GE starts up global remote monitoring iCenter in Kuala Lumpur

Company chairman and chief executive Jeffrey Immelt inaugurated its so-called iCenter in Kuala Lumpur last week. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Idris Jala, US Ambassador to Malaysia Joseph Yun, and deputy chief executive of Malaysia Investment Development Authority Phang Ah Tong, also attended the event.

Manned by six diagnosis software engineers, the iCenter in KL is one of the three global centres strategically set up in different time zones (the others are in Florence, Italy, and Houston, USA) to provide real-time monitoring and diagnostic services to GE’s installed fleet of more than 800 gas turbines and compressors at its customers’ premises in 27 countries worldwide.

Visal Leng, general manager for GE’s oil and gas business in Asia Pacific, said prior to the launch of iCenter, services were done on-site and data associated with the machines stayed at the customers’ premises.

“But our aim is not to replace our resident engineers at the sites, it is complementary to the on-site service we traditionally provide,” he said.

At present, less than 5 per cent of GE’s customers in the Asia-Pacific are connected to the iCenters, but Leng said he believed the coverage would reach nearly 100 per cent in the next 5-10 years. 

“Some still do the diagnostic on-site, some will take time to adapt, some will prefer to do it in-house, some machines might not be critical [to justify the remote service], but I believe, eventually the coverage will be almost 100 per cent,” he said.

Immelt said the combination of machine with sensors or other control devices that can capture performance of the machine and the analytic software that can process this huge amount of “big data” into useful information, set a new evolution that will reshape the industrial world.

“Believe me, this ‘industrial Internet’ will be one of the big drivers of the world economy in the 21st century,” he said.

The GE chief believes connectivity in the industrial sector, enabled by the integration of analytics software and “smart” machines, will create a major impact for its industrial customers.

“For example, if we can save 1 per cent of fuel, it means US$3 billion profit for the airlines industry.

“In the new era, productivity will be driven by industrial Internet,” he said.

MIDA’s deputy CEO, Phang Ah Tong, said Malaysia remains the top revenue generator for GE in Asean with growth of 51 per cent in orders, 23 per cent increase in revenue and a record backlog of more than $10 billion in 2013.

“We are indeed privileged that GE continues to choose Malaysia to be the home of its high value-added activities,” he said.

Leng said GE had not chosen Thailand as a location for its iCenter because the country did not “position aggressively” as Malaysia did, to be a regional hub for the oil and gas industry. 

“PTT does fantastic jobs … it has invested in Australia and outside Thailand. But we don’t see such coordination between PTT, the government and the industry,” he said.

Other factors drawing them to Malaysia included its talent pool and GE’s larger presence in the country’s oil and gas sector.

According to GE’s statement released at the iCenter launch, the company is on track to deliver more than $1 billion in incremental revenue this year from 40 industrial Internet offerings, with $1.3 billion in orders, that are designed to help its customers improve their asset performance management and business operations. The company also used the venue to launch its “Predictivity” industrial Internet solutions for the Asia-Pacific market at the event.