completing an apprenticeship education first, before starting my college. Those years of working in an engineering environment strongly supported my plan to build a career in this area - knowing that I would be amongst the only few women, but at the same time seeing the huge opportunity to succeed.
 
Are you seeing an increase in number of women opting for engineering as a career?
In general, there is a trend pointing away from engineering science being a very attractive education and career option overall, not only for women. Other areas such as IT and media have entered the market within the past 20 years and seem to draw much more attention. Having said that, I did and do witness that majority of the folks choosing engineering as their professing nowadays are  much more dedicated, as they have decided to get into an area which not everyone is writing and talking about.
 
I also see a shift globally - the number of student of engineering sciences in the western world (US, Europe) have dropped since several years, while regions like India still see the hype around this education. The opportunities in the Indian market as well as overseas are well known and companies like Dow establishing engineering offices and centres in India make it more attractive. 
 
Do you think gender diversity helps in increasing problem-solving and innovation capabilities of an organisation?
Gender diversity for many years has been one of the main focus areas for companies to build an environment where diverse capabilities are being utilised to achieve the best result. There is with no doubt a different approach around the ‘how’ to handle things if you bring in diversity of gender.
 
Structured thinking, multi-tasking, practical solutions, team work, etc are typically seen at different levels per gender and this mix really enables success. Without gender diversity one might say the result would be achieved as well, however at a much higher cost and longer timelines. More importantly, there is likelihood that the full potential of innovations may not be discovered.
 
What are the benefits of having in-house engineering solutions capability when it comes to executing mega projects?
Engineering services are essential to execute a company’s investment plan - in fact doing this effectively creates a competitive advantage for the company, in the marketplace. In-house engineering solutions come with a host of advantages.
 
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No doubt, EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) companies worldwide are very proficient and effective in designing plants, which meet the expectations relating to cost and schedule. However, the value of in-house engineering really comes into perspective, when you consider the long-term cost of ownership. In most cases, these costs are much higher than the original investment itself, and this is where in-house engineering has a huge opportunity to make a difference, during the design phase of the project itself. Having in-house engineering capability representing and incorporating the owner company’s needs relating to manufacturing excellence, operability, and reliability has been proven to positively impact the business results and overall financial results.
 
Dow Chemical, a global player in a wide variety of market areas, is known for its project execution enabling manufacturing excellence. What puts us there is the strong technical expertise and engineering science focus in the operations function of the company. Dow has always utilised its in-house engineering department to execute projects, as well as facilitate project oversight for outsourced projects.
 
How has the Sadara project in Saudi Arabia, with $20 billion capital expenditure, benefited Dow IEC?
Sadara, one of Dow’s major JVs installing plants and units worth $20 billion has been the largest project program executed so far under the leadership of Dow’s in-house engineering function. The IEC itself has been instrumental in executing several smaller projects throughout all stages of the big project - basic and detail design as well as start-up support activities.
 
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Looking at the amount of resources involved, the Sadara scope is the major single client the IEC served over the last 2-3 years. Being involved in an investment program of this size has also proven the centre’s capability to successfully execute large/very large projects independently and in a highly collaborative environment.
 
Dow has announced plans to invest about $4 billion in petrochemical facilities in the US. What role is Dow IEC playing in facilitating the implementation of these plans?
The announced major investment in the US will be – like Sadara – executed as an umbrella program combining multiple large projects. The IEC will play a major role in executing a significant number of those projects. Apart from major activities in the detail design area, we will also be heavily involved and accountable in the area of process control. Technical experts will serve as consultants; start-up and commissioning support will conclude our involvement at the later stage of project execution.
 
Can India become a hub for global EPC companies?
No doubt India offers many things needed to become such a hub: endless talent pool and a committed workforce. However, there are aspects to be considered in order to be considered a global hub: Talent can only be successful in an open environment that allows them to grow. Strong hierarchical structures do not support that, fully.
 
Personal accountability needs to be embraced in any activity performed, may it be independent or collaborating to making decisions. Indian EPC companies need to be open to a more flexible work environment and agile to cope with very specific and different needs per client. The one-size-fits-all model is history.
 
Only with a work force ready to deal with global partners and clients directly, will India be able to strive to become such a hub.