‘Data into profit’, production into performance

Disruptions to manufacturers likely won’t end with current-day trade wars or COVID-19 pandemic-era supply chain snarls. One Steinbach-based firm is touting its solution: agentic artificial intelligence.

Cameron Bergen, chief executive of Mode40, showcased his company’s new platform in Germany on Monday, during the world’s largest industrial trade fair.

“The mission is to turn data into profit,” Bergen said by phone.

He’d spent the day at Hannover Messe, speaking to representatives from countries like Poland and South Korea. They likely heard a similar rundown: Mode40 has launched what it believes to be a first-of-its-kind platform.

Other products show manufacturing companies their data. This one translates data into recommendations to make operations more efficient, Bergen explained.

For example, if a firm oversold a particular product, Mode40’s platform might suggest delivery date adjustments or scheduled overtime. It may highlight specific training as a fix to production bottlenecks or timelines for receiving needed inventory.

“It understands — in real time — what you’re producing, how you’re performing,” Bergen said.

The platform is called the Manufacturing Source of Truth (MAST). It comes after years of Mode40 clients asking for a decision-making component to data collection, Bergen said.

Mode40 began as a “digital transformation” consulting company for manufacturers in 2020.

MAST has been a goal since, basically, Mode40’s inception, Bergen noted. The recent rapid development of AI has propelled the project forward.

Another contributor: Mode40’s project with Price Industries Ltd. and Innovair Group. The trio formed last year to create an AI-enabled manufacturing execution system; work is ongoing.

“We’re able to take extremely complex manufacturing and very complex data modelling and run it through our AI system,” Bergen said.

From there, the data are “simply understood” by the system, which makes recommendations to increase efficiency.

Mode40 sought to make a product to sell globally. It formed a partnership with the AI Hub at Durham College in Ontario.

Mode40 tested MAST with manufacturers before its Monday launch. The companies signed non-disclosure agreements, Bergen said, declining to share names.

Businesses using the platform allow MAST software to interface with their manufacturing equipment and collect data. MAST then uses agentic AI to scan a number of inputs, like quality and anomaly detection, to determine what recommendations it’ll make. It might create a production schedule and monitor teams’ production, Bergen said.

“It’s not about replacing jobs,” he said. “It’s about augmenting and lifting the skills of your workforce.”

MAST comes as Canada’s manufacturing sector falls behind other countries in AI adoption, Bergen stated.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call for manufacturers, Bergen added: “Supply chains were disrupted, workforces were disrupted, business models were disrupted, sales were disrupted. Those disruptions are around the corner every day … We have to respond as a country.”

The Manitoba firm is selling MAST globally, including within Canada.

Natalie Arthurs, senior manager of Durham College’s AI Hub, echoed AI adoption within the country’s manufacturing sector is “a little bit slower.”

“We’re just getting to the tip of the iceberg on what AI can do to enhance manufacturing,” Arthurs said.

She considers Mode40 on the “cutting edge” of the world’s manufacturing front. AI adoption within the sector could accelerate due to MAST, she added.

The AI Hub began conducting research and development with Mode40 in September, Arthurs said. It will continue to work on Mode40’s overall product roadmap, she added.

The Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters’ Prairies chapter recently surveyed its members on their AI use. It found increasing adoption, according to results shared with the Manitoba government in December.

“(There’s) always a keen eye on productivity and efficiency,” said Terry Shaw, the chapter’s regional vice-president.

Manitoba manufacturers have used AI for a swath of reasons, including estimations, analyzing customer behaviour, defect detection and quality assurance, workplace safety and training, and predictive maintenance.

Those surveyed expect further AI integration within the next decade, like more AI-driven robotics, predictive analytics and augmented reality tools.

Improved productivity was listed as a benefit of using AI. Skills gaps, job displacement, high fees and cybersecurity concerns were flagged as negatives.

“Any productivity-enhancing technology, it changes the nature of jobs,” Shaw said. “Ideally, if we bring on some technology — be it AI or robotic assistance … maybe it allows us to upskill that staff.”

The goal is to grow business using technology, Shaw underscored.

MAST users pay an annual fee. The rate varies based on a company’s size and the complexity of its data model, Bergen said without getting into specific numbers.

Mode40 has grown to 40 employees over the past 4 1/2 years. It works on assignments for Fortune 100 companies and has previously developed projects using National Research Council of Canada funding,

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com