Georgia Marchant with Fluke Reliability

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Azima, Reliability, Fluke, data, ai, customers, skill shortage, individuals, kaizen, event, people, change, georgia, vibration, conversation, analysts, offering, industry, perspective, Xcelerate

00:03

Welcome to the Industrial Talk Podcast with Scott MacKenzie. Scott is a passionate industry professional dedicated to transferring cutting edge industry focused innovations and trends while highlighting the men and women who keep the world moving. So put on your hard hat, grab your work boots, and let's get

00:21

our I once again, thank you very much for joining Industrial Talk. And thank you for your continued support of a platform that celebrates industry professionals all around the world, you are bold, brave, you dare greatly you innovate, you collaborate, you're solving problems each and every day, you're making the world a better place. That's why we celebrate you on the number one industrial related podcast in the universe. And it's all backed up by data. We are broadcasting on site Fluke, Reliability Xcelerate 2024 User Conference. It's a two user conference, it's bigger than a meeting, it's a conference, we have plenty of individuals here that are focused on solving the challenges of industry today. If you have not been I mean, if you have not, if you're in the world of asset management, Reliability or in maintenance, you need to be a part of this wonderful event in 2025. Make that a priority. George is in the house. Much so excited about this conversation. Just out of the blue. Let's get cracking. Yeah, clicking this is cool. Yeah. I've only just CC John emails and then then walked around and then, you know, tripped a little bit here and there. You know, just standard snow. Yeah. Is it a Good? Good meeting?

01:34

Do you think? Yeah, it's great. A lot going on? Yeah, so much going on. This year has been a little bit different. We've kind of added our thought leadership day, which is kind of aimed at senior individuals, which has been awesome. So we had some roundtable discussions talking about sort of industry issues, sustainability, supply chain skills, shortage. And AI, obviously, why wouldn't

01:57

be very AI is the the buzz of the town. But it's happening so fast AI in general, and you have a new you have a new product called a Azima. And I gotta tell you, I love it. This thought leadership, why was that important for Fluke to have that? I think that was on Monday?

02:17

Yes, it was on Monday. I think just we're kind of at a pivotal time in the industry. Like there's so many things going on the pace of change is like enormous. And obviously things like change management and things quite hard to navigate. So, we wanted to bring like-minded individuals together just so that they can network, discuss the industry issues, and then hopefully leave with a bit of an action plan, kind of based on what other people are doing their organizations and what might apply to that. So it was a really good day in such great conversations.

02:49

How does an organization like Fluke Reliability, you bring up a point of pace of change? Yeah. That is always a constant conversation to have with many of the industry professionals that I talked to, is that change? How does Fluke Reliability maintain this sort of nimble? Focus on in this, this constant change? Yeah,

03:12

sure. So we were based out of our parent companies fortive. And they have this kind of analogy, that's, that's kaizen. And so to keep nimble and to kind of eliminate Muda, which they classes waste, we Kaizen to problem solve. And so at any point in our company, when we kind of reach a bit of an impasse, and the pace of change is slowing slightly, we'll do problem solving, bring different people across the organization from all different functions into one room to kind of problem solve and see how we can Xcelerate a little bit more Xcelerate there is right there. Yes. So yeah, we we kind of put that in place. And that really keeps us nimble, it means that we can adapt. In those sessions. We also do a lot of voc. So we speak to our customers, and we kind of pulse check, you know, are we on the right path? Do we need to pivot? That kind of thing? So, yeah, really key. I think Kaizen is, you know, it's our way of life. So,

04:16

I like that. And in fact, I've seen a number of posts on LinkedIn about these events, which is very, very cool. And it bodes well for Fluke Reliability and the team Fluke Reliability, just because that I fortunately for me, I get to go walk up and down and I get to interact with many of the individuals here at the user conference. And without a doubt, everybody is just I don't know there's this in this in this constant world of change. There's this still optimism that exists, which is it there's this energy of excitement that that is in I'll just bring this up. Last year's conversation at Xcelerate is coming We've been different than this years. Yeah, one year. Yeah.

05:03

I know. It's not so as EMA has a lot to do with that, yes. Obviously, we quiet as Amundi ally about six months ago. And since then, the energy has just been crazy, not only internally, because it's super exciting, right? When you add AI to the portfolio, we've been kind of exploring this connected reliability ecosystem. And AAzima fits in perfectly with those connected workflows. So it brings our hardware together with our CMMS platform. So we have a full connector Reliability workflow that we can offer customers now, which is great. And yeah, I think the buzz is palpable at this event. You know, I think sometimes AI, people think it's like a really huge thing, and almost intangible they can't get there. So one big thing that we've been trying to do at this event is to demystify that. And the way that we're trying to do that is to show use cases of AI, which is AAzima. You know, essentially, it's, it's machine learning. And so we've used case studies, and things like that, to try and bring it to customers in a more kind of palatable way. What

06:14

I like about AAzima is, yes, it's AI, but it has so much depth to it so much the information embedded in the data lake. And and quite frankly, it's good data, it has 30 years, 30 plus years of solid data already in the system itself. So the likelihood of me being able to sort of ping an asset up against a vibration challenge with an asset, a guarantee. It's in AAzima someplace, it's giving me greater insights. The other thing that I like about it, is that everybody's looking for this sort of AI Silver Bullet taking care of things. This one just makes the vibration professional, more efficient, is still that human element. And that was always an interesting challenge that I seen is that there's this human element with AAzima. Still, they're still needed. So I love it. I love that approach. Yeah. So the other area that is really interesting, a lot of people have a lot of buzz is x four 2x. Five, and making that transition. Talk to us a little bit about

07:26

that. Yeah, sure. So I think it's really exciting. We've spoken to some customers, literally this week, I've spoken to a customer that has rolled out x five across 56 sites. No kidding. Yes. And what they're seeing the value from that is really standardization. So when customers come to us, a lot of the time, they're using disparate systems across, you know, multiple plants, even multiple regions. And by putting the same software in, you are able to standardize operations, which when things like the skill shortage come into play, you can kind of trade employees because they know what they're working with. They know the software, it's transferable skills. And so I think x five is, is really, really great for that. The other part of excellent, that's awesome is the globalization kind of elements. So we've got 40 different languages in there. Really, the ability for anyone to be able to use it and the user experience is awesome. That's the feedback from customers this weekend, as well, it's not just me saying it. So yeah, it's really exciting. And I think something out of this event, we've been trying to kind of match customers up who are on x five, with customers that are on export to kind of show them the benefits and what it's like. So it's not just from our mouths, it's from that too.

08:47

It's interesting, because when we first arrived, there were individuals coming up and approach me. And they were very focused on that transition and saying, I want to hear from individuals, not Fluke, I want to hear from individuals that have been through the process of transferring from export to x five, and their experience. And in just a short period of time, Georgia, the conversation has just from I want to know if it's going to be painful, which is that's really about millions, but there's got to be painful, or is it going to be something that I think that is beneficial to the organization. And I think just in the short period of time, they're finding out that it is beneficial. That there is an opportunity there. Where do you see some of all of this? I mean, the concept of the principle behind this whole connected ecosystem is good, you don't have you don't have little systems that are just sort of stuck out there and just hope that they communicate in such a way. I think that Fluke Reliability and all the tools that are available. Do you think that this time it's really truly a connect Did type of environment?

10:01

Yeah, totally. I think Azima really, as I said earlier has kind of helped us to kind of close that loop. Yeah. So you've got the hardware from a proof technique perspective, which is does all your vibration monitoring, then you've got Azima, which takes that data that you're monitoring. And what we see is a lot of people collect a lot of data, but they don't know what to do with it. So it doesn't turn into action. And therefore, it's kind of irrelevant. You're collecting it all. And you're yes, you're using the cloud. But what are you doing from an action perspective? And Azima really drives that action element. So they can kind of like you said earlier, 30 years worth of data across 80,000 machines 150 trillion data points.

10:45

That's mind boggling. Yes.

10:47

It's crazy. It's

10:48

a lot of zeros.

10:49

Totally. So that means that, you know, whatever fault that you've got coming up, they've seen it before. And so they can track the trends, they can tell you down to root cause analysis, even six months in advance of something happening, which makes you more efficient, you have less downtime, you can plan more things like spare parts inventory become more easier. And then you've obviously that all filters into emain. And so then you're kind of empowering your workforce to be able to do things quicker, but out with the right tools and technology at their hands. So it's really cool.

11:25

It seems like a journey. Let's say I'm a company on Scott manufacturing, I'm a I'm a company, can I begin to achieve some benefits? What that comprehensive? About, you know, that solution might be a little overwhelming? Is there a way of being me just sort of incrementally saying, Okay, I'm on emain. For I hear I need to be on x five. So but then I see this, and then I saw those tools. So there's some way that I can approach it to make it a little bit more manageable?

12:02

Scary? Yeah, totally. I think one of our biggest thing is, is that we can meet you, wherever, wherever you are in your journey. Right? Yeah. So like you said, sometimes it feels like a heavy lift. You know, you've got existing hardware, and you don't want to replace them all. But I think that what we see from a lot of customers is that they get the their CMMS in place. They've kind of got that working, and that's almost like the foundations, and then they're like, Okay, now we want to add on condition monitoring of some sort. How do we do that? And what we hope is that, you know, by offering all three steps, it's a viable solution to be able to, you know, implement us as and when it's right for the organization. And like you said, sometimes people want different journeys from a timing perspective. But what's great is each part of our solution complements each other. And I don't think there's anyone else on the market that, you know, offers the three steps, that is a connected liability workflow,

12:59

the devices that I stick out on my assets, I know that I can approach or I can communicate with Fluke Reliability and get my devices as well. In those devices, I'm collecting data, how to, and let's say, I'm not in a Azima. Client at this particular time, does Fluke Reliability, provide the insights and skills because we talked about the tsunami of data? We're talking about drinking from a firehose, to a certain extent, and then we're trying to figure out what data is relevant to making or helping me make tactical decisions on my operation? Does does a Fluke help with that too, as well? Yeah,

13:42

totally. So we have a remote condition monitoring offering, where we have analysts on tap on hand who are sort of highly satisfied and on their switch, when you're looking at kind of smaller plants or, you know, various different types of plants across the region, you might not necessarily have that skill and that expertise in the plant, and it's quite expensive to get, right. So to be able to outsource that, and going back to the skill shortage to it's a really great opportunity to be able to outsource some of those skills to fleet Reliability to be able to kind of do the analysis of the vibration data and be able to tell you what's happening and were able to

14:23

right, yes, yeah, any any type of condition, monitoring that I might deem important for my operations, my organization given that skill gap, I let's just be let's just be real, that is a conversation that is a challenging conversation to have just an industry in general, small to large, you know, and everything in between. I can't find the right individuals and that is a that's a threat to the resiliency of that business. So, pretty much you have all the offerings of all of the the have the ability to look at that data. Yeah,

15:03

definitely. And I think like skill shortage been one of the main topics that came up on the Thought Leadership Conference. And we actually, funnily enough for anchor shares keynote, on the first day, we actually looked at just eight companies in the audience. And we looked at the open roles that they had from a maintenance operation manufacturing perspective. And in just eight companies, there was 2500 rolls open away, yeah, and just eight in the audience. And I think that that really kind of speaks to that to what we're up against here. I think things like AI can really help to make your workforce more efficient, and kind of do those mundane tasks that take up a lot of time for your employees to be able to free them up to do things that are more valuable, almost, and hopefully more enjoyable to write. Like, you don't want to always come in and do the mundane tasks. So it's quite, you know, it's a, it's a viable option to be able to kind of plug that gap a little bit. But I think one of the key things is that, you know, we, we don't think that we're not going to be sort of replacing humans anytime soon.

16:08

No, everything really good point.

16:11

Yes. So everything within our options, even, you know, the remote condition monitoring aspects, you will we always will involve humans in the process, and we don't see that changing, we almost see upskilling of employees. Instead, I

16:26

see a sort of a silver lining in. And I hate to say the term outsourcing. And it has such a, you know, questionable connotation to a certain extent, but, but I just don't see how the that business model is not relevant. Big time in today's market. I mean, it just is, yeah, and and if I was a company, and I want to be relevant, going forward, resilient, going forward, I need to one, I need to constantly educate. So events like this vital to I need to collaborate because I don't have all the answers. I'm still sort of me Scott Mackenzie manufacturing, I'm worried about my production and this and that and making payroll, whatever, I've got a slew of challenges. But then I have to consider that innovation component. Where do I deploy it? How do I deploy? Because that, that that ensures to a certain extent, and then finally, trusted partners, the trusted individuals, the Sherpas that I need to bring in to be able to do that, and to rely on because there's going to be a lot of people that are going to hang those shingles out and I'm in I'm in pain. And maybe that's not the right approach. Yeah, that's sort of what I see. Fluke Reliability, that whole roll that there's this, this one stock that makes it easy for me. Yeah, looking at it, right. Yeah,

17:56

totally. So an interesting conversation we had with a partner, they're a big partner of ours, and they're in the kind of oil and gas industry, and they have 60 analysts on site, but their analysts are at capacity. So when you look at it from a kind of business perspective, there's no additional output, there's no additional profitability, there's nowhere to go because they're all at max. So we're talking to them about, you know, Azima, and where the value of Azima lies. And they said, when we were showing them what we could do, it would free up their analysts to do five times the amount that they do now. Brilliant. So you just think that is just nuts, like five times the amount? So yeah, I think it's so powerful. And I just think we need to kind of keep spreading the word about it, because it really is going to change the game for organizations, or

18:52

I to nothing but positive coming from that whole interaction. And not to mention that that, again, a Sema, a product that allows you to just really look at the critical data, not not the tsunami, not I'm not sitting there looking at the squiggly lines like vibration is I'm looking at the squiggly lines that have that have meaning, which then, you know, you compress a big amount of data down to the meaningful ones. That's, I agree with you. It's brilliant. And then not only that, from what I understand from Fluke or liabilities perspective, you have your cat for cat three, you have vibration professionals in house for additional help.

19:43

Yeah, make sense? Yeah, totally. I think that is really one of the even more powerful things about Azima. And in that acquisition, we acquired some really fantastic individuals. They're the individuals that you're speaking about five years So we've got, you know, 30 analysts on board. And they're amazing. And that's, you know, really kind of supercharged the offering that we can give in that services kind of sector to,

20:09

I think services is way to go. I really, this is spectacular. One last question. The this event brings about real users. In general, what's that feedback or from just? How are you digesting? What what do you do from Fluke or liabilities, you're getting feedback from real people in the field? Doing it day in and day out? Making things happen? How do you take that information? That good insights and and put it into reality? Yeah,

20:44

for sure. So I think there's a couple of things on this. One that sticks out to me is from the thought leadership day. So something that we did was we gleaned all of the insights from those roundtable discussions, which were on kind of all of the key industry issues that we're facing right now. Some of the challenges some of the opportunities like AI, for example, what we'll do is glean those insights and put them into kind of emails or relevant content back to the customer. So this is what you learn. This was the actions that we took away from that. And then they can do with what they will with that. And then from our perspective, at the event, we do loads of voc. You know, we're all voc Yes, Voice of Customer. We are sort of interviewing customers, asking them what they think about our offering, what we could improve on most importantly, and this event is really key for kind of filtering back into our strategy. So we take all of those insights. And, you know, we'll come together as a team, and we debate and kind of have a look at what the priorities should be. And that will filter directly into our strategy for next year. So it's really key for that perspective.

21:55

Well, you were wonderful. How do people get a hold of you? And they're saying, I want to find out more about Georgia and what's happening at Fluke Reliability? What's the best way? Are you out on LinkedIn?

22:04

Yeah, absolutely. Georgia Marchand on the table.

22:07

There it is. Her name is Georgia is Georgia is on my mind. Has anybody said that before? Yeah. Turn it I'm not unique and new about that. All right. As you can tell by the buzzer in the background, we are broadcasting on site Fluke Reliability, this is Xcelerate 2024. And it's a happening event, you need to put this on your calendar for next year 2025, I can do the math. And if you're in the world of asset management, maintenance and Reliability, this is the event for you. You will not be disappointed. You get to meet people like Georgia and others that have their fingers on the polls. We're going to wrap it up on the other side. Stay tuned, we will be right back.

22:44

You're listening to the Industrial Talk Podcast Network.

22:54

About that conversation with Georgia, absolutely wonderful, chock full of great information and all of the happenings happening at Fluke Reliability. It's amazing that they've got so much going on, you go to this event, you go to Xcelerate, put 25 on your calendar, you must. There's this buzz, this energy, this force that's taking place at this event, and everybody's excited about what's going on. They just they never stand still. They are truly, as you can tell by Georgia, truly passionate about Reliability, asset management, maintenance, and keeping those keeping your operations up and running. Getting that insight that is so necessary to make those tactical decisions. It's exciting. I just gotta tell you, I was I was blown away. All right. Go to Industrial Talk, get engaged. Be a part educate, collaborate, innovate right there. Who does real talk? We're gonna have another great conversation shortly. So hang out with Georgia change the world. We will be having another one shortly.