“The system will truly learn as we progress”

What was your role on this project?

I served as the subject expert for the project. Having 46 years of experience in oil analysis with a broad array of experiences in many different industries, I was able to use that knowledge to guide the IT group in the technical direction required to make the project successful.

What was the most exciting thing about this project?

First of all, the use of AI will allow us as a company be more consistent in all the Oil Condition Monitoring (OCM) laboratories, not only in North America but worldwide.  This means that the interpretation of results will have the backing of not only my experience but every analyst we have involved.  The AI will learn progressively based on the most current information in the database without someone having to update a table of boundaries when something changes in the market place.  The system will truly learn as we progress. 

What have you learnt working on this specific project?

The technology will allow someone like myself to pass on part of my knowledge and experience going forward. At this point the human touch is still required for the unusual samples we perform analysis on.  Human intervention and the ability to reason and research different issues to resolve problems is still very much alive.

What challenges did you meet and how did you overcome them?

The challenges in this project have been not only dealing with how the AI works and learning the approach to take but also just how the database information affects the output of the AI information.  Like many applications, the information being utilized is extremely important. Having a consistent database is paramount.  It has been interesting to see how the AI has evolved with the use of human intervention and information.  The challenge is to point the student or AI in the correct direction for the outcome you desire.

If you had to sum up this project in one word, what would it be?

Amazing!