EO Interview with Wang Jin of GETECH | Industrial Internet Approaches Its 'Emergence' Moment of Value
In December last year, the second China Industrial Internet Competition concluded perfectly. GETECH won the second national prize with its 'Semiconductor Manufacturing R2R Ultimate Quality Control Solution'. After the competition, EO conducted an exclusive interview with Dr. Wang Jin, the team leader of GETECH, discussing unique insights and in-depth thoughts on the development of the industrial internet, as well as the underlying logic behind GETECH's 'hit products'. The following is the interview content.
I. The Core Value of Industrial Internet Lies in Building a Foundation for Global Optimization
Around 2018, the wind of industrial internet blew into China. Driven by the Chinese government's 'Industrial Internet Development Action Plan (2018-2020)' and a series of top-level policies like 'New Infrastructure', the attention and capital investment in industrial internet have been rapidly increasing.
With the continuous integration and evolution of industrial internet in China, its concepts, models, and values have greatly expanded. In fact, even before 2018, many demands had sporadically emerged within China's manufacturing system, such as remote operation and maintenance, machine networking, and factory digitalization, but they lacked a unified 'name'. Today, solutions meeting these demands are more comprehensively and standardly carried by the industrial internet.
Wang Jin, Chief Smart Manufacturing Consultant of GETECH, stated in an exclusive interview with EO: 'The Chinese industrial internet market is still in its early stages. Although it has developed for 3-5 years, the overall number of connections is still insufficient. The industrial internet must connect people, objects, data, and systems. The more connections, the greater the explosive value. This is similar to Metcalfe's Law: when the number of connected nodes in a network exceeds a certain threshold, the network will unleash tremendous energy. So, we must wait.'
Regarding the huge energy that the industrial internet network may unleash, EO Intelligence predicted the ultimate value of industrial internet in the '2020 Industrial Internet Industry Research Report', stating that it will bring at least three major disruptive changes:
From a production model perspective, it can truly achieve C2M, real-time response, real-time allocation of capacity and materials, and rapid adaptation of production line processes with multiple batches and links conducted simultaneously. From a sales model perspective, traditional manufacturing focuses on selling products, while future manufacturing enterprises will primarily sell services, such as a SaaS-like manufacturing service model providing 'clothing-making services'. From an organizational model perspective, traditional manufacturing involves a large number of workers performing repetitive mechanical tasks, while future manufacturing will only consist of advanced positions like engineers, data analysts, and on-site maintenance personnel.
How these emerging model changes are transmitted through the industrial internet is more representatively explained by Dr. Wang Jin: 'Previously, informatization and digitalization work in Chinese manufacturing was based on local optimization ideas. For example, PLM, ERP, SCM, and CRM each managed a certain segment of manufacturing. The industrial internet connects the management systems of the entire company or even the industry, opening up a huge optimization space. This is the greatest value of the industrial internet.'
'It’s like a bottle first filled with large stones but still having space for sand. After the sand is filled, water can still be poured in. Traditional informatization systems are the large stones, digitalization is the sand, and the industrial internet is the water—it can expose more undiscovered optimization spaces.'
In the world of industrial internet, information and data will flow like water within the manufacturing system. When the scale effect of the industrial internet emerges, the innovative value it brings will 'emerge'. Wang Jin believes that we are approaching this 'emergence' moment.
II. GETECH's 'Geek Spirit' and 'Hit Products'
Their project was the 'Semiconductor Manufacturing R2R Ultimate Quality Control Solution'. R2R (Run-to-Run) is a method of nonlinear variable control that uses data from previous production processes, production environments, and product measurements to feedback and optimize the technical parameters of subsequent process recipes. Simply put, 'Run' here refers to batches in the production process, and through optimization algorithms, the equipment on the production line is continuously kept in the optimal production state.
The goals of R2R are threefold: ensuring process stability and consistency, reducing the impact of external factors on the process, and guaranteeing controlled quality fluctuations and stable production variations. In manufacturing fields with extreme demands for production efficiency and yield rates, such solutions are core to vitality. This project also won the second prize in the second China Industrial Internet Competition.
The R2R solution was first applied in semiconductor manufacturing. Under the extreme pressure of Moore's Law, semiconductor production faces two major pain points: improving yield rates and shortening delivery times due to complex processes, numerous steps, difficulty in quality control, and high trial-and-error costs. Specific issues include uneven film thickness at the edge of wafers within a single batch and uneven average film thickness per wafer across multiple batches.
'Now, investing in a semiconductor enterprise requires, for example, over 70 billion yuan, but it is fully depreciated in 5 years. This means that if production stops for one hour, a single machine loses 5,000 yuan. Therefore, enterprises certainly hope that their high-end equipment can operate 7x24 hours uninterruptedly with high quality and stability.'
Wang Jin told EO: 'The industrial internet is a neural center that detects poor conditions of these equipment at any time and adjusts them to the best state. This is much more efficient than previous manual debugging based on experience. Currently, it can reduce manual debugging from at least 2 hours to 30 seconds automatically, with much higher accuracy than manual methods. This will bring huge real economic benefits.'
The R2R solution can be considered a hit product since GETECH's establishment three years ago. In addition, GETECH has invested technical efforts in several core products, such as the Dongzhi Multi-Factor Analysis Modeling Tool MFA, Equipment Health Management EHM, Energy Optimization Management EMS, and Dongzhi Tianshu AI Visual Inspection System.
Behind the logic of hit products lies a true understanding, abstraction, modeling, and application of industry scenarios, catalyzed by the 'geek spirit'. 'Take the R2R solution, for example. We didn’t even promote it; people in the semiconductor field came to us for promotion and implementation.' Truly discovering problems from global optimization and truly using the industrial internet to solve problems are the underlying supporting logic of hit products.
Of course, beyond hit products, relying on the Dongzhi Industrial Application Intelligence Platform, GETECH has also built a '4+1+6' core product strategy to meet various industrial scenario needs. This includes four core platforms—Industrial IoT Platform, Industrial Big Data Platform, AI Platform, and Poros Platform; one enabling middle platform—an APaaS platform for OT; and six intelligent applications—Manufacturing Operations Management MOM, Equipment Health Management EHM, Energy Management System EMS, Quality Process Optimization, Machine Vision Inspection, and Supply Chain Optimization—providing customers with comprehensive end-to-end services and挖掘ing the value of industrial data.
Currently, GETECH's solutions have achieved significant success in TCL CSOT's factory areas. In the future, they will focus on promoting four major industries: semiconductor, new energy, 3C electronics, and petrochemical industries.
On one hand, due to GETECH's origins and foundation in TCL, the company has long-term practical experience and mature solutions in high-end manufacturing, enabling it to continuously create 'hit products'. On the other hand, based on the previous analysis, the logic of global optimization of the industrial internet applies to industries with a certain foundation in informatization, which also have high demands for production efficiency and are in a phase of high growth. The economic value brought by efficiency improvements is substantial enough. The semiconductor, new energy, and 3C industries are the best choices after screening.
III. Firmly Optimistic About China's Industrial Internet Market, Committed to Becoming the Google of the Industrial Internet
GETECH's goal is to become the Google of the industrial internet. In the upcoming era of the industrial internet where value is about to 'emerge', GETECH relies on its geek team, strong foundation, and deep business understanding to传递 the 'spark' in the hearts of China's industrial practitioners.
I. The Core Value of Industrial Internet Lies in Building a Foundation for Global Optimization
Around 2018, the wind of industrial internet blew into China. Driven by the Chinese government's 'Industrial Internet Development Action Plan (2018-2020)' and a series of top-level policies like 'New Infrastructure', the attention and capital investment in industrial internet have been rapidly increasing.
With the continuous integration and evolution of industrial internet in China, its concepts, models, and values have greatly expanded. In fact, even before 2018, many demands had sporadically emerged within China's manufacturing system, such as remote operation and maintenance, machine networking, and factory digitalization, but they lacked a unified 'name'. Today, solutions meeting these demands are more comprehensively and standardly carried by the industrial internet.
Wang Jin, Chief Smart Manufacturing Consultant of GETECH, stated in an exclusive interview with EO: 'The Chinese industrial internet market is still in its early stages. Although it has developed for 3-5 years, the overall number of connections is still insufficient. The industrial internet must connect people, objects, data, and systems. The more connections, the greater the explosive value. This is similar to Metcalfe's Law: when the number of connected nodes in a network exceeds a certain threshold, the network will unleash tremendous energy. So, we must wait.'
Regarding the huge energy that the industrial internet network may unleash, EO Intelligence predicted the ultimate value of industrial internet in the '2020 Industrial Internet Industry Research Report', stating that it will bring at least three major disruptive changes:
From a production model perspective, it can truly achieve C2M, real-time response, real-time allocation of capacity and materials, and rapid adaptation of production line processes with multiple batches and links conducted simultaneously. From a sales model perspective, traditional manufacturing focuses on selling products, while future manufacturing enterprises will primarily sell services, such as a SaaS-like manufacturing service model providing 'clothing-making services'. From an organizational model perspective, traditional manufacturing involves a large number of workers performing repetitive mechanical tasks, while future manufacturing will only consist of advanced positions like engineers, data analysts, and on-site maintenance personnel.
How these emerging model changes are transmitted through the industrial internet is more representatively explained by Dr. Wang Jin: 'Previously, informatization and digitalization work in Chinese manufacturing was based on local optimization ideas. For example, PLM, ERP, SCM, and CRM each managed a certain segment of manufacturing. The industrial internet connects the management systems of the entire company or even the industry, opening up a huge optimization space. This is the greatest value of the industrial internet.'
'It’s like a bottle first filled with large stones but still having space for sand. After the sand is filled, water can still be poured in. Traditional informatization systems are the large stones, digitalization is the sand, and the industrial internet is the water—it can expose more undiscovered optimization spaces.'
In the world of industrial internet, information and data will flow like water within the manufacturing system. When the scale effect of the industrial internet emerges, the innovative value it brings will 'emerge'. Wang Jin believes that we are approaching this 'emergence' moment.
II. GETECH's 'Geek Spirit' and 'Hit Products'
Their project was the 'Semiconductor Manufacturing R2R Ultimate Quality Control Solution'. R2R (Run-to-Run) is a method of nonlinear variable control that uses data from previous production processes, production environments, and product measurements to feedback and optimize the technical parameters of subsequent process recipes. Simply put, 'Run' here refers to batches in the production process, and through optimization algorithms, the equipment on the production line is continuously kept in the optimal production state.
The goals of R2R are threefold: ensuring process stability and consistency, reducing the impact of external factors on the process, and guaranteeing controlled quality fluctuations and stable production variations. In manufacturing fields with extreme demands for production efficiency and yield rates, such solutions are core to vitality. This project also won the second prize in the second China Industrial Internet Competition.
The R2R solution was first applied in semiconductor manufacturing. Under the extreme pressure of Moore's Law, semiconductor production faces two major pain points: improving yield rates and shortening delivery times due to complex processes, numerous steps, difficulty in quality control, and high trial-and-error costs. Specific issues include uneven film thickness at the edge of wafers within a single batch and uneven average film thickness per wafer across multiple batches.
'Now, investing in a semiconductor enterprise requires, for example, over 70 billion yuan, but it is fully depreciated in 5 years. This means that if production stops for one hour, a single machine loses 5,000 yuan. Therefore, enterprises certainly hope that their high-end equipment can operate 7x24 hours uninterruptedly with high quality and stability.'
Wang Jin told EO: 'The industrial internet is a neural center that detects poor conditions of these equipment at any time and adjusts them to the best state. This is much more efficient than previous manual debugging based on experience. Currently, it can reduce manual debugging from at least 2 hours to 30 seconds automatically, with much higher accuracy than manual methods. This will bring huge real economic benefits.'
The R2R solution can be considered a hit product since GETECH's establishment three years ago. In addition, GETECH has invested technical efforts in several core products, such as the Dongzhi Multi-Factor Analysis Modeling Tool MFA, Equipment Health Management EHM, Energy Optimization Management EMS, and Dongzhi Tianshu AI Visual Inspection System.
Behind the logic of hit products lies a true understanding, abstraction, modeling, and application of industry scenarios, catalyzed by the 'geek spirit'. 'Take the R2R solution, for example. We didn’t even promote it; people in the semiconductor field came to us for promotion and implementation.' Truly discovering problems from global optimization and truly using the industrial internet to solve problems are the underlying supporting logic of hit products.
Of course, beyond hit products, relying on the Dongzhi Industrial Application Intelligence Platform, GETECH has also built a '4+1+6' core product strategy to meet various industrial scenario needs. This includes four core platforms—Industrial IoT Platform, Industrial Big Data Platform, AI Platform, and Poros Platform; one enabling middle platform—an APaaS platform for OT; and six intelligent applications—Manufacturing Operations Management MOM, Equipment Health Management EHM, Energy Management System EMS, Quality Process Optimization, Machine Vision Inspection, and Supply Chain Optimization—providing customers with comprehensive end-to-end services and挖掘ing the value of industrial data.
Currently, GETECH's solutions have achieved significant success in TCL CSOT's factory areas. In the future, they will focus on promoting four major industries: semiconductor, new energy, 3C electronics, and petrochemical industries.
On one hand, due to GETECH's origins and foundation in TCL, the company has long-term practical experience and mature solutions in high-end manufacturing, enabling it to continuously create 'hit products'. On the other hand, based on the previous analysis, the logic of global optimization of the industrial internet applies to industries with a certain foundation in informatization, which also have high demands for production efficiency and are in a phase of high growth. The economic value brought by efficiency improvements is substantial enough. The semiconductor, new energy, and 3C industries are the best choices after screening.
III. Firmly Optimistic About China's Industrial Internet Market, Committed to Becoming the Google of the Industrial Internet
GETECH's goal is to become the Google of the industrial internet. In the upcoming era of the industrial internet where value is about to 'emerge', GETECH relies on its geek team, strong foundation, and deep business understanding to传递 the 'spark' in the hearts of China's industrial practitioners.
