Aegis Software and Arch Systems have partnered to deliver an AI Copilot that can suggest and implement corrective action on the shop floor.

HORSHAM, Pa. and PALO ALTO, Calif.—A new partnership between Aegis Software, a global provider of manufacturing operations management software (MOM/MES), and Arch Systems®, a provider of data and analytics for manufacturing operations, will seek to digitize the continuous improvement of factory operations, the companies said in a release.

According to the release, manufacturing excellence relies on proactively identifying issues and implementing corrective action. Effective identification requires analytics fueled by maximum breadth and depth of data. Corrective actions rely on revealing insights within those analytics, and then ensuring action is taken on the shop floor. How quickly a manufacturer moves from issue identification to action—and the effectiveness of those actions—are what separates the world-class from the rest.

Aegis and Arch have partnered to deliver what they describe as an unprecedented AI Copilot to guide manufacturers toward the right actions and, if desired, implement those actions automatically via Aegis’s FactoryLogix® on the shop floor. This is said to expedite the cycle of continuous improvement beyond what is possible with even the best process experts alone.

By augmenting Arch data sources with the contextualized product design and human operator interaction data provided by Aegis’s FactoryLogix, the Arch Insight Engine is reported to become even more powerful in suggesting targeted operational and process improvements. The results of those actions are then available for Arch and Aegis systems to assess the efficacy of the corrective action. This represents “an unprecedented application of AI for manufacturing that leverages a greater scope of data than previously possible, while also being able to reach into the physical process and cause improvement,” the release said.

Arch Systems CEO Andrew Scheuermann said that because of the partnership, ArchFX customers “achieve unprecedented levels of understanding and actionable intelligence to improve their factories.”

“This partnership will enable our mutual customers to more fully detect and align patterns and trends in their data, leading to specific actions for improvement,” Scheuermann said in a statement. “Manufacturers are eagerly anticipating the introduction of a complete AI Copilot that drives intelligent actions holistically for their organizations. This represents a crucial step toward that as it integrates intelligent actions derived from previously collected MES data with analytics and AI systems. This is just the start of the novel value this approach can offer.”

Aegis Software CEO Jason Spera said that the “technology concept is clear: to power autonomously improving operations, a unique and fundamental aspect of Industry 4.0.”

“This partnership satisfies a need we’ve heard from the market as digitalization has become more prevalent in manufacturing,” Spera said in the release. “That is, ‘How do I better leverage all this data I have from my process to make my operation more successful?’ This solution brings to market an AI Copilot able to go beyond data and analytics to actually drive operational improvement—either via factory operators or directly via MES.”

FactoryLogix is a registered trademark of Aegis Industrial Software.