With milling operations generating more data than ever, companies are increasingly focused on how to retain practical know-how and use that data to improve day-to-day decision-making on the plant floor. According to Dr. Seçil Uzel, Supervisor of Alapala Academy, the way forward lies in hands-on training models that build a shared professional language, translate digitalisation into day-to-day plant practice, and reduce dependency on individuals.

Dr. Seçil Uzel

The milling industry is entering a data-intensive era shaped by sensors, real-time monitoring systems and artificial intelligence. At the same time, the transfer of practical expertise from one generation to the next and the availability of qualified talent are becoming strategic issues. Speaking to Miller Magazine during the IAOM MEA 2025 in Jeddah, Uzel said Alapala Academy is positioned as a response to this dual transformation. She emphasised that keeping experience-based knowledge tied to “a single person” remains a major risk in milling, and that the Academy aims to strengthen a common language through training while ensuring new technologies are implemented correctly on the shop floor.

Although Alapala Academy is still “very new,” Uzel said it is built on Alapala’s decades of accumulated experience and designed to develop quickly as a training model. “We brought Alapala’s 70 years of experience to life as a social responsibility project,” she said, adding that the goal is to share the industry’s accumulated know-how and expertise both nationally and internationally.

THE RISK OF SINGLE-PERSON DEPENDENCY

Beyond yield and quality, Uzel pointed to another critical challenge: knowledge that remains dependent on individuals. While acknowledging the value of experience in milling, she warned that single-person dependency creates structural fragility. “In some cases, a head miller’s experience can be even more decisive on the shop floor than engineering knowledge,” she said. “But the risk starts right there. If you tie your entire investment to one person—if that person becomes ill, leaves, or something unexpected happens—the knowledge can disappear as well.”

For that reason, Uzel said one of Alapala Academy’s goals is to take knowledge out of the individual domain, institutionalise it, and systematise it so it can be transferred to the next generation.

THE HIDDEN BARRIER TO DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Another issue Uzel highlighted is the disconnect in terminology and communication between training environments and real plant operations. “The language used by people who teach this profession is completely different from the language spoken inside the factory,” she said. According to Uzel, building a “shared language” is a prerequisite for bringing data, automation and next-generation technologies into daily operations. Without that alignment, digitalisation investments are less likely to deliver the same impact on the shop floor.

TURNING DATA INTO OPERATIONAL ACTION 

Uzel also underlined that milling is increasingly becoming a production field that generates “a lot of data.” “In a system where AI, real-time monitoring points and sensors are included… there is a lot of data—we live in a world of data,” she said. The key question, she added, is: “How will we turn that data into a form we can benefit from?” Uzel believes “the only way” to achieve that is through training.

This perspective, she noted, requires automation/SCADA, process monitoring, quality control and maintenance disciplines to be handled not in isolation, but as an integrated whole. That is where the Academy’s emphasis on hands-on training comes in: laboratory analysis, process logic, maintenance procedures and automation fundamentals are positioned as complementary areas that raise the quality and consistency of operational decision-making.

TAILORED TRAINING, BUILT AROUND NEEDS

Flexibility is central to Alapala Academy’s approach. Uzel said training can be designed to fit the need—online, in-person, or delivered on-site—but each programme is built on a preparatory phase and a structured needs assessment. In this framework, organisations’ challenges and targets are gathered first, a tailored programme is designed accordingly, and implementation follows after approval.

Uzel added that applications are not limited to companies; individual professionals who want to develop themselves can also apply. “We address people at different stages of the milling journey, both nationally and internationally. Those at the beginning of the journey can apply, and so can those with established experience. We provide different training programmes at different levels,” she said.

Programme areas include Head Miller Training, Assistant Miller Training, Machine Maintenance and Repair, Electrical Maintenance and Automation, and Laboratory Training. In addition, “company-specific” training content can be designed based on operational needs.

A CALL FOR A MORE OPEN KNOWLEDGE CULTURE

Uzel said some knowledge in milling is still treated like “Pandora’s box”—kept hidden by choice—yet sustainable sector development requires knowledge-sharing and the transfer of experience to future generations by blending it with new technologies. “We believe we are doing our part as Alapala Academy. We need to learn to become independent of individuals, to share knowledge, and to grow through an integrated system,” she said, calling for a more open knowledge culture across the industry.

For more information on Alapala Academy’s programmes and the registration process: www.alapalaacademy.com