Notilyze wins SAS Hackathon with solution for CO2 reduction in the food industry

SAS Hackathon winner enables food manufacturers to optimize the production process, reduce energy consumption and combat food waste.

Huizen, 23 juni 2022 –  Notilyze, the Netherlands, supplier of Analytics-as-a-Service, has won the global SAS Hackathon with a case for automating and improving processes within the food industry. The Notilyze team has developed a SAS add-on for the hai app together with HAI smart4industries software. This innovation improves food quality, reduces waste, facilitates optimization of energy consumption and predicts maintenance.

The food industry faces all kinds of challenges, such as a severe labor shortage, price increases due to raw material shortages, crop failures and high transport and energy costs. In addition, the food industry is working hard to reduce emissions and this requires large investments. These challenges require continuous monitoring of processes. The Notilyze team therefore decided to focus on developing an innovative solution to the problems facing the food industry.

Insights tool for sustainability and optimization
Using SAS Viya and SAS Event Stream Processing software, Notilyze has developed a Manufacturing Insights tool that can be used as an add-on to the existing hai-app. This application focuses on process and quality control. During the SAS Hackathon, this combination was applied to data from a distillation process in a Dutch factory. The add-on enables advanced statistical monitoring and forecasting models within the hai-app. The software enables users to analyze all dimensions that may cause problems, such as CO2 production, energy consumption, disruptions in the data due to blockages and shutdowns. The add-on provides insight into managing energy consumption and helps to optimize production processes.

“The purpose of the SAS Hackathon is to bring smart minds from different backgrounds together to create a commercially viable solution to business and humanitarian problems. It is a learning experience, incubator and testing ground for bringing innovative ideas to market worldwide” , says Einar Halvorsen, Global Hackathon Lead at SAS.

“The SAS Hackathon is a project that the whole team is looking forward to. Working together on a real problem, with social impact, and the use of the latest techniques are a huge challenge for our employees. I am very proud of the result and the team. We are very enthusiastic about the impact in the market that we will achieve with SAS and HAI with this solution in the coming period”, says Colin Nugteren Co-Founder of Notilyze.

SAS Hackathons breeding ground for innovation
On June 22, Notilyze was again named one of the winners of the SAS Hackathon. The more than 100 expert judges awarded a total of 13 teams for their innovative solutions in different industries, technologies and regions. This is the third year in a row that Notilyze is participating, this year for the first time in the Manufacturing category. The Notilyze team was awarded two prizes. In 2020, they won the competition by developing a model that maps the essential humanitarian facilities of refugee camps.

The global SAS Hackathon is all about finding software solutions for important societal and business challenges. Hackathon teams composed of data scientists, technology enthusiasts and visionaries collaborated with experts and SAS mentors to address major business challenges at government agencies and universities worldwide.

The Hackathon encourages innovation and allows teams to experiment with the latest analytics, AI, cloud and open source technology. Microsoft - the sponsor of the event - and SAS provided an integrated solution for innovation. The hackathon participants were able to use SAS-Viya on Microsoft to build automated systems, models and more.

“The SAS Hackathon offers solutions to today's problems. Whether assessing flood risks for real estate at banks, optimizing sustainable transportation in Madrid or creating AI models for the world's largest companies, the Hackathon winners deploying SAS technology in ways that inspired our judges,” said Peter Lundqvist, Global Hackathon Program Manager at SAS.

More information about the winners of the SAS Hackathon can be found at: https://www.sas.com/sas/events/hackathon.html and follow the #SAShackathon on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

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