The Manufacturer’s Guide to

Selecting the
Right Industrial
AI Solution
> It’s a timeless manufacturing goal:
producing more, higher-quality products
at minimum cost.
The “Smart Manufacturing” revolution is already enabling manufacturers
to reach this goal more successfully than ever - and one of the core
technologies driving this new wave of innovation is Industrial Artificial
Intelligence.

Data has become a highly valuable resource, and it’s cheaper than
ever to capture and store. Today, more manufacturers than ever
are leveraging that data to significantly improve their bottom line
thanks to Artificial Intelligence - and in particular, Machine Learning.
For many, this means greatly improving production efficiency and
capacity, by eliminating the primary causes of production losses and
other associated costs.

Of course, getting tangible business value out of Artificial Intelligence

is often easier said than done. AI is a complex technology, with many
different applications. How can manufacturers see through the
"hype" and empty promises, to invest in Industrial AI that will truly give
them a competitive edge?

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A word of caution:
there is no silver bullet
Before we cover the value of AI itself, it’s critical to set expectations. In the current
environment, that can be tricky.

It’s impossible to miss the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence technology - both
in general and specifically in the context of manufacturing. It seems like every
other technology-related article (and practically every single vendor vying for our
attention) uses terms like AI, machine learning, digitization, automation, Industry 4.0,
Industrial Artificial Intelligence, almost as a form of punctuation.

As a result, the expectations when it comes to AI are often wildly off-base -

varying from an all-encompassing solution to all your business problems to deep
scepticism any time “AI” is even uttered.

But, as with any technology, the truth is really somewhere in between. AI can be
extremely effective - in the right context. Understanding those contexts, and the
kinds of AI technology that apply to them, is the key to setting realistic business
goals for AI adoption.

Artificial Intelligence is not a silver bullet; no solution will solve all, or most, of your
problems. As a rule of thumb, AI works best when it is applied to solving a specific
problem, or a very closely-related set of problems. “General AI” is something to be wary
of: if a vendor claims to do everything, then they probably do nothing particularly well.

Which brings us back to the topic of AI in manufacturing. There are numerous

potential applications for AI and Machine Learning in manufacturing - and each
use case requires a unique type of Artificial Intelligence.

In this guide, we present a simple, effective formula to selecting the right Industrial
AI solution to address your specific manufacturing challenges and goals. We will
focus specifically on Machine Learning AI, since that is where the most exciting and
impactful innovations are occurring. The formula can be encapsulated in a simple
diagram and methodology we call “The Industrial AI Quadrant”.

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The Industrial AI Quadrant
Process-driven Asset-driven
High-frequency

१ 2
Low-frequency

3 4

The Industrial AI Quadrant is a concept we invented at Seebo, to help manufacturers

understand what type of Industrial Artificial Intelligence solution is best suited to
solve their particular business problems.

It is a simple yet effective methodology, which involves asking three basic questions:

1. What are your most pressing problems concerning manufacturing

production losses?
2. Are these problems rooted in asset performance, or the production process itself?
3. Do these problems occur frequently, or infrequently?

Where you place the particular manufacturing challenge you’re looking to solve will
determine what kind of Machine Learning solution you need.

To understand this methodology, we’ll work through these questions, explaining

their significance as we go.

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QUESTION # 1

What problems are you

tackling?

M anufacturers struggle daily with a range of challenges, which contribute

directly and indirectly to losses in revenue.

These losses range from maintenance work, to downtime, to production losses (waste,
yield, quality, etc.), to energy inefficiencies, and more.

Then there is the human element: each inefficiency requires time and effort to solve.
Every time a problem arises, precious human resources are diverted from achieving
long-term, strategic goals, to putting out fires. Worse still, in many cases the root
causes of those problems remain elusive even after extensive investigation and work.

Here are some examples of production losses manufacturers struggle with:

• Improve product quality

• Increase production yield
• Increase % of product concentration
• Increase product purity (reduce undesired side products)
• Reduce asset downtime due to process inefficiencies
• Reduce asset downtime due to mechanical failures
• Reduce waste
• Optimize raw material use vs. quality & yield
• Improve process stability
• Reduce energy consumption
• Improve production safety

Of course, this is far from an exhaustive list. The important thing is to draw up a shortlist
of your most pressing challenges relating to losses. Then we move to the next stage.

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QUESTION #2

Are your losses frequent

or infrequent?

T o understand the significance of this question, we must first establish how

Machine Learning addresses manufacturing problems, particularly when it
comes to production losses.

When human beings are confronted with manufacturing problems, we generally

take one of two approaches:

In the case of frequent problems, we have plenty of examples of the problem, so

we search for patterns to understand what the common thread, or root cause, is.

For infrequent problems, since we don’t have enough examples to establish a

pattern, we take the opposite approach - looking out for instances of anomalous
behaviour, and attempting to trace the cause of the problem based on that.

Machine Learning approaches problem-solving in much the same manner -

only a Machine Learning algorithm is capable of processing far more information,
in far less time and far more effectively, than a human process expert, engineer or
data scientist. Algorithms are also capable of continuous analysis, whereas human
beings can only carry out ad hoc analyses.

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There are two distinct categories of Machine Learning for addressing each
category of problems, respectively:

Supervised learning
For frequent problems - e.g. regular quality, waste or yield losses, or regular
cases of factory downtime. In this case, using a process known as “training”,
the ML algorithm learns to detect patterns and anomalies; test correlations;
map data tag interrelations, and so on. The model can then understand a
good outcome vs. a bad outcome - i.e. learning what the data looks like during
optimal performance, vs. during an incident.

Unsupervised learning
For infrequent problems - e.g. a particular machine breaking down once or
twice a year, occasional batches that need to be reprocesses or disposed of,
or other irregular quality, yield or waste issues. Because there aren’t enough
examples to know what an incident typically “looks like” from the data, the
model needs to work backwards, and essentially figure the pattern out for itself
by registering when anomalies occur, and extrapolating from that anomalous
behaviour that an incident may be in the offing.

Now it’s clear why this question is so important. Establishing whether your losses are
frequent or infrequent is key to knowing what kind of Machine Learning can address
them most effectively.

Each of these fields of Machine Learning require their own specific set of extensive
expertise, and are suitable for addressing different types of challenges.

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QUESTION #3

Asset-driven losses vs.

process-driven losses

N ext, we need to differentiate between problems that originate in the machine -

or "assets" - in your production line, and problems that stem from inefficiencies
within the process itself.

Asset-driven losses are fairly straightforward in theory, but the losses they inflict on
manufacturers can sometimes be very significant. These are problems like factory
downtime due to assets breaking down, buying new machinery, or quality and
waste problems due to faulty or aging equipment. Here the problem stems from a
specific asset, or perhaps multiple assets, that are behaving problematically.

Process-driven losses are often more complex, and usually less understood. This
includes things like production losses in yield, quality, waste, throughput, or energy
efficiency. Here the problem isn’t with any particular asset or assets, but rather
some kind of process inefficiency. This type of problem is often much harder to
spot, as process inefficiencies can typically involve multiple, interrelated tags,
each of which are individually operating within the acceptable ranges - but the
combination of which are either directly triggering losses, or simply reducing overall
production efficiency.

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Finding the right technology
with The Industrial AI Quadrant
Now you’re ready to place your manufacturing challenges in the right quadrant,
by asking two simple questions:

• Does the problem occur with a high frequency, or a low frequency?

• Is it a process-driven problem, or an asset-driven one?

Process-driven Asset-driven
High-frequency

१ 2
Process-based, Use 'process
supervised ML proxy' to go to 1,
(Predictive if not, go to 4
Quality & Yield)

3 4
Low-frequency

Process-driven, Vibration/acoustic
unsupervised ML unsupervised ML
per specific asset
(Predictive
Maintenance)

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The most common two categories are 1 and 4:

High-frequency, process-driven losses

These are the perennial production losses we mentioned earlier, that plague
almost every manufacturer. Depending on the specific industry, these process-
driven, frequent problems can take different forms. E.g.

• For some food manufacturers, the problems are usually quality and waste
losses; for others, it could be yield as well
• For chemical manufacturers, it’s usually yield and quality
• For cement manufacturers, it’s quality, throughput, energy and emissions
• For glass manufacturers, it’s quality, energy and throughput

The list goes on - but the common thread is that these losses occur frequently,
and due to inefficiencies in the production process.

Predictive Quality and Yield is an emerging technology that addresses this type
of problem. (This, as it happens, is the category of losses that Seebo solves.)

Using Supervised Machine Learning, all the data is continuously analyzed - from
the raw material, to process data to quality data, and even external factors like
weather, temperature, etc. - as are all the interrelationships between the tags. The
algorithms identify patterns and trends that, together with a deep understanding
of the process, can lead them to the root cause of the losses. Manufacturing teams
can then predict when a problem is about to occur, and know how to fix it by
addressing the correct root causes.

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 Low-frequency, asset-driven losses
This is the other major category of losses that manufacturers struggle with. The
losses are infrequent, but often quite significant. When an asset breaks down, it’s
not just a question of the costs associated with repairing or replacing the specific
asset - the downtime in production is more often than not far greater, and a
serious headache for manufacturing teams.

The solutions which seek to address this problem are known as Predictive
Maintenance. Since the issues are infrequent, these solutions use acoustic or
vibration sensors to detect anomalous behaviour in a particular asset - thereby
enabling manufacturing teams to take corrective action to service or replace the
asset in question before it causes a major incident.

The remaining two quadrants are less common:

High-frequency, asset-driven losses

When an asset or set of assets causes frequent losses, it may well be a problem
with the asset itself, in which case the solution is Predictive Maintenance.

But sometimes, frequent asset problems or factory downtime can be due to

process inefficiencies: for example in the production of chemicals or other
materials that may be harsh on the equipment. In that case (as indicated in the
quadrant) we need to look for the “process proxy” that’s causing the losses - and
Predictive Quality is the solution.

Low-frequency, process-driven losses

This is the least common category of losses. It is rare that there is an occasional,
process-driven loss (waste, quality, etc.) - that is significant enough to warrant
buying a technological solution. An example could be of a certain quantity or batch
of an expensive product becoming contaminated once in a while.

In this case, there aren't enough examples for supervised learning to work reliably.
However, unsupervised learning isn't reliable when applied to the process -
primarily because manufacturing processes are often too complex to accurately
define truly "anomalous" behaviour..

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Unlock the groundbreaking
benefits of Industrial Artificial
Intelligence
The rise of Industrial Artificial Intelligence offers enormous opportunities to
manufacturers of all industries. With the help of these technologies, manufacturers
can now predict and prevent some of their most painful losses - losses which until
recently were simply taken as a given.

But the key to achieving real value with Machine Learning and AI is by defining the
specific problem or problems you are trying to solve, and applying the correct
solution directly to it. Using the Industrial AI Quadrant you can do just that, by
understanding what kind of technology is best suited to your production losses.

A growing number of manufacturers are using Process-driven

Predictive Quality & Yield to master their
production processes, by identifying why losses
१
High-frequency

occur, how to prevent them, and when to take

action - no matter how complex the problem. Process-based,
supervised ML
It all starts with revealing the hidden root (Predictive
causes of those losses. Find out how it's done Quality & Yield)
in this free white paper:

Root Cause analysis in

the age of Industry 4.0

Get the guide

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Seebo is the Predictive Quality and Yield solution.

Manufacturers use Seebo to predict and prevent quality, yield and waste losses.

Seebo Process-Based Artificial Intelligence™ is designed to solve complicated

process inefficiencies - revealing the hidden causes and recommending the right
actions. By providing production teams with ready-to-use Artificial Intelligence,
continuous process mastership becomes a reality.

With Seebo your team knows why process inefficiencies happen, using Automated
Root Cause Analysis; how to prevent process inefficiencies, using Predictive
Recommendations; and when to act, using Proactive Alerts.

Seebo customers include leading manufacturers across multiple industries, like

Barilla, Nestle, Mondelez, PepsiCo, Allnex and Volkswagen Group. Seebo is backed by
Viola Ventures, Ofek Ventures, Vertex Ventures and TPY Capital.

For more information, visit www.seebo.com

If you’d like to learn more about how

Predictive Quality and Yield can empower
you to master your production processes,
book a demo with us to today.

Book your demo today

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