Al Taweelah alumina refinery is a 2.0 Mt greenfield facility situated in the UAE between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The refinery is being developed by Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA). Being a greenfield project has given the refinery team the unique opportunity to create a holistic technical operating system from infancy, in order to achieve business objectives. This system is focused on the main business drivers and cascades to associated process and maintenance strategies and procedures. One of the most modern Process Information Management Systems (PIMS) has been selected and customised to visualise the technical operating system; to monitor key performance indicators, indicate deviations, and guide the user to problems and appropriate mitigations. ATA has applied the latest of the Industry 4.0 elements in these first significant steps towards the smart refinery.This paper describes the philosophy behind this development and how it is applied. © 2020 GDMB Gesellschaft fur Bergbau, Metallurgie, Rohstoff- und Umwelttechnik e.V.. All rights reserved.