Increasing data enables new cooperation between industries

Optimization, automation and, thus, enhanced productivity are some of the best features of the recent technological progress. However, the benefits of the industrial internet are even more extensive as previously thought. Streamlining the current processes generally improves competitiveness, but the real revolution is already making its way. In the future, different kinds of services will be at the heart of the industrial internet. Using data in entirely new ways opens up possibilities for new business models, writes Matti Kemppainen, Director, Research and Innovation at Konecranes.

Until recently, it was widely thought that one of the biggest gains of the industrial internet would be the possibility to improve and develop maintenance services by making them more anticipatory, proactive and automatic. However, the real potential of the technological change is being revealed step by step, and, finally, the focus has turned to customers. Many actors in the field are now asking how the ever increasing amount of data could really benefit clients. In other words, how to convert the state-of-the-art knowledge and analytics into profitable business?

Principally, the mindset and approach should be broad enough. Overall, the combination of industry and data analytics helps in seeing the different pieces of the production as a unity. When the production of one part is lagging behind, an automatized analysis can immediately tell how this will affect the whole process. In other words, the industrial internet enables companies to react earlier and manage processes in an integrated way.

For example, in forestry there are numerous ways to improve productivity and even create new business by producing more and more data. The key is to extend the scope of analysis: certainly, the data coming from forestry equipment is important for ensuring smooth, reliable and proactive maintenance. Nonetheless, the analytical system should include larger processes as well.

In practice, one should constantly think about how the data would best serve the contractor operating in the field. What kind of information do we need when working in the forest? Are we lacking something crucial? What kind of bottlenecks are there in production and could these be overcome by improved scheduling, for instance? Generally, the industrial internet enables actors to react earlier and manage processes in an integrated way. In a way, the only limit is the imagination – or the lack of innovative partnerships, as addressed below.

Cooperation creates new business

To make the most of the ongoing industrial revolution, even the most leading companies need to find new partners. The reason is clear, since the same data can be insignificant for one and valuable for another. In other words, the data serves as a way of making new co-operation relationships, and thus, the ever increasing amount of data should be seen as fruitful ground for cooperation and new business models.

What kind of alliances will be formed in the future? Let us take the forestry as an imaginary example once again. Clearly, a forestry machine could easily collect data from soil. Soil tests and analytics could be quite far away from the ordinary forester’s job description, but the collected information could be valuable for some other actor. These partnerships create completely new possibilities and business models, enabled by the industrial internet.

At the moment there are only a few examples of integrated data services, because industries and products are so diverse. Clearly, this development makes room for more open interfaces and standards of the industrial internet. In any case, some intelligent techniques will emerge, and at some point there will certainly be a leading technical solution.

Open source vs. closed systems

In addition to the topics discussed above, there is an interesting development going on concerning the openness of the data. Should industrial companies provide their data as openly as possible? There is no consensual point of view regarding whether or not companies should put a price tag on their data. However, an open access is worth considering, also in terms of business. As said above, the same piece of information can be worthless for one company, but valuable for others, and that is how sharing data can lead to the creation of mutually beneficial new businesses. Data could, of course, be partly open as well. For example, if customers were able to troubleshoot on their own via some intelligent mechanism, it would greatly streamline the maintenance services, since the spare part would be sent to the customer automatically. This would increase productivity and also make small contracts more profitable.

Needless to say, sharing information and data for free is not everyone’s cup of tea. Some companies might be reluctant to provide complimentary information if there is no immediate benefit to be gained. Nonetheless, there is a growing need to standardize the information flow, since both factories and customers are asking for more and more information for their own use.

In the era of the industrial internet, making use of the data is rather simple. For example, in case of an error, one must first define the situation and then build an algorithm that finds the repetitive sequence. Due to the massive data flow there is a vast technological memory that helps solving unexpected problems. This saves lots of time and helps to forecast more serious problems: ten years ago there simply was not enough data to be analyzed, and the present condition of the device was the only reference.

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