KONE is a global industrial company (based in Finland) that manufactures mostly elevators and escalators and also services over 1.1 million elevators, escalators, and related equipment in several countries. The company employs over 50,000 people.

Over 1 billion people use the elevators and escalators manufactured and serviced by KONE every day. If equipment does not work properly, people may be late to work, cannot get home in time, and may miss important meetings and events. So, KONE’s objective is to minimize the downtime and users’ suffering. The company has over 20,000 technicians who are dispatched to deal with the elevators anytime a problem occurs. As buildings are getting higher (the trend in many places), more people are using elevators, and there is more pressure on elevators to handle the growing amount of traffic. KONE faced the responsibility to serve users smoothly and safely.

KONE decided to use IBM Watson IoT Cloud platform. As we will see in Chapter 6, IBM installed cognitive abilities in buildings that make it possible to recognize situations and behavior of both people and equipment. The Internet of Things (IoT), is a platform that can connect millions of “things” together and to a central command that can manipulate the connected things. Also, the IoT connects sensors that are attached to KONE’s elevators and escalators. The sensors collect information and data about the elevators (such as noise level) and other equipment in real time. Then, the IoT transfers to information centers via the collected data “cloud.” There, analytic systems (IBM Advanced Analytic Engine) and AI process the collected data and predict things such as potential failures. The systems also identify the likely causes of problems and suggest potential remedies. Note the predictive power of IBM Watson Analytics (using machine learning, an AI technology described in Chapters 4–6) for finding problems before they occur. The KONE system collects a significant amount of data that are analyzed for other purposes so that future design of equipment can be improved. This is because Watson Analytics offers a convenient environment for communication of and collaboration around the data. In addition, the analysis suggests how to optimize buildings and equipment operations. Finally, KONE and its customers can get insights regarding the financial aspects of managing the elevators.

QUESTIONS FOR THE OPENING VIGNETTE
1. It is said that KONE is embedding intelligence across its supply chain and enables smarter buildings. Explain.
2. Describe the role of IoT in this case.
3. What makes IBM Watson a necessity in this case?
4. Check IBM Advanced Analytics. What tools were included that relate to this case?
5. Check IBM cognitive buildings. How do they relate to this case?