Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com November 21, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 3 Otis plies a 'connected' digital network for its lifts By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com F ew likely ever consider all the tech- nology and innovation that goes into designing, operating and maintaining an elevator — until they get stuck in one. But in the up-and-down world of Otis Ele- vator, it's incorporating digital technology, one official says, that enables its lifts and escalators to "talk'' to service mechanics, alerting them when cabin doors won't close or lifts get hung up between floors, among other efficiencies. Otis, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (UTC), both based in Farmington, during its 163 years in business has built on a culture of innovation to refine its passenger/cargo elevators and escalators, which move more than 2 billion people daily worldwide, says Tony Black, Otis' new senior vice president for service. Among Otis' very first innovations/ refinements was the safety brake, preventing elevator cabs from freefalling if cables fail. Today, the company is building on a digital transformation. "Otis has been the first in a lot of things through the whole history of the company. So, it is not new to us, to start new trends,'' said Black, an engineer who began working in 1984 at Otis' sister company, jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney, and has held operations and general management slots at UTC corporate, UTC Fire & Security, and, since 1991, Otis. Black, who was president of Otis China Ltd. from May 2012 until being named to his current post in June, says his main focus now is delivering to Otis' 31,000 elevator-escala- tor mechanics globally new digital-service technology. This means equipping them with smartphones and developing Otis apps that will enhance service by anticipating their customers' service-maintenance needs and quicker responses to service emergencies. "This is a bold initiative,'' Black said recently at Otis' world headquarters at 1 Carrier Lane in Farmington. "This is prob- ably the first time we've done something of this magnitude in Otis' history.'' Otis' digital transformation is part of parent UTC's overall corporate strategy to harness technology to boost its business model — and thus sales and profitability — through more efficient and responsive customer service. "The UTC digital strategy is about helping our four businesses drive more value for our customers, increase shareholder value and empower employees to work with speed and agil- ity," said Vince Campisi, UTC's digital and chief information officer said via email. "We are con- necting people, assets and data to deliver intel- ligent solutions that move the world forward." With many of its new single- and dou- ble-deck elevator cabs and lift systems already equipped with sensors that enable the machines to notify Otis mechanics immediately when a breakdown or other problem occurs, Otis sought a "connected network" through which to harvest that pre- dictive data and put it to best use, he said. Like Pratt's engines, Otis' revenue stream from people-moving systems doesn't end with their sale and installation. Service contracts and spare parts account for more than half of Otis' revenue, which in the third quarter was $3.1 billion. Demand for elevators contributed to an 8 percent boost in parent UTC's third-quarter sales. Otis' 2015 sales were $12 billion. It employs nearly 66,000 in 1,000 branch offices worldwide. But with Otis' once-robust China sales slow- ing and its North America turf "doing well," its digital transformation, according to Black and other Otis officials, provides it another avenue to stand out from Asian and European competi- tors, including Hitachi, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Schindler and ThyssenKrupp. "The digital transformation is exciting for us,'' he said. "We know [it] will help us do those things better.'' Otis is following a digital trail blazed by others. On Nov. 10, Legrand North and Central America, a West Hartford maker-distributor of residential-commercial light switches, power outlets and other electro-digital hardware, announced a cloud-based platform — called "ELIOT" — for linking its devices with other digi- tal components in "smart" homes and buildings. "Advanced connectivity and the applica- tion of practical but progressive smart build- ing strategies will transform the spaces in which people live and work,'' Legrand CEO John Selldorff said. "ELIOT brings us closer to a world where residential and commercial buildings will be smarter and better con- nected, easier to build, and deliver simpler but more productive occupant experiences.'' Leveraging the cloud For Otis mechanics, who spend some 60 million hours annually servicing and main- taining about 2 million elevators/escalators in more than 200 countries and territories, accessing client service records and other data may seem daunting. But Otis has designated a digital portal for mechanics to access the data — via their smart- phones and laptops, Black said. Currently, reams of digital data are stored locally and accessible once mechanics arrive at their repair sites. Under Otis' digitalization effort, however, all that technology and data eventually will be stored in a "cloud'' and remotely accessible to Otis mechanics using smart devices. Multimedia-communications giant AT&T and computer software/services vendor Microsoft have signed on to support Otis' new digital platform "that will efficiently aggregate and harvest that data for predictive maintenance, as well as enhance mechanic Continued Otis Elevator Service Senior Vice President Tony Black says poking around elevator shafts and cars, and other hands-on aspects of his job are what he enjoys. P H O T O | O T I S E L E V A T O R C O . Test drive our next sales management session.* Curious about how Sandler Training can help EMPOWER your sales team and your business? Sales Team Not Performing? 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