Storm Reply: an IoT cloud platform for Schenck Process

Storm Reply, specialised in the design and implementation of innovative cloud-based solutions and services and AWS Premier Consulting Partner, supported the leading mechanical engineering company Schenck Process in developing the serverless, modular IoT platform CONiQ Cloud. CONiQ Cloud is the IoT backbone to make machines and processes smarter. It provides digital process solutions to save production time and deliver critical insights in near real-time, creating a broader window of opportunity for data-driven responses.

Schenck Process is evolving from a traditional machine builder to an Industry 4.0 company, going beyond its traditional business field and positioning itself as a digital service provider and pioneer for its customers. Schenck Process enables data-driven optimisation of processes through the use of IoT and cloud computing. With this purpose in mind, Storm Reply selected the appropriate AWS building blocks and developed an individual Industrial IoT (IIoT) solution that meets the customer-specific requirements.

Standard core IoT functions available include: organisational and machine management, analytics integration, machine and process data visualisation, email notification, and secure data connection and streaming to CONiQ Monitor - Schenck Process' condition-based monitoring sensor system.

Both the serverless architecture and the high degree of automation offer economic advantages and the modular structure, on the other hand, enables the flexible adaptation to specific customer needs, paving the way for further innovations. These include real-time insights from production processes, the use of machine learning for early warning of deviations from standard processes during production; focusing on predictive quality assurance and maintenance scenarios.

"We intend to reach more customers and integrate additional processes with existing clients, and that's where the modular structure and flexibility of integration pays off," says Benedikt Trumpff, Head of iQ Systems and Services at Schenck Process. "What we ultimately offer our customers with the CONiQ Cloud is additional production time – that is more valuable than anything else. With the new functionalities we are implementing, we can also develop algorithms that deliver Process Insights-as-a-Service, which translate process data into actionable insights that would otherwise be inaccessible to customers."

The CONiQ Cloud enables the processing of data from various sources as it can be connected to any customer system and easily scaled with further functionalities. This creates the conditions for building intelligent machines and establishing smarter processes.