Fine-Tuned Version of Microsoft’s Phi-3.5 is One of the First Small Language Models (SLM) for Manufacturing

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Sight Machine, provider of the leading platform for data-driven manufacturing and industrial AI, today introduced Factory Namespace Manager, one of the first AI small language models (SLM) for manufacturing. The AI model tackles a core data governance challenge: mapping the multitude of factory data naming schemas into enterprise-wide unified namespaces or corporate data dictionaries.

Factory Namespace Manager is one of the first partner-enabled adapted AI models for manufacturing offered within the Azure AI model catalog, which Microsoft announced today. Factory Namespace Manager uses AI to fill a crucial gap in the technology needed to create a unified namespace: mapping between the original data field names and the corporate standard, enabling manufacturers to integrate factory data with enterprise data systems for end-to-end optimization.

SLMs Are More Cost-Effective to Train and Use

Factory Namespace Manager, which Sight Machine will demonstrate at next week’s Microsoft Ignite conference in Chicago, is a customized, fine-tuned version of Microsoft’s Phi-3.5 small language model. Unlike large language models (LLMs) – general purpose software trained on vast amounts of data – SLMs are used to focus on specific types of work and require less computing resources, offering strong performance at low cost and low latency.

“Our solution addresses a widespread challenge in the manufacturing industry, converting decentralized naming systems into a single corporate standard,” said Kurt DeMaagd, Sight Machine Chief AI Officer and Co-Founder. “This has become an acute problem as more clients push factory plant floor data to the cloud, removing data from its original context, and making the management of that data increasingly difficult.”

Tackling Complex Factory Data Environments

Individual plants often have thousands of data sources from multiple generations of machinery that are frequently 10 or 20 years old, and typically the data streams aren’t labeled in a standardized format that makes clear where the data comes from and what it represents. In order to perform analytics across lines, processes and plants (and even between otherwise-identical machines with different data labeling), companies need a standardized way to identify similar data. Today, creating this translation layer requires a heavy investment of time by subject matter experts with extensive knowledge on the nuances of both the legacy and the target naming schemas, and is thus typically done manually for a small subset of data.

“I’ve spoken to dozens of industrial companies about their current and potential use of AI in factory operations and the overwhelming feedback I hear and see in IDC survey data is that most companies are struggling to leverage AI effectively at scale due to the condition of their data,” said Jonathan Lang, Research Director of Worldwide IT/OT Convergence Strategies at IDC. “They have this dilemma that contextually similar data is formatted in multiple ways and is difficult to source and normalize amidst a complete lack of historical governance and data architecture. What I’ve heard loud and clear is that technology that helps to solve this challenge and reduce the labor requirement to decipher data will be readily adopted.”

The bottling company Swire Coca-Cola USA plans to use Factory Namespace Manager to efficiently map its extensive PLC and plant floor data into its corporate data namespace.

“We are working with Factory Namespace Manager to recognize patterns in the data we’ve manually translated, and then applying the patterns to the rest of our factory data,” said Bharathi Rajan, VP of Data & Insights at Swire Coca-Cola USA. “This will make it much easier to get relevant data to frontline workers, to inform decision making, and to integrate production insights into other parts of the company such as supply chain. This is one of the most useful applications of AI we’ve seen in manufacturing, and we’re excited to put it to work.”

“The collaboration between Microsoft and Sight Machine will give manufacturing organizations the ability to build AI solutions through Azure AI Studio and Microsoft Copilot Studio that deliver real value and advance business transformation,” said Satish Thomas, Corporate Vice President, Business & Industry Solutions, Microsoft. “Factory Namespace Manager applies SLM AI technology to a high-impact use case with strong potential ROI for companies pursuing data-driven manufacturing.”

How Sight Machine’s Manufacturing Data Platform Employs AI Techniques

AI is interwoven into Sight Machine’s Manufacturing Data Platform, which uses machine learning and other AI techniques to identify and optimize how machine settings, raw materials and production practices interact to determine throughput, quality, sustainability and other key manufacturing metrics.

Sight Machine’s AI offerings include Factory CoPilot, which uses generative AI technology to offer an intuitive, “ask the expert” experience for all manufacturing stakeholders. Built using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, Factory CoPilot can automatically summarize all relevant data and information about production in real-time (e.g., for daily meetings) and generate user-friendly reports, emails, charts and other content (in any language) about the performance of any machine, line or plant across the manufacturing enterprise, based on contextualized data in the Sight Machine platform.

Sight Machine also offers Blueprint, AI-driven tag-to-asset mapping software for clients that have large volumes of poorly identified data sources. It uses AI to map each data source (tag) to a specific asset (machine). Sight Machine built Blueprint in partnership with Microsoft and NVIDIA.

Learn More

To learn more about Factory Namespace Manager, please go to https://sightmachine.com/product/factory-namespace-manager/.

About Sight Machine

Sight Machine provides the leading platform for data-driven manufacturing and industrial AI, helping global manufacturers increase profitability, productivity and sustainability. Sight Machine’s Manufacturing Data Platform creates a common data foundation by capturing and structuring data from the entire factory to deliver a systemwide view of the manufacturing process. With insights powered by artificial intelligence, manufacturers can now optimize across their production processes and factory networks, and extend the impact to their broader supply and value chains. Sight Machine has offices in San Francisco and Ann Arbor, Mich. (www.sightmachine.com).

Sight Machine Press Contact: Media@sightmachine.com

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SOURCE Sight Machine Inc.

Presentations Will Address Disciplinary Thinking, the Importance of Social Studies, and Dynamic, Inquiry-Based Classroom Strategies

NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Nov. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Thinking Nation, a national 501(c)(3) committed to empowering students through inquiry by transforming social studies education from content memorization to an historical thinking discipline, is excited to announce its participation in two major education conferences in Boston: the National Social Studies Leadership Association (NSSLA) Annual Conference on Nov. 20, 2024, and the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Annual Conference on Nov. 22-24, 2024.

Thinking Nation Executive Director Zachary Coté said, “If social studies is to be elevated to a critical subject that the wider population sees as vital to preserving our democracy and equipping future generations for success, we must support education leaders, better equip teachers, and demonstrate our own legitimacy to other stakeholders. Thinking Nation is honored to share our insights for how to tackle these tall tasks at our nation’s largest convening in social studies education in Boston next week. With such incredible collaborators, we are hopeful for the future of social studies.”

During the conferences, Thinking Nation experts will lead sessions on disciplinary thinking assessments, the future of social studies education, and innovative teaching methods that incorporate movement to enhance student engagement. Session details follow:

NSSLA: “Breaking Down Content Silos through Disciplinary Thinking Assessments”
Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024 | 1:35-2:30 p.m.

During this session, Thinking Nation Executive Director Zachary Coté and Director of Curriculum Annie Jenson will lead a discussion exploring the critical role of disciplinary thinking common assessments in transforming school districts. By utilizing these assessments, districts can achieve vertical alignment and foster interdisciplinary collaboration, ensuring students develop a cohesive set of skills throughout their education. Attendees will learn how these assessments streamline and standardize data on student performance and provide objective insights into student learning across grades and subjects.

NCSS Vital Issues Session: “The State of Social Studies Education: What Our Many Voices Can Do Together”
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024 |9:10-10:10 a.m.

During this special session, featuring NCSS Interim Executive Director Anton Schulzki, iCivics Inc. CEO Louise Dubé, RAND Corporation Associate Policy Researcher Melissa Diliberti and Thinking Nation Executive Director Zachary Coté, panelists will discuss the current landscape of social studies education following the 2024 election. As our nation continues to navigate complex social and political issues, the need for strong social studies and civics education is more important than ever. These experts will address the essential role social studies plays in our society and how the field of social studies education can empower students to sustain and strengthen democracy while preparing them for an evolving economic landscape.

NCSS Session: “Movers and Shakers: Strategies for Teaching Historical Thinking Through Movement”
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024 | 4:35-5:00 p.m.

During this session led by Thinking Nation’s Director of Curriculum Annie Jenson, participants will learn innovative strategies for teaching historical thinking through movement-based activities that encourage students to think deeply and critically about content. Attendees will discover practical, collaboration-infused lesson ideas and templates that align with curriculum requirements while addressing adolescents’ developmental needs. This interactive approach fosters active learning and enhances classroom management by creating a student-centered, engaging environment that makes learning intellectually rigorous.

Visitors to the conferences can further explore these topics and meet Thinking Nation experts at exhibit booth #114.

Jenson added, “In our polarized climate, finding common ground can be more than a little challenging. That’s why I am truly looking forward to connecting and collaborating with fellow social studies leaders and educators at the NSSLA and NCSS conferences. These events offer incredible opportunities for professional growth, and I am eager to be reinspired and reenergized in our task of cultivating informed and engaged students. Thinking Nation is committed to advancing social studies education by providing educators with tools and strategies that cultivate critical thinking and inquiry skills among students. These presentations underscore Thinking Nation’s dedication to building a generation of informed and active citizens.”

For more information on Thinking Nation’s innovative approach to fostering historical thinking in social studies education, visit thinkingnation.org. To donate and support the organization’s work to transform social studies classrooms across the country, go to thinkingnation.org/donate.

About Thinking Nation
Thinking Nation is a national 501(c)(3) committed to empowering students through inquiry by transforming social studies education from content memorization to an historical thinking discipline. We believe that education is our greatest equalizer, and that every student, regardless of zip code or socio-economic background, deserves access to learning practices that reflect the diversity of identities, histories, contributions, and experiences to support enriched educational opportunity, equity, and success for all. Thinking Nation currently serves more than 35,000 students in 16 states and the District of Columbia. For more information about Thinking Nation or to become a part of this transformative initiative, please visit thinkingnation.org. 

Media Contacts
Laura Wessells and Martha Holler
ShinePR for Thinking Nation
ThinkingNation@shinepr.com

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SOURCE Thinking Nation

Tinuiti is the only agency to receive the highest possible score in the Media Planning criterion

NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Tinuiti, the largest independent full-funnel marketing agency across the media that matters most, has been named a ‘Strong Performer’ among the most significant media management services providers in The Forrester Wave™: Media Management Services, Q4 2024. The report cites Tinuiti’s “next best customer” approach and focus on business impact, assigning Tinuiti the highest possible scores in the Media Planning, Measurement and Attribution, and Pricing Flexibility and Transparency criteria.

Tinuiti attributes these scores to Tinuiti’s audience and media planning approach, TAPS, and Tinuiti’s proprietary measurement suite, Bliss Point by Tinuiti—which includes products such as Rapid Media Mix Modeling (rMMM), Incrementality, Forecasting, In-store Sales Lift, Creative Insights, and Brand Equity-as the platforms and process that have led to best-in-class- approach.

The report, authored by Jay Pattisall, Vice President, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, identified, researched, analyzed, and scored the 12 most significant digital global media management service providers via a 22-criterion evaluation assessing each provider’s Current Offering and Strategy.

Jeremy Cornfeldt, President at Tinuiti, said: “To deliver true full-funnel success, brands must combine deep channel expertise with sophisticated audience and media planning. Tinuiti is the only agency to receive the highest score in the Media Planning criterion, with the Forrester report citing “Tinuiti excels in media planning through a next best customer approach, powered in equal parts by its TAPS planning process and proprietary Bliss Point technology.” To us, this long-awaited Forrester Wave report reinforces Tinuiti’s commitment to ongoing innovation and evolution—and that’s exactly what we set out to demonstrate.”

Tinuiti received the highest scores possible (5/5) in three criteria:

Media planning: “Tinuiti excels in media planning through a ‘next best customer approach,’ powered in equal parts by its TAPS planning process and proprietary Bliss Point technology.”
Measurement and attribution: Our measurement suite, Bliss Point by Tinuiti, sits at the center of our strategic process and fuels our teams to recognize real-time insights and actions.
Pricing flexibility and transparency: “[Tinuiti] boasts a superior pricing model with performance-based, time-and-materials, and SaaS-fee commercial models.”

Officially unveiled earlier this year, Bliss Point by Tinuiti is a suite of patented measurement technology designed to help marketers achieve the optimal level of investment to maximize impact and efficiency. In conjunction with Bliss Point, TAPS, fuels an integrated marketing approach, working in lock-step with Rapid Media Mix Modeling (rMMM) to quantify the audience opportunity and consumer journey by driving upper-funnel success. Powered by TAPS, Tinuiti’s strategic process is a recursive cycle beginning with the highest-fidelity customer data, which is used to develop insights from existing customers. This enables optimized strategies and tactics across transaction, attention and persuasion, and collectively delivering the next best customer.

The report by Jay Pattisall, Vice President, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, said: “Tinuiti is a good fit for traditional enterprise brands applying growth marketing tactics and digital-native, direct-to-consumer brands entering measurable mass marketing.”

In the past five years, the agency has experienced tremendous growth, including three major transformations: a structural redesign to a client-centric model, new brand repositioning to reflect full-funnel capabilities and product-led approach, and the launch of Bliss Point by Tinuiti, the agency’s proprietary technology suite. During this period, Tinuiti’s Media Agency of Record revenue has tripled, proving that the agency’s product-driven, full-funnel performance model is exactly what brands need.

For four decades, Forrester Research has given business and technology leaders the information necessary to accelerate growth and make confident, informed decisions. Read The Forrester Wave™: Media Management Services, Q4 2024 here.

About Tinuiti
Tinuiti is the largest independent full-funnel marketing agency in the US across the media that matters most. Tinuiti has $4 billion in digital media under management and more than 1,200 employees. The agency’s patented tech, Bliss Point by Tinuiti, measures what marketers previously struggled to measure, delivering unprecedented clarity in today’s murky marketing world to get brands to their Marketing Bliss Point. Tinuiti’s product-led approach gives brands an edge in – and across – every channel. With industry-leading expertise in Commerce, Search, Social, TV, and more, Tinuiti drives meaningful, measurable business outcomes for brands. For more information visit https://tinuiti.com/.

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SOURCE Tinuiti