A Global Leader in Construction and Mining Equipment Integrated AI-powered Automation

V G • Nov 05,2024

Summary:

By leveraging cloud-based AI, a multinational manufacturing firm not only optimized equipment performance but also enhanced safety, compliance, and decision-making. 

Client: 

Komatsu Ltd. is a Japanese industrial manufacturing firm headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and founded in 1902.

Problem Statement: 

Komatsu, a global leader in construction and mining equipment, has long focused on efficiency, sustainability, and productivity in its operations. To address the increasing demand for innovation and automation in heavy industries, Komatsu has turned to AI and cloud technology. The company recognized that integrating AI-powered automation into their ecosystem could significantly improve operations by reducing equipment downtime, enhancing predictive maintenance, and enabling real-time data-driven decisions. 

 

Results: 

  • Comprehensive visibility across the entire tech stack.
  • Minimized user complaints, bringing support tickets down to just 10 per year.
  • Reduced overall cloud spend to more than USD 650,000.
  • Reduced financial and environmental waste.
  • Saved 33% or more on server run rates.
  • Maintained strong performance levels while cutting expenses.
  • Enabled Komatsu’s IT team to dedicate more time to strategic initiatives and innovation.

AI Solution Overview:

Komatsu turned to the IBM Turbonomic hybrid cloud cost optimization solution to streamline its resource allocation process. With Turbonomic’s full-stack visibility, the Komatsu team can now rapidly evaluate potential performance risks and determine the best way to reallocate resources to address those risks without affecting performance in other areas of their technology stack.

This full-stack visibility marked the start of Komatsu’s journey to consistently maintain performance while controlling costs. The next phase involved implementing Turbonomic’s AI-driven resource recommendations. Initially, the team manually executed these recommendations, quickly discovering that Turbonomic’s guidance went beyond short-term fixes or isolated improvements. Since Turbonomic assessed Komatsu’s entire tech stack, its recommendations helped enhance performance across all system layers. With this success, the team moved toward exploring automation.

Currently, Komatsu combines automation and manual execution of resource recommendations. The team primarily depends on Turbonomic’s automated resource management in Azure to optimize servers, storage, and databases. Turbonomic offers real-time suggestions for resource reallocation, which the team executes within predetermined time windows to minimize business impact. Following positive results with automated resourcing actions, Komatsu now relies on Turbonomic to handle most resource adjustments autonomously, with minimal need for IT team involvement.

References: 

  1. Komatsu implements AI-powered automation in the public cloud. https://www.ibm.com/case-studies/komatsu

Industry: Construction

Vendor: IBM

Client: Komatsu Ltd.

Publication Date: 2023

 

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