Augury’s CEO Saar Yoskovitz and CTO Gal Shaul sat down with new collaborators Baker Hughes to talk shop: managing supply chain risks, improving energy efficiency, and how “enjoying the ride” drives innovation.
In ‘The Sounds of Science: A Revolution for Machine Health’, Augury Co-Founders cover some of the insights they gained building up the Machine Health category. CEO Saar Yoskovitz and CTO Gal Shaul also chart out what their company has to offer the energy sector now they are allied with Baker Hughes – one of the largest energy technology companies in the world.
The interview took place soon after Baker Hughes announced a new long-term investment and commercial alliance with Augury. Read it all, but meanwhile enjoy these quotable quotes:
On beginning small before realizing something big…
“When we started Augury 10 years ago, we understood that there’s an opportunity to bring the modern-age technology from the consumer world – iPhones, other connected devices, sensors, and advances in AI – to the industrial market. We started with manufacturing and commercial facilities and now we’re going into oil and gas and the energy sector. Initially, we were part of the predictive maintenance realm, but as we spoke to more and more of our customers and partners, we understood that machine health is the fundamental problem to solve. Machine health is not a maintenance problem; it’s a supply chain risk management problem and a sustainability problem. The problem we’re solving is much larger than how the market views it.” – Saar
On bringing ‘shadow factories’ to the light…
“We found that by decreasing unexpected downtime – avoiding failure and increasing the uptime of the machines and the production line – it did more than just increase efficiency and productivity. We were able to unlock the equivalent production capacity of two more factories within their existing portfolio. Previous inefficiencies meant they were losing so much productivity that, essentially, they had a shadow factory hidden within their existing facilities.” – Saar
On how Machine Health takes everything to the next-level…
“It shows how simply improving the health of a machine asset quickly affects the top line and their investment in company growth and infrastructure. We can take this to a whole range of value drivers – from sustainability to business impact and all the way to cultural change. We have a vision for how companies can work better with their employees, upskill the existing workforce, and then bring a whole new generation into these industries.” – Saar
On how Augury improves energy efficiency for operators…
“The best proof point for how Augury can assist in improving energy efficiency is a study done by the US Department of Energy that found that predictive maintenance can reduce energy consumption by 20%. The physics are pretty simple: if your machine is not balanced or not aligned well, it will require more energy to get to the same throughput.” – Saar
On how changing the relationship between machines and people will influence workplace culture…
“That intersection between operations and maintenance comes from digital transformation, which makes all the operational data much more transparent. We believe that cultural changes within plants – where a lot of new data and insights become available – will bring more autonomy across the workforce, and people will be driven to make the kinds of changes that reduce energy waste and consumption.” – Gal
On how diversity and equality drives innovation…
“The biggest driver of innovation and organizational culture through society generally starts with equality and diversity. Diversity and inclusion mean more people have a say in what’s happening. So that means people on the frontline in manufacturing or oil and gas are more empowered to make changes and take action, and understand this is everyone’s problem.” – Gal
On how Oil & Gas can drive positive change…
“The oil and gas industry can be the driver of positive environmental change. That can happen when you include more people and all aspects of diversity and inclusion. Energy transition doesn’t happen with four people in the room understanding the magnitude of the problem. It needs everyone – and the machine information we offer is a really powerful part of that conversation.” – Gal
On enjoying the journey with Baker Hughes…
“There’s so much we can build together. Having fun with that and enjoying the journey is a lot of what innovation requires to succeed.” – Gal
