AI powers Husqvarna’s smart factory transformation

Husqvarna is harnessing generative AI to revolutionize factory floor troubleshooting with its AI Factory Companion, developed in partnership with Microsoft. The 336-year-old Swedish manufacturer, which evolved from musket production to outdoor power products and construction equipment, has created an intelligent system that helps technicians diagnose machine problems more efficiently. This innovation addresses the critical challenge of reducing unplanned downtime by democratizing troubleshooting knowledge that was previously concentrated among experienced workers or siloed across different departments.

The big picture: Husqvarna’s AI Factory Companion leverages Microsoft Copilot to help technicians quickly diagnose and resolve equipment issues on factory floors that operate around the clock.

• The system allows operators to describe symptoms a machine is experiencing, after which it suggests diagnostic tests and potential solutions.
• By accessing data generated by machinery, maintenance histories, and technical documentation across departmental silos, the companion bridges critical knowledge gaps between experienced and newer personnel.

Why this matters: Manufacturing downtime is extremely costly, and troubleshooting has historically been dependent on experienced technicians who aren’t always available, especially during night shifts.

• The AI solution democratizes troubleshooting expertise that was previously confined to veteran employees with 20+ years of experience.
• It transforms Husqvarna’s 24/7 operations by providing consistent troubleshooting support even when the most knowledgeable technicians are off-shift.

How it works: The AI Factory Companion uses retrieval augmented generation (RAG) to access and synthesize information from multiple knowledge sources that were previously disconnected.

• When operators describe a problem, the system can query its knowledge base of manuals, maintenance records, and machine-generated data to formulate solutions.
• The companion can also work proactively—when machinery issues an alarm, it can automatically trigger the AI to analyze potential diagnoses and solutions before an operator even requests help.

Behind the numbers: Manufacturing has traditionally relied on paper or PDF manuals and siloed record-keeping systems across IT, operations, and maintenance departments, creating inefficiencies during troubleshooting scenarios.

• According to Jonathan Wickström, Husqvarna’s manufacturing digitalization lead, the company’s machines sometimes stop due to IT outages documented in separate incident management systems from other maintenance records.
• By unifying these disparate data sources, the AI companion creates a more comprehensive troubleshooting resource than was previously possible with manual methods.