A GE Vernova solutions expert’s pursuit: Using Proficy CSense to help Chinese factories bid farewell to “unexpected downtime.”

(Feature Story) – Behind the podium at the Dalian seminar, Mr. YU Siyuan, Solution Architecture Director, Asia Pacific at GE Vernova, resembles an experienced “industrial doctor.” His “stethoscope” is the sensors, his “medical record” is vast volumes of industrial data, and his “prescription pad” is an industrial AI analysis platform called Proficy CSense. His mission is to “read the pulse” of Chinese factories and equipment, prescribing “preventive medicine” before failures occur.

A Conceptual Leap from “Firefighting” to “Fire Prevention”

“I’ve seen too many scenes where a single critical equipment failure paralyzes an entire production line, with general managers, plant managers, and engineers running around in a panic,” Mr. Yu said in an interview, describing the pain points of countless manufacturing companies. “This ‘firefighting’ mode of operation is not only exhausting but also comes at a huge economic cost to the enterprise.”

He mentioned that the cost of an unplanned shutdown goes far beyond the repair parts themselves; it includes production losses, penalties for delayed delivery, employee overtime, and most importantly—the loss of customer trust. It is this pain point that drives him and his team to promote the concept and solutions of predictive maintenance.

“Our work is to help customers change from ‘firefighters’ to ‘fire preventers.’ Proficy CSense is our ‘early fire warning system‘,” Mr. Yu explained the value of his work with a vivid metaphor.

CSense: A Platform to “Replicate” Expert Experience

Mr. Yu believes that the most valuable assets in many factories are the veteran engineers who have worked for decades. They can judge potential equipment problems by listening to sounds, feeling temperature, and observing phenomena. But this experience is tacit, difficult to replicate, and can disappear when these veterans retire.

“A core value of the CSense platform is to transform this tacit expert experience into explicit, reusable algorithmic models,” he said, his eyes shining with a technologist’s passion. “Through the platform, we translate the veteran’s experience that ‘a dull vibration sound may indicate insufficient bearing lubrication’ into a precise algorithm: ‘increased energy in the low-frequency band of the vibration spectrum, 85% match with the bearing fault.’ This way, even a novice can make expert-level judgments guided by the system.”

He detailed the successful metallurgy case study, which was not only a technological victory but also of human-machine collaboration. The company’s process engineers collaborated with GE experts to use the CSense platform to solidify their deep understanding of the anode furnace process into an efficient predictive model. “This model now guards that furnace 24/7. That engineer can now research more cutting-edge process optimization; his knowledge has been sublimated and liberated.”

The Role of the “Architect”: Connecting Technology and Scenario

As a “Solutions Architect,” Mr. Yu’s job is far more than selling software. He needs to go deep into customers’ factories, understand their processes, their pain points, their fears, and expectations.

“Every factory is unique. We can’t go looking for nails with a hammer,” he said. “My role is that of a translator and connector—between the powerful technical capabilities of CSense on one side and the complex specific scenarios of the customer on the other. I need to translate the customer’s business language (‘I don’t want to produce waste anymore’) into technical language (‘we need to build a PCA-based quality deviation model’) and design the most suitable architecture to implement it.”

This process requires empathy, patience, and profound interdisciplinary knowledge. He must win the trust of field engineers, make them believe in the power of data, and also help management understand the long-term return on this investment.

Looking Ahead: Making Technology “Accessible and Usable” for More Companies

Looking to the future, Mr. Yu stated that GE Vernova’s goal is to make predictive maintenance technology more inclusive. “Through our cloud-edge synergy architecture and low-code design, we are continuously lowering the barrier to application. In the past, this might have been a game for large state-owned enterprises. Now, we hope to enable more small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises to use it, afford it, and use it well.”

He believes that as technology matures and becomes more widespread, predictive maintenance will become the “standard” in the industrial field. “I hope that in the future, Chinese manufacturing enterprises can completely bid farewell to the nightmare of ‘unexpected downtime.’ When every engineer can skillfully use data tools to ‘read the pulse’ of equipment, the quality and efficiency of ‘Made in China’ will reach .”

This is the simple wish of an industrial “architect”: to use the power of technology to guard every step forward for Chinese manufacturing.