A machine learning device that helps rebalance a packaging machine at 3 a.m. when workers aren’t on the job, to a geospatial map of generator data were among the topics discussed by Generac and Rockwell Automation representatives Wednesday at a Summerfest Tech event.
The event, held at Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel downtown as part of this summer’s Summerfest Tech programming, covered the intersection of operational technology (OT) in engineering and information technology (IT) between Waukesha-based Generac Power Systems Inc. and Rockwell Automation Inc. of Milwaukee.
The two companies formed a partnership in the past year, said Tim Dickson, chief information officer at Generac, who was a panelist at the event.
“Our organizations can work together and provide analytics and insights into what’s actually happening on the floor,” Dickson said. “We’ve come together here over the last year between Generac and Rockwell, where we have a lot of similarities (and) we’re customers of each other’s products.”
While Generac has traditionally been mechanical, there has been increased collaboration between the company’s engineering and IT departments, said Amber Malone, vice president of global engineering for controls and automation at Generac, a manufacturer of home, commercial and industrial generators.
“Historically, it’s a pretty mechanical-based company,” Malone said. “So my team has been trying to kind of find a hybrid solution that really takes advantage of some of the agile methodologies for developing firmware and software … we’re definitely sharing best practices with the IT team.”
Dickson mentioned Generac’s recent push to present data from its more than 2 million generators in geospatial data visualizations as an example of OT and IT collaboration at the company.
The new AI platform, called “Power Insights,” launched a few months ago and is comparable to Tesla’s national supercharger map, Dickson said. It sources data from the company’s generator network and provides a different angle when presenting the product to dealers or prospective customers, Dickson said.
Greg Gernert, vice president and general manager of Rockwell Automation’s motion controls business, said Rockwell is working to use data analytics in its machine processes.
That includes incorporating analytics into firmware, which is the software that controls parts of a device’s hardware. Gernert said a device with enough memory could use machine learning to solve problems in industrial settings, like helping to rebalance an ice cream wrapping machine at 3 a.m. when there were no human workers around.
Rockwell is a manufacturer of industrial automation and global information products, solutions and services.
The panelists also discussed using data generated through industrial machines as a potential new revenue source. While the panelists said some of the data was proprietary and couldn’t be reused, Dickson added that some of it could be monetized.
“I’ll be daring and say that there’s actually revenue-generation opportunities as a result of IT and OT collaboration,” said Dickson. “Monetizing data is exactly and absolutely possible as a result.”
