"Research collaboration takes us forward!"

Siemens Energy in Finspång has been part of JU's research profile AFAIR since the start four years ago and continues to participate in several different projects.
— Collaboration means that we actively participate in the research - it takes us forward," says Nils-Erik Ohlson, who represents the company.

Like much of the industrial sector, Siemens Energy in Finspång is curiously approaching AI and exploring the opportunities it brings. The company mainly develops, manufactures and sells gas turbines that are primarily used for electricity generation for industrial and power plant customers, but also contributes to the green transition by using green fuels and to stabilize energy systems that are moving to wind and solar power.

The collaboration with the School of Engineering's AFAIR initiative, which has been running since its inception four years ago, is about organization, working methods and processes in the company and how AI can be part of the development. So far, they have participated in four projects, and Nils-Erik Ohlson, who works as a planning specialist, praises the approach in AFAIR where the participating researchers come from different directions, several different companies participate and where several parts of his company Siemens Energy have become involved.

— This form of collaboration stands out and we are part of the research in an unusual way. Otherwise, you can be researched - you are interviewed and see the results after six months. What makes this collaboration unique is how we are involved in the research. Normally, you’re just studied—you get interviewed and only see results months later. In AFAIR, it’s interactive: we are truly engaged, challenged, and able to influence both the research topic and their relevance to us. That builds credibility and supports our development.

Great openness

Part of Siemens Energy's work in AFAIR has been about supply chain planning buffers in the RAdaBuff project, another part is more about the human behavior in the organization where AI is introduced in the PrepAIr project. Areas that are likely to face major changes as AI develops.

— We have always dealt with changes in processes, but AI adds an extra twist to this and we can't sit alone in our chambers and read up on this - we need to be involved," explains Nils-Erik Ohlson.

When different companies discuss challenges with each other, competition and suspicion could possibly arise, but not in AFAIR, he says.

— I've been involved in various projects and have gained a lot of trust in the other participants, there is a great deal of openness. We don't really come from competing businesses and we don't share sensitive data, but we have been very successful in building personal trust.

Sitting in the same boat

Nils-Erik Ohlson believes that personal chemistry may be one explanation for AFAIR's success, and the realization that "everyone is in the same boat".

—The people in AFAIR are eager to grow and address their organizational challenges—many of which prove to be shared across companies. You realize you’re not alone, and that there may not be one perfect way to organize and implement AI. That realization, he explains, gives you the confidence to move forward.

Demand for Siemens Energy's products is growing rapidly due to the increased need for electricity in the world. At the same time, the company will develop its involvement in AFAIR, which is now entering its second half, for example through new involvement in the DELTA project and the company's HR department becoming part of the MAIn project.

— We are getting some new people in some new areas, which creates dynamics for us as well, and we look forward to a similar journey in the future. The cooperation contributes to our development!