Post-Annual Meeting Reflections: Driving Innovation Through Disruption

Last week we held our 18th Annual Meeting in Florence, Italy, with the theme of ‘disruption.’ We talked about how it comes in lots of forms – human, industrial and digital – and how GE is working across all three.

Our approach to product development is a great example. Traditionally, companies design products and solutions they think their customers will want … but they forget to ask up front. Today, we’re working side-by-side with our customers to come up with smart, cost-effective technology that actually meets their specific needs. In an approach we call FastWorks, we are co-creating, testing, iterating and achieving faster, new product introductions. This collaborative approach is bringing more fulfillment to our engineers and technologists who also deepen the relationship they have with our customers.

Through conversations at the conference and from the expertise and perspective shared by globally-recognized speakers on our stage, it’s clear that people accept it’s going to take ‘disruption’ to solve the challenges we are faced with in our sector.

That trend of producers and suppliers working together was discussed by GE Chairman and CEO, Jeff Immelt, during a fireside chat with BP’s Chief Executive, Bob Dudley. They shared insights on  the partnership we announced in November. We launched a pilot program to put GE's Plant Operations Advisor (POA) software into one of BP’s biggest offshore oil production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. The program was developed hand-in-hand with BP and tailored to meet their needs. It will improve the efficiency, reliability and safety of their oil and gas operations and – subject to the pilot’s success - POA can be brought to BP facilities around the world. It would be our biggest deployment of GE’s Predix-powered APM technology to date.

Last week in Florence, we also announced a technology cooperation agreement with Total, to introduce new additive manufacturing techniques to the production of centrifugal pump impellers in our facility in Bari, Italy. We also showcased many of our new digital technologies. Many - like unmanned aerial vehicles or drones, wearable tech and 3D printing - were once labelled ‘consumer gadgets’ but they were really well-received by customers who could see the training, testing and servicing benefits for their operations.

And let’s not forget about the GE Store — our unique means of sharing technology, research and expertise across our many businesses. The LM9000 – the most powerful aeroderivative gas turbine ever made – is a terrific example. It was designed to power massive Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plants, but it evolved from proven GE Aviation technology, based on the GE90 jet engine. Proof that when it comes to getting the most out of cross-industry collaboration, the sky is the limit!

Look, we know our industry is going to go through more ups and downs. We also know we need to focus on what we can control. We are on the road to recovery but NOW is the time to disrupt how we work, so that, together, we build a sustainable future that meets the world’s energy needs.