Whether it was as CEO and Co-Founder of Process Health pioneers Seebo or now as General Manager of Process Health at Augury, Lior Akavia does not see a difference in his fundamental job description. “My job – and passion – is to help manufacturers do their jobs better by optimizing their production lines through AI. And in the process, I feel a growing sense of both optimism and responsibility.”

The above illustration is courtesy of DALL-E inspired by the words ‘green’, ‘manufacturing’ and ‘future’.

My aim is to have a positive impact. Today, I see my job as helping manufacturers do their jobs better. Why is this important? Because manufacturing is all around us – in terms of the food we eat, the medicines we take, the homes we live in, etcetera. 

In short, manufacturing is critical for our health, wellbeing and our ability to live a good life. And any improvements can also have a very dramatic effect on our daily lives – for several reasons. 

Three Reasons Why We Need To Help Manufacturers

1) Everything Is Only Getting More Expensive 

First off, things are only getting more expensive. The cost of living is becoming too much for too many people. And this inflation relates in many ways to supply chains and, specifically, to manufacturing. And if we can help manufacturers to do their job better, we can lighten the load: making things less expensive and more available to more people.  

2) Everyone Deserves a Decent Job  

Not all countries are equal. Even within countries, it’s not equal for all people. And as human beings we must all aspire to have a better quality of life for all people. But it’s tricky. Because if we will take the whole world population and magically enable them to live the quality of life many of us enjoy in so-called developed countries, then we need to manufacture dramatically more – more medicine, more food, more cars, more toys. So, we really need to figure this out…

And while manufacturing represents around one-sixth of the world’s economy, it’s not always easy to get a decent job in manufacturing. You need training and skills. And if we can help manufacturers to train people, we help both manufacturers and those looking for a good job. In the process, more people can live better lives.  

3) The Earth Is Getting Warmer

Meanwhile, we are all witnessing how the Earth is becoming less livable for us and future generations due to global warming. And manufacturing is a big part of the reason why this is happening. And consumption – due to both population growth and the goal of improving people’s lives overall – will only grow. So, the challenges are only getting larger – with even more inflation waiting in the wings… 

Now The Good News…

It’s easy to get cynical. But there’s good news: humanity is pretty good at inventing new stuff – to solve problems through innovation, creativity and technology. That’s what motivates us at Augury. And happily, we are not alone. We are part of a larger team of scientists, engineers and designers who while working at different companies are all still working to confront these very important challenges.  

Yet, in terms of pure potential impact, we are in a rather unique position at Augury. As the global leader in manufacturing AI, we can empower manufacturers to do their jobs at maximum effectiveness and efficiency. 

Knowledge is Power: From Understanding Yields To Explaining Emissions 

To give a concrete example… When we start working with a chemical manufacturer, we see how their emissions are fuzzy and unpredictable – and the team there cannot fully explain why. But once we install our Process Health solution, and let the AI figure it out, you realize there are very clear explanations. Our human brains are simply not built to digest so many dynamic parameters simultaneously. But when armed with the right AI-induced insights, you can simply change the process settings to decrease emissions. 

We see similar results with food manufacturers where the amount of required raw materials to produce the end product is very variable. No one knows the exact reason – until we run the AI and you realize there are very clear reasons for this volatility. And by adjusting your process settings, you can save food – and feed more people in the process. 

Snowballing Sustainability

And the beautiful thing is most of our clients are not adopting our solution for their impact on sustainability, but because of the financial gains brought on by the increase in yield and quality and the reduction in waste and energy use. 

By realizing that technology can have such a dramatic effect on both the environment and the bottom line, we and our partners have only become more optimistic – while also feeling more responsibility since we know the real-world impact our particular solutions can have. 

Of course, we can’t do it alone. We need others to come up with their own game-changing technologies that help prevent global warming. We need those manufacturing visionaries – may it be the VP of Manufacturing or the operator on the line – to deploy these technologies in-house. Regulators are required to help boost the use of these technologies. Investors are needed to push a company’s board towards a more sustainable direction. Etcetera…

At one point, all these efforts – both intrinsic and extrinsic – will snowball and make manufacturing continually greener. We all have our part to play. So let’s get to work.

Learn more about how Augury is powering sustainability for the manufacturing industry.

The post Empowering Manufacturers To Do A Better Job – While Creating A Better Future For All appeared first on Augury.

“With Production Health, the problems manufacturers have faced for decades are no longer a given,” says Lior Akavia, Augury’s GM for Process Health. In this ongoing series ‘What is Production Health?’, we talk with various key players about the potential in unifying Machine Health with Process Health – and making Maintenance & Operations one in the process.

Getting The Right People On The Bus 

Let’s first dive into your background. Since Augury’s acquisition of Seebo and you are entering a new chapter of your professional life, you must have had some sentimental moments. What do you look back on as your proudest moment with Seebo?
It’s not about a single moment but about the people. In 2018 we had a very major pivot in our business. It was very challenging. But we did it. And happily, our new direction of process-based industrial AI did very well. In the end, it was worth the sacrifice. But it was difficult, and I’m very, very proud that we were able to not only survive, but also to thrive. And looking back, I’m most proud of the people that agreed to join our journey. It’s our biggest achievement and asset. At some point, you realize that if you are able to bring the right people on the bus, all problems will be solved. It’s my biggest pride and joy to work every day with these talented, creative and ambitious people.

Read: ‘Roadmap To The Future:
Machine Health + Process Health = Production Health’

What do you feel you achieved with Seebo?
We are able to provide an AI-based software solution to help manufacturers with optimization of waste, quality, yield and emission challenges. And we’ve been able to do this by connecting the existing sensors on the lines and connecting these to our server where our solution, which automatically learns and relearns the production line again and again. In the process, we provide actionable insights to the manufacturing team to help them optimize their production processes. And here is where we stand out: we are not a tool for data scientists or software developers, it’s an intuitive tool for those on the floor – mainly the process engineers and operators. 

Solving Real Problems

And this pragmatic approach is an area that aligned Seebo nicely with Augury…
Exactly. At the core, we are both not just offering another technology, AI app, platform or whatever. We both offer a solution to a painful problem – keeping those production lines running and optimized. And this solving-a-real-problem-approach is a very prominent part of the DNA of both companies. In fact, we target the same companies and in some cases are already both installed on the same production lines – and this will only increase in the future. 

1 + 1 = 3

What does it now mean for you that Process Health and Machine Health are coming together?
The deal is still very fresh so we are still offering our separate products. But we also realize the value of the synergy between these two products – that 1+1=3. Once we unify into an overall product, we will do each of our jobs much, much better. For instance, with Seebo, we are able to explain why a quality, yield and emissions problem happens based on only a partial understanding of the line. Yes, we are connected with many sensors, but we were never able to really understand the mechanics of the assets on the line. Now that we are able to get the Augury insights, we can explain how the mechanics relate to quality, yield and emissions. We will be able to explain much better why a quality/yield/waste/emissions problem happened. And we can solve it much more successfully. Because we also have this visibility into the mechanics of the assets. So, it’s a very dramatic improvement in our ability to do our job. 

And it goes the other way too: Process Health improves Machine Health…
With Machine Health, we are able to warn the user before an asset is going to fail – so our customers can take pre-emptive action, like replacing a part. Now we’ll also be able to suggest new process settings, which may for example slow the problem so you have more time to fix it. So, it’s also a much stronger value proposition for Machine Health. 

Basically, we will have two ways to solve maintenance challenges – may it be through a corrective action like replacing a part, or by changing the process settings. And I believe this means that soon it will be very clear that there is no point in having a Machine Health solution without a Process Health solution – the value of having both is just too great.

A Limitless Future

And over time, that value will only grow as more data is looped in…
Absolutely, with more data, our algorithms will run more accurately. Look at Google: it was the best search engine 20 years or so ago and it’s still getting better and better every month. And I think it’s going to be the same with manufacturing AI for which Augury is the global leader. We will continue to improve it and widen the gap from potential competitors for many years to come. We’ll be able to innovate by looping in other input sources. Eventually we will also have data from cameras, texts and voices via NLP, the plant’s electricity infrastructure, etcetera.

What has the response been from your clients?
We get very, very positive feedback from our clients. In fact, we just signed a new joint offering with an American food company. They realize that they can get a holistic view into their production and thereby optimize their production based on dynamic business needs. Manufacturers all want the highest possible throughput with the best possible yields, while using less raw materials and energy, and releasing the least amount of pollution and requiring the least amount of maintenance. But these variables are often in conflict with each other – you can’t have it all. If you want to optimize throughput, you will use more energy and thereby have more emissions. 

So, it’s always conflicting. But with Augury, you’ll be able to tune these variables to your needs. So, if energy prices go up because of the war in Ukraine, you can maybe sacrifice your throughput quality and increase your maintenance costs as long as you use less energy. And it’s these sorts of opportunities that are getting our clients excited. 

No More Compromise

What’s the most important thing people should know – especially your current clients?
That the problems that have existed for decades are not a given. That you no longer have to accept a certain percentage of waste, stop a line for days for maintenance, or make unnecessary compromises for yield. If they now learn to use data in the right way, they can dramatically improve their business and bottom line.

Learn more about Augury’s vision of Production Health here.
Or reach out and talk with us directly.  

The post “Production Health Means The End of Compromise”  appeared first on Augury.