Schindler, GE Digital, and Huawei Partner to Develop IoT Enabled Elevators

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4Q 2016 | IN-4328

On September 19, 2016, Schindler and Huawei announced that they had signed a global agreement to develop smart Internet of Things components to create connected elevator and escalator solutions. This partnership follows on the heels of Schindler’s alliance with GE Digital announced in June 2016, which saw Schindler leveraging GE’s Predix Platform to further develop digital solutions utilizing IoT, predictive analytics, and machine learning. These IoT solutions will allow Schindler to leverage machine data for insights into elevator and escalator operations while minimizing interruption times and manual inspections, reducing both operational and maintenance costs. The partnership allows GE and Huawei the ability to create new service value for a specialized vertical that traditionally had high barriers to entry.

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Giving the Industry a Lift

NEWS


On September 19, 2016, Schindler and Huawei announced that they had signed a global agreement to develop smart Internet of Things components to create connected elevator and escalator solutions. This partnership follows on the heels of Schindler’s alliance with GE Digital announced in June 2016, which saw Schindler leveraging GE’s Predix Platform to further develop digital solutions utilizing IoT, predictive analytics, and machine learning. These IoT solutions will allow Schindler to leverage machine data for insights into elevator and escalator operations while minimizing interruption times and manual inspections, reducing both operational and maintenance costs. The partnership allows GE and Huawei the ability to create new service value for a specialized vertical that traditionally had high barriers to entry.

More Than Just Smart

IMPACT


Schindler has had “smart” elevator solutions since 1990, with its Miconic 10 traffic management system. The system allows a user to enter the destination floor before entering the elevator, and then groups passengers together by destination to reduce waiting and overall travel times. Schindler’s new solutions will not only effectively manage traffic for passengers, but it will also be able to predict passenger use to better manage operations and further reduce expenses.

Schindler has over 1.5 million elevators installed globally and hopes that its IoT solutions can leverage the operational data from these machines to achieve predictive maintenance solutions using cloud-based data analytics. There are approximately 15 million elevators worldwide that are each inspected semiannually. Any service requires a thorough check of multiple components, such as cables, electrical wiring, diagnostic checks, and power supply checks. Any interruptions—planned or unplanned—result in high operating expenditures. Predictive maintenance allows these machines to be repaired before they break down at off-peak hours. Additionally, these IoT solutions could ultimately result in remote elevator inspections, lowering operating expenses of elevator maintenance, while increasing uptime. In Shanghai, new elevators must have remote monitoring capabilities, which Schindler states reduces the time spent on troubleshooting by 90%. Other factors, such as rapid urbanization and increasing demand for energy-efficient solutions, will continue to drive the market for smart elevator solutions. Schindler is also reportedly investigating additional revenue opportunities by displaying customized ads to elevator passengers while they are riding. 

Specialized Industrial Applications

COMMENTARY


These partnerships provide a view into the IoT ecosystem and how services and solutions are continuing to evolve. Schindler is not the only manufacturer looking to enable its product line with connectivity. Earlier this year in April 2016, elevator manufacturer Otis and Microsoft announced an expanded partnership to use the Azure cloud and Cortana analytics to give elevators predictive and analytics capabilities. Microsoft also developed a cloud-connected service for another elevator company, ThyssenKrupp, called MAX, which has predictive maintenance capabilities, in addition to improved ride efficiency. These partnerships allow companies to create new revenue opportunities in verticals they otherwise would not have been able to enter.

In the Schindler and Huawei deal, Huawei provided IoT platforms, terminals, and backend systems, while leaving sensor manufacturing and deployment to its partners. This was due to the fact that its partners had the required knowledge and expertise to produce and deploy these sensors. By relying on partners, Huawei reduced time to market while also enhancing service reliability and customer experience. As other manufacturing companies continue to look to reevaluate their products and add connectivity components, they should not be afraid to look to partners to fill in the gaps of their IoT value chain offering. 

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