The Fourth Industrial Revolution has had a tremendous impact on business. While fears exist that this revolution could exacerbate the segregation of the job market, thus increasing wealth and income inequality, what’s to come is also seen as the solution to the skilled trades shortage made critical because of the retirement of the baby boomer generation. Meanwhile, the interconnectedness of processes and businesses are raising serious concerns about cybersecurity.

The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (LACSD) are among the largest water/wastewater agencies in the country, operating 10 water reclamation plants and one ocean discharge wastewater treatment plant. The job of running them is truly a challenge.

Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things are allowing increased use of adaptive analytics in running our plants. But how did we get to the point where we are depending on this new expanded world of data and what does it mean?

According to a 2014 U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) forecast, U.S. unconventional natural gas production from shale formations will double by 2035 to generate about half of the total domestic natural gas production. At the same time, domestic oil production from unconventional shale formations was projected to increase by as much as 15% over the next several decades.