Aussie-built AI aims to solve disconnect issues for food manufacturers

Australian manufacturing efficiency software company OFS has launched Mayvn AI, an artificial intelligence platform designed to improve productivity and strengthen communication between manufacturing executives and operational teams.

The Australian-designed and engineered software can provide real-time information and insights on what’s happening operationally in manufacturing facilities. This can include issues that are currently delaying production right through the preparation of a business case for capital investment and the associated return on investment (ROI).

The system has been trialled with major Australian and global manufacturers, including US confectionery manufacturer, Tootsie Roll Industries, which has been able to reduce certain data-related procedures by more than 90%.

“There are things we ‘knew’ were an issue, but Mayvn AI validates and quickly gives us data to be able to effectively demonstrate the impact of those issues,” said Eric Bader, Manufacturing Systems Manager at Tootsie Roll Industries.

“We’ve seen all levels of our team use Mayvn from our COO to VPs right through to the factory floor. The speed at which it can give us concrete, actionable data and its prompting suggestions to dive deeper into that have been particularly useful. It also supports our wider vision to leverage data mining and analysis to improve our operations.”

OFS CEO James Magee said in these times of change, business leaders are facing an overwhelming amount of information from multiple functions — finance, operations, supply chain, compliance and beyond. “They are time-poor, constantly making high-stakes decisions, and determining where best to focus their attention. The pressures of leadership can make it difficult to step away from strategy and spend quality time on the factory floor.”

“The reality is that most manufacturing executives don’t have adequate visibility over what’s happening in their factories. Due to a variety of factors, many don’t spend as much time as they’d like visiting them, and when they do, they are seldom armed with the necessary information to have meaningful conversations with the people responsible for running them. Not the least of which are those on the front line running the production lines every day,” Magee said.

“Now an executive can sit in their car outside a factory and ask Mayvn AI for three things they should talk to the site manager about based on last month’s performance. Once they’ve digested this information, they then ask Mayvn for the name of the operator running Line 1 and what has been bothering them over the last 30 days, like Sarah having repeated issues with the flow wrapper. Armed with these insights, the executive has a meaningful, fact-based discussion with the site leader, and then puts the hair net and PPE on, walks out onto the shop floor and asks for an introduction to Sarah to discuss the issues she has been facing.

“We know from experience, the more people engage in conversations on operational performance, the more likely it is that engagement will increase, and along with it performance and profit improvement. The impact is exponentially greater when the engagement starts at the very top. Mayvn AI takes it to the next level as the executive can ask how much the faulty flow wrapper is costing the business, whether there is a return on investment for replacing it, and even to highlight the capital investment needed.”

Magee also said this kind of AI innovation could help drive the government’s Future Made in Australia plan to bolster Australia’s manufacturing in areas such as renewable energy, industrial innovation, and technology.

“Reinvigorating such a globally competitive industry can’t happen without modern technologies, and it certainly can’t happen without complete alignment between the boardroom and the manufacturing floor,” he said.

Mayvn AI has a global patent pending centred on how OFS has applied new manufacturing-based data models, which has a significant flow-on effect to the quality of the insights delivered.

On the heels of its successful trials with Australian and US manufacturers, the Melbourne-founded company also plans to expand further in the UK and Asia-Pacific, and its new Latin American headquarters is opening in Argentina later this year.