Road safety on European roads: encouraging progress despite persistent challenges
The 2025 road safety report for European roads shows a positive, albeit modest, improvement.
The number of road deaths decreased by 3% compared to the previous year, reaching approximately 19,400 fatalities. This represents more than 500 lives saved in a single year, an encouraging signal that reflects the efforts made across Europe in prevention, infrastructure, and regulation.
However, this overall improvement should not obscure some concerning realities. Vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists, remain particularly exposed, especially in urban areas. In 2025, nearly 70% of urban accidents involved these groups, highlighting the need to strengthen protection measures and further adapt infrastructure to evolving mobility patterns.
These results underline a key challenge: accelerating efforts to improve safety for all, particularly in cities where different modes of transport increasingly share the road. Technological innovation, road-sharing strategies, user awareness, and targeted public policies will be critical in the years ahead.
In this context, the European objective of reducing road deaths by 50% appears ambitious given the current pace of progress. Nevertheless, it provides a clear direction and a unifying goal: making roads safer for everyone.
Industrial Data Management: Successfully Centralizing Data with AVEVA Engineering
In complex industrial projects, data management is a critical factor in ensuring quality, consistency, and overall operational performance. With multiple tools, diverse disciplines, and constantly evolving assets, structuring and maintaining reliable data quickly becomes a major challenge.
AVEVA Engineering stands out as a key solution to centralize and secure data throughout the entire project lifecycle. However, a successful transition is not just about implementing a tool, it also requires the adoption of best practices.
Our experts explore the challenges of data centralization, the key issues related to data migration, and the methods to effectively structure, secure, and maintain a reliable and sustainable data environment.
Centralizing Data to Ensure Reliable Information Across the Organization
Centralizing data ensures that information is reliable, shared, and consistent across all teams, while enabling more efficient collaboration. In AVEVA Engineering, each object, whether a pump, valve, or instrument, has a single, continuously updated version. This eliminates duplicates and inconsistencies, which are a major source of errors in complex projects.
All project data is consolidated into a single database accessible to all disciplines, improving coordination across teams. At the same time, object attributes remain consistent and synchronized, even when multiple teams are working in parallel. This real-time synchronization reduces discrepancies and supports more reliable decision-making.
Ultimately, data centralization provides significant time savings. Teams no longer need to search for, compare, or correct scattered information—they can rely on a single source of data, improving efficiency and overall productivity.
Challenges to Address and Pitfalls to Avoid
Migrating existing databases to AVEVA Engineering presents several challenges, often linked to the diversity of data sources and varying data quality. Information typically comes from tools such as Excel, Access, or legacy systems, with very different levels of structure. As a result, data may be incomplete, inconsistent, or duplicated, and naming conventions often differ between teams. In addition, objects are not always structured consistently or aligned with the AVEVA Engineering data model, making integration more complex.
To avoid common pitfalls, it is critical not to import data “as is” without proper cleansing or to mix different versions of the same file. Working in silos should also be avoided, as it reduces overall consistency. Ensuring compatibility with the target data model is essential, as is adopting a phased migration approach. Attempting to import all data at once without prior testing significantly increases the risk of failure.
A Clear and Robust Data Structure
A well-defined data structure is essential for effective data management. Involving all disciplines in its definition is a key success factor, as it ensures alignment and adoption across teams. Structuring data in AVEVA Engineering requires a clear and shared organization from the outset, typically based on a logical hierarchy such as sites, units, systems, and equipment.
Each object should be defined through a single data sheet containing its key information, ensuring consistency and avoiding duplication. Simple and standardized naming conventions should be applied across all teams to maintain clarity and consistency.
In addition, the use of controlled value lists helps reduce unnecessary variations and improves overall data quality. Proper documentation of the structure is equally important to ensure that all users follow the same rules and best practices.
Ensuring a Secure Single Source of Data
Ensuring a reliable “single source of data” requires strong data governance. Each object must be assigned a unique and persistent identifier that does not change over time, preventing ambiguity and duplication. Data security also relies on clearly defined access rights, ensuring that only authorized users can modify specific information based on their role.
To minimize risks, direct deletions should be avoided. Instead, elements should be marked as “obsolete” to preserve historical data while preventing data loss. In addition, full traceability is essential to track who made changes, when, and why.
Finally, implementing a structured validation process ensures that all modifications are reviewed and approved before being applied, reinforcing data reliability and integrity.
A Clean and Sustainable Database
Maintaining a clean and sustainable database requires ongoing effort and structured governance. Data should be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changes in the client’s assets, such as modifications, retrofits, or decommissioning activities. This ensures that information remains accurate and relevant over time.
Consistency in naming conventions is essential to maintain clarity and avoid deviations. Training teams also plays a key role in promoting best practices and reducing data entry errors.
Finally, regularly removing obsolete or unnecessary data helps prevent database clutter and maintain performance. Assigning discipline-specific data owners to validate sensitive changes further strengthens control and ensures long-term data quality.
Secure your data through AVEVA Engineering migration
Many industrial companies are still running AVEVA Instrumentation on aging IT environments. With end of support announced for 2027, the question is no longer if you should migrate, but how and when.
This looming deadline is pushing organizations to reassess their current infrastructure, not only from a technical standpoint but also in terms of business continuity and risk management. Legacy systems, while often stable, increasingly struggle to meet modern cybersecurity standards and integration requirements. AVEVA Engineering migration offers an opportunity to modernize workflows, improve collaboration, and leverage cloud or hybrid architectures for greater flexibility. However, such a transition must be carefully planned to avoid disruptions to ongoing projects and data integrity issues. Key considerations include data migration strategies, compatibility with existing engineering tools, and user training. Companies should also evaluate whether to lift-and-shift or fully transform their environment. Early planning enables phased implementation, reducing risk and spreading investment over time. Ultimately, a proactive approach will turn this mandatory transition into a strategic advantage rather than a constraint.
Engineering Performance for a Changing Oil & Gas Industry
According to William Guillaume, Sales Manager
"Our clients can rely on our experts to provide support from the preliminary design stage through to implementation and continuous improvement, on topics ranging from functional analysis to system integration and optimisation."
William Guillaume
Sales Manager
How would you describe the current state of the oil&gas industry?
We are seeing high production dynamics with significant investment, particularly evident in the numerous calls for tenders, notably in Africa and the Middle East. This high production, combined with slowly growing demand, is leading to a fall in the price per barrel, which dropped below the $60 mark in January 2026, also due to the particularly tense political context.
In your opinion, what are the major challenges facing the oil & gas engineering today and in the medium term?
Actually, the challenges are technical including more ambitious and technically complex projects requiring excellence in execution. PARIFEX brings its expertise in process engineering to this type of ambitious projects, whether in terms of safety or control and command.
Regulatory requirements will obviously be an issue in the medium term, as regulations are becoming stricter with new compliance and traceability obligations. There is a direct link with environmental issues, and we are also seeing that certain decarbonisation investments may be accelerated to a greater or lesser extent depending on the political context.
We are also seeing a real desire to optimise their equipment while increasing the lifespan of their installations. PARIFEX supports professionals in optimising their automated processes and production, but also in extending the lifespan of their systems.
Who are PARIFEX’s clients and what are their main challenges today in their industrial and oil & gas engineering projects?
Our clients are operators with whom we collaborate on projects such as production optimisation, process improvement and database management. We also work with EPCs on functional analysis and narrative control issues.
Above all, our clients need solid expertise throughout the project lifecycle. In greenfield projects, we are involved from the preliminary design stage in the functional analysis of ESD/F&G systems and instrumented control/supervisory control (ICSS/SCADA). At start-up, the challenges concern instrumentation, systems integration, cybersecurity and compliance. In brownfield projects, needs range from audits and risk analyses to revamping, migration and upgrade projects. However, performance optimisation remains central, as many ageing systems can still be improved.
What most often triggers a need for engineering?
In reality, it is not a single factor, but a combination of new projects, modernisation, compliance and optimisation, and PARIFEX has been involved in all these stages for over thirty years.
Our clients can rely on our experts to provide support from the preliminary design stage through to implementation and continuous improvement, on topics ranging from functional analysis to system integration and optimisation.
How does PARIFEX position itself in relation to its competitors in the market?
PARIFEX positions itself as an agile and reliable engineering partner, with an approach focused on quality of execution and customer relations. Our primary strength is predictability: we have a culture of meeting deadlines, transparent communication and the ability to deliver services without any ‘unpleasant surprises’. For our clients, this is a key point because it secures planning and reduces project risk.
Furthermore, as PARIFEX is a company on a human scale, this allows us to establish a real closeness and a high level of responsiveness. We also pay particular attention to each customer, regardless of the size of the project.
Finally, our positioning is clear: we provide specialised engineering expertise. In particular, we offer process and production optimisations that require as little CAPEX as possible, which is an immediately measurable benefit for the customer.
What types of solutions or expertise are most in demand by your customers today?
The solutions most in demand by our customers are currently those that enable them to secure their projects, reduce risks, but above all, improve performance while controlling costs.
Firstly, the integration and modernisation of ICSS control systems and SCADA supervision systems are the most frequent requirements: customers are looking for an integrator capable of working in multi-vendor environments, both Greenfield and Brownfield, while ensuring that deadlines are met and cybersecurity requirements are complied with.
In addition, for projects and system modifications, our customers need very robust upstream engineering: functional analysis, control narrative, consistency of deliverables, I/O freeze, etc. The aim is to reduce the risk of failure in FAT, avoid engineering inconsistencies and secure software development before it starts.
Finally, there is a very concrete need for instrumentation and data: obsolete instrumentation, inconsistent databases, difficulty in centralising information. Our customers are looking for comprehensive support, ranging from centralised databases to the controlled replacement of equipment.
Join us for the first time at LNG2026, the international conference & exhibition on Liquified Natural Gas.
Booth #8377
2-5 February 2026 in Doha, Qatar
LNG2026 is your gateway to exploring the latest advancements, challenges, and opportunities across the entire LNG value chain. Connect with world-leading experts, decision-makers, and stakeholders, unlock high-value deals, and shape the future of the LNG market.
Don’t miss this transformative experience—where trends are set, technologies unveiled, and partnerships forged.
LNG2026 presents unique opportunities for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and securing high-value deals that advance the LNG business. With a comprehensive focus on the entire LNG value chain, from production and transportation to market delivery, attendees will participate in insightful discussions about the latest industry developments, emerging technologies, and market trends.
in the numerous calls for tenders, notably in Africa and the Middle East. This high production, combined with slowly growing demand, is leading to a fall in the price per barrel, which dropped below the $60 mark in January 2026, also due to the particularly tense political context.
PARIFEX positions itself as an agile and reliable engineering partner, with an approach focused on quality of execution and customer relations. Our primary strength is predictability: we have a culture of meeting deadlines, transparent communication and the ability to deliver services without any ‘unpleasant surprises’. For our clients, this is a key point because it secures planning and reduces project risk.
