The Carraro Group accelerates its digital transformation path thanks to artificial intelligence 

The Carraro Group, world leader in the production of transmissions for off-highway vehicles and specialised tractors, has started in recent years a profound digital transformation of its production and management processes, with the aim of progressively eliminating the inefficiencies of an analogic information management system and exploiting the potential offered by the IT infrastructure. 

Within this path, and in the perspective of taking a step forward in this direction, the Group has activated a collaboration with SMACT – a competence centre and innovation ecosystem with a high specialisation in the Triveneto area – which has allowed to finance and start two innovation projects, industrial research and experimental development, now activated in collaboration with Ca’ Foscari University (Venice). 

Enrico Carraro, Chairman of the Group (below), commented: “Within our digital transformation path, we decided to focus on the processes, accelerating the evolutionary path in progress. For this reason, we joined SMACT, a centre of excellence in the field of 4.0 innovation. We are very satisfied with the first steps we are taking and we intend to continue in this direction.” 

More in detail, the two projects, both based on artificial intelligence, are:

• ASK (Ai-driven Search in Knowledge base), which aims at enabling natural language analysis of all the information assets of the Group, composed of shared documents, corporate wiki, structured help desk systems and other available data sources. The project involves the construction of a repository of raw and structured data, which can be queried and searched in an intuitive and natural way by users, without the need to learn complex commands or syntax. The system will also be multilingual, supporting various languages both in the query and in the answer phase, in line with the international vocation of Carraro Group.

• ReFAInE (Redesign of Factory Artificial Intelligence Environments), aimed at making the current Carraro MES evolve in a smarter way (Manufacturing Execution System) through a transition process towards a digital factory management system, developing a solution based on advanced artificial intelligence. The project involves the redesign of the Carraro Group’s information environment in order to allow the creation of a uniform and real-time updated database, connected to the machine tools and fed by automatic measurement systems, environmental sensors and material characteristics.

These two projects represent an important step in the digital transformation path of the Group, which today also relies on artificial intelligence to delegate to technology the activities with lower added value, focusing on continuous improvement in the quality and efficiency of processes, products and services within a global context that is increasingly dynamic and complex. 

At the same time as this, a process of technological awareness (and training) was launched within the Group with a specific focus on artificial intelligence, involving management at the forefront (which has already had the opportunity to participate in the first stage organized by Ca’ Foscari in days in Campodarsego) as well as the Digital Enablers present in any company area, key figures to guarantee the adequate dissemination of a new digital culture.