Case Study
Global HVAC Manufacturer Increases Efficiency with Cloud-Powered Maintenance Solution
Maintenance providers, equipment manufacturers, and end users gain a one-stop digital portal to monitor and remedy the performance of commercial HVAC equipment.
Today’s complex HVAC systems comprise multiple components that require ongoing maintenance updates and enhancements. In commercial installations, HVAC equipment is typically installed in limited-access areas, such as rooftops, making it time-consuming, costly, inconvenient, and sometimes impossible to access and review configuration and diagnostics data and install updates on-site.
The Objective
A global HVAC manufacturer of commercial and residential heating and cooling systems realized it could provide additional value to its resellers and service partners by offering a remote maintenance portal that enabled equipment manufacturers, maintenance providers, and end users to monitor and manage equipment from anywhere.
The company approached the project with two key goals:
- Employ a secure, cloud-based solution to replace an existing platform that provided remote access to equipment data through a local web UI
- Reconfigure its system architecture to avoid impacting customer experience during upgrades
Success Story
We supported our client in architecting and developing an IoT solution in the cloud that:
- Securely communicates with HVAC equipment
- Collects diagnostic metrics
- Performs remote firmware updates
- Generates alerts when system performance deviates from programmed limits
- Organizes and displays all this information in real time on a dashboard that's easily accessed by all interested parties (end-user, maintenance provider, and equipment manufacturer)
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The Solution
Device Management System Status & Configuration
Data Collection
Analytics
Alerts
We leveraged Google Cloud's GKE to build an application that managed secure communications with the equipment and could scale to support the needs of a growing set of devices with complex usage patterns and deployment of future-state features, such as predictive failure analysis.
To accommodate unique requirements for accessing systems on customers' local area networks, we implemented a system through which end users enabled a set of technicians to access their HVAC equipment remotely, and the manufacturer pushed out firmware updates to the equipment.
IoT-Certified Google Cloud Partner
By earning the IoT Partner Specialization, we have proven our expertise and success in building customer solutions in the IoT field using Google Cloud Platform technology.
Business Outcomes
Following the release of this solution, our client continues to hold its position as a leading provider of high-quality, innovative HVAC products for the light commercial industry.
The updated application delivers substantial benefits to customers, maintenance providers, and equipment manufacturers, exactly as originally proposed.
END-USER BenefitS
The upgraded application allows customers to log in and view the status of all of their equipment at a glance. They can also monitor performance, register for alerts, and update firmware.
Maintenance Providers Benefit
Maintenance personnel have access to the entire system’s configuration, status, and alerts without having to visit each piece of equipment.
The Equipment Manufacturer Benefits
The manufacturer can use the app to collect component performance and failure data, which is fed back into the engineering process to facilitate improvements to future models.
ANOTHER WIN
A GCP server provides a secure interface for monitoring and managing the edge devices installed in each HVAC system. Additionally, the app features a continuous integration and deployment model for future enhancements and system optimizations.
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Outcome-focused, real-world practicality combined with courageous innovation
Technology & Transformation
Expert engineering from project initiation to deployment and beyond
Technical Leadership & Support
Empowerment to scale your solutions long after our engagement has ended
