All news

A New Business Opportunity Can Be Found by Using Existing Data in a New Way

A New Business Opportunity Can Be Found by Using Existing Data in a New Way

Remion’s CEO Jukka Kivimäki and Konecranes’ Matti Lehto, Director, Product Lifecycle, shared multiple perspectives on the business potential of IoT at the Aalto University DigiTwin workshop on September 17, 2019. The workshop is part of the DigiTwin project organized by Aalto University together with Konecranes, Remion, and other partner companies, and funded by Business Finland. The goal of the project is to strengthen the ecosystem built around digital twins in Finland.

We asked Matti Lehto how Konecranes has utilized IoT and digital twins so far in its global crane business, and how he sees their business potential both within the company and in Finnish industry more broadly. At the same time, we discussed the new opportunities created by digital twins.

Finding New Perspectives at the Edges of Core Business

Konecranes has been utilizing IoT and building IoT-based business for several years. Like Remion, Konecranes is also involved in the DigiTwin project by Aalto University and Business Finland, where, among other things, a digital twin of a crane has been developed.

According to Matti Lehto, from a business perspective, the most feasible ideas for applying digital twins or IoT emerge when staying close to existing business and searching for new business ideas at its edges.

“A business opportunity can be found by using data that has already been collected in a slightly different way than before. That brings you closer to practical value.”

In a hypothetical example, Lehto describes a crane moving high above a factory floor. Combined with a thermal camera, it could be used to detect the early stages of fires quickly and accurately. By utilizing location data, initial fire suppression could be precisely targeted at the affected area, instead of sprinklers spraying water everywhere. At the same time, the crane—connected to the network via a modem—could trigger a fire alarm.

More Precise Information on Crane Usage and Components to Guide Sales

Konecranes utilizes digital twins in its service systems. Through them, fault data and usage data are collected from equipment in the field, including crane movements, accelerations, braking events, and loads. The equipment’s usage profile is used to optimize maintenance, enabling crane owners to receive service actions that best support the actual usage of their equipment.

According to Lehto, Konecranes aims in the future to better combine crane usage data with component-related information.

“When we gather statistical analysis from large numbers of different devices—identifying which components have performed well under certain conditions and usage levels—we can guide crane sales more effectively based on real-world data. Our customers would receive crane models, components, options, and accessories that truly fit their industry and application.”

Using Data to Guide Product Development

Konecranes also uses equipment data when developing the next generation of products.

“Based on data from equipment in use, we can evaluate how well our designed equipment, its features and components, and structural dimensioning have met actual usage needs, and which components have been prone to failure. We can further enhance this product development guidance by extending the evaluation to broader data samples,” Lehto explains.

“In product development, profitability must also be considered so that we do not develop equipment that is too expensive and uncompetitive. DigiTwin and IoT solutions must not significantly increase the price of the product being sold,” he adds.

Digital twins have also been used at Konecranes as defining design models for products. In some cases, simulation features have been added to these models, enabling the company to demonstrate crane performance precisely within specified limits.

“The Costs of IoT Components Can Change Rapidly”

According to Matti Lehto, Finland is still at an early stage in terms of IoT and digital twin opportunities.

“There are companies that have managed to make IoT profitable from a single use-case perspective, but relatively few have succeeded in leveraging it profitably at a broader scale. Of course, for a smaller company, even one successful use case can already represent good business.”

Lehto notes that the situation is interesting because the costs of elements required for IoT can change rapidly. As the implementation of digital twins or the collection of associated data becomes more affordable, commercialization becomes easier from a cost perspective.

“If technology develops in a certain direction and implementation costs decrease, companies may find themselves in a hurry to build the business capabilities needed to harness these emerging opportunities profitably.”

“Expanding into new areas of operation always causes internal transformation within a company, which may involve changes in job roles or the redirection of competencies,” Lehto reflects.