AI leads to Exponential Growth

Similar to the idea of Moore’s Law, that computer chips continue to double in their performance through cycles of two years, AI tends to follow a similar pattern; creating an exponential growth curve of technological evolution. To put it simply, the technology of AI – of which Machine Learning is a key element – is able to solve problems at faster rates than humans can ever comprehend.

At any given time, Artificial Intelligence software is becoming ever more capable of calculating complex algorithms and enabling mistakes to be corrected at the very moment that they occur. Technology that can take advantage of such an asset can achieve breakthrough results.

AI for Predictive Maintenance

One of the most prominent examples of a successful industry integration of AI in recent years is in the field of predictive maintenance, which according to Statista is a $5.7 billion use case for AI. For manufacturers, AI-driven predictive maintenance technology can generate insights in real-time that would otherwise take a team of experts days to achieve (if they could succeed at all). This improvement could mean the difference between sending a technician to fix a small problem vs. periodically shutting down the whole factory and potentially losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process.

AI technology in predictive maintenance helps to ensure high levels of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). Interpreting vast amounts of collected data in real time, the AI software can predict minor faults in the manufacturing system, and notify the engineers of subtle tweaks that can be made to improve results. With a trackable, real-time overview of plant operations, an AI predictive maintenance solution gives manufacturers insights into availability, performance and quality of the output of a process, so they can understand how well they are meeting production expectations. This in return will guarantee the factory will save large sums of money that would otherwise be considered continuously wasted.

Every Rose Garden Has Its Thorns…

In spite of its obvious benefits, AI technology still has some obstacles to its full implementation across industries. The AI luminary Bernard Marr states four key areas which can be barriers to AI’s adoption: cultural barriers, fear, shortage of talent and lack of strategic approach. Adopting AI does require some cultural changes within the organization. For example, changing the old method of fixing problems after the fact to a new process of predicting and thus preventing them through an investigative process. This change can take some time getting used to.

The Harvard Business Review states that 47% of executives say difficulty in integrating cognitive projects with existing systems and processes are the biggest hurdle to AI initiatives. Every AI system needs to be “fed” with clean and accurate data, which is not always easy to access from systems that are much older than the AI systems coming in to interpret them.

Indeed, dirty data can lead to inaccurate insights, and even the cleanest data can generate more insights than are relevant for a typical user. In the case of predictive maintenance, this “noise” in the system can lead to what is known as “alert fatigue,” or becoming overwhelmed with too many updates from the system, with little to no prioritization. Precognize’s SAM GUARD eliminates alert fatigue by giving just the important and relevant alerts, and clearly prioritizing, so plant engineers have a clear guide for which alerts need investigating. Once they realize the massive value that it brings to the plant, they often get excited about how to expand its impact even further into other plants.

AI of Tomorrow for Predictive Maintenance

Experts forecast the global predictive maintenance market to expand at a CAGR of 37.9% to be valued at $28.24 billion by the year 2025. And without AI, process manufacturers will lose productivity, and eventually, lose out to the competition. SAM GUARD is uniquely positioned to help process manufacturers adopt AI that will have a meaningful impact on their business, changing their paradigm to be more proactive and more effective as a result. With Precognize’s unique and advanced solution, process manufacturers can stay ahead of the game.