Rachel Grunwerg discusses a new lab designed to help manufacturers embrace digital solutions
Eight months ago, cloud engineering company and Amazon Web Services premier consulting partner Storm Reply launched what is believed to be the UK’s first cloud native facility. The lab has a wide range of industrial IoT uses, such as producing line data across multiple sites to improve operational efficiency, and asset monitoring and predictive (AMP) which helps detect equipment damage earlier. The lab’s team can also produce digital twins and embed computer vision in lines – a cutting-edge way for businesses to detect product defects using visual AI. When using the lab, manufacturers can test solutions off-site and avoid costly production downtime.
Unlike other manufacturing R&D facilities which rely on particular hardware or Software as a Service (SaaS), Storm Reply’s lab is entirely cloud native and develops bespoke solutions solely using Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Storm Reply partner Rachel Grunwerg joined Manufacturing Today to give readers a deeper insight into why significant manufacturers such as Kingspan and Gripple have already benefited from the lab’s approach. She started with some background. “Storm Reply is part of the Reply Group, which is a decentralized network of specialized companies which collectively employ 15,300 people across 18 countries,” she explained. “As a group it’s very big, but it operates small, boutique companies. This gives us all a niche focus, but also the support of a group, and as such, we can work with different sizes and types of clients, including much bigger manufacturers, and still provide a very personalized service. We are up to 40 engineers now, all with slightly different skill sets, but we’re focusing on IoT and manufacturing.”
From its experience working with manufacturers, Storm Reply realized that a major issue their clients faced was around testing solutions. “Whether it is a proof of concept or an implementation, if it requires the line to stop, even for a minute, that is going to cost money. For some, even getting people onto site to undertake these tests is difficult, to ensure they are secure and in a safe environment. Getting everything set up to run that proof of concept on the shop floor can represent several months of effort for them.
“We realized that if we can simulate their line in a lab, and build the solution in a controlled environment, then it will remove huge barriers to entry to help a client on testing. What would take them three months could take us four weeks!”
Storm Reply’s lab recreates a line on the factory floor on a smaller scale, and using the client’s hardware and software, it can reproduce the effects of an implementation. “They can send us hardware or devices, or we can organize that, and once we’ve got it set up, they can visit and see it working. Essentially, we are trying it out – building a solution and then demonstrating it working to the client.”
It sounds remarkable that an office based in central London can show manufacturers what will happen on their production line and Rachel admitted it can appear a bit surreal. “You walk into a regular office, and in the corner there’s a mini production line set up! During our testing process we discover a lot of challenges that we overcome in the lab first, with our team working out the problems and creating a working solution before we’re ready to show the client.”
Once Storm Reply has tested and proven the concept, it can be implemented on site. “Typically, we start with one, friendly site,” said Rachel. “What might work for one site is not necessarily the same at the next, but when we’ve shown it’s working, we can go and implement much more quickly and smoothly on site.”
Storm Reply supports large companies in Europe and around the world in the deployment of cloud-based systems and applications, and reflecting this, much of the lab’s work is done remotely. Rachel noted that there has been somewhat of a culture shift within manufacturers, who were initially reluctant to share their data in the cloud. “I think two things have happened over the past five years. The first is that people have become more comfortable with the cloud generally. Second is that we have come to realize we don’t need to put all the data in the cloud, which we used to do. Furthermore, if it’s specific data that comes from a sensor on a line for example, it’s not going to be sensitive or even mean anything to anyone else.”
More recently, what Rachel refers to as edge capability has introduced another game changer. “A lot of our solutions in the last nine months have been a combination of edge computing with native cloud services,” she confirmed. Edge puts the computing as close to possible to the source of data. “Edge means that we can still collect and run predictive AI or Gen AI at a site, even if connectivity is spotty or if the site goes down. With that edge capability, it doesn’t have to go to the cloud and the data stays on premises.” 
This element turned out to be significant for the lab’s client Kingspan. “They told us that they only needed our cloud services, as their sites have good connectivity. So, we implemented on that basis, only for their Wi-Fi and connectivity to go down! They quickly pivoted to including the edge component, so they could collect data in the way they want, even at times of no connectivity. That was in our early days, and we’re now seeing so much more happen at the edge, which creates a powerful combination with the cloud.”
Rachel noted that today there are really two cloud service providers in the smart factory space, now that Google has stood down its services. In her career before Storm Reply she worked with all three (Google, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services) and she revealed that when they set up Storm Reply, they decided to specialize in the IoT space with Amazon Web Services (AWS), to really be focused on delivering all the benefits of that one provider. Storm Reply now designs and implements a range of innovative cloud-based solutions and services and has extensive experience in building and managing cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) solutions, Software as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS).
“AWS has built what we call native services that are extremely powerful and very cheap to run,” added Rachel. “Storm Reply, using AWS native IOT services, allows us (Storm Reply) to offer one solution for all Smart Factory use cases, as opposed to five or six off the shelf solutions that all require license fees and only perform one task each. AWS, combined with the edge, has become a very attractive proposition for the industry, which in my opinion has got limited options otherwise, in this space. It makes a very persuasive option for manufacturers to explore.”
As the Storm Reply lab was set up to help manufacturers solve problems and create solutions, Rachel identified a specific example of its capabilities in action. “This issue actually starts with a human problem,” she revealed. “We’re finding that getting talent into manufacturing is problematic. The folks operating the production line have been there a long time and all the vital information about the process is stored in their heads or on a piece of paper in an old file.
“As those staff get older and move into retirement, who on earth is going to have that knowledge, if it’s not stored somewhere accessible? This is then exacerbated when roles are advertised to Gen Z’s, who are not inclined to work with old pen and paper processes, and are looking for something more technically advanced.
“Our solution is both attractive to those younger people, because it’s very exciting tech that’s easy to use, but you do not have to be a technologist to use it. It should also help the older people who have been there for a long time, because when we drill down into the paper-based processes, we find actually they are a bit onerous, with multiple logins, across different systems. Creating a report for an exec or auditor can be a painful process. Using the lab and AWS services cuts through all of that.”
Rachel used Kingspan as an example of this theory in action. “They’ve managed to use the digital solution to attract new young talent, and it has worked,” she confirmed. “We’ve seen them taken on a whole handful of younger people who are now using the solution. I do believe that technology can be the unlocking move to help get younger generations into manufacturing, and for manufacturers to innovate their way through challenging times.”
In Rachel’s experience, manufacturers are still behind other sectors when it comes to technology, and it is those that get to grips with updating their legacy systems and embracing new solutions that will get ahead of the game. “Manufacturing is at a turning point, in my opinion, and I think those that really take advantage of the tech can really get a head start,” she stated. “Storm Reply loves helping all sorts of different types of manufacturers who are looking to go on to this journey. It can be from one small site to multiple sites globally, and we’re very hands on. We will visit sites to understand and visualize what is being produced and how the line is set up, as this really helps us implement the right solution.
“We can also help with employee buy-in as we focus on day-to-day challenges. We talk to those on the line, find out what is not working well (or at all) and talk them through how our solution would give them the solution. This helps alleviate any anxiety about the change – seeing how your life can be made easier is a strong motivator!”
In today’s industrial environment manufacturers who fail to embrace technological advancement risk being left behind. Storm Reply created its lab because it wanted customer projects to be efficient, and to help them benefit from the integration of smart manufacturing systems, automation, and data-driven technology. With forward thinkers already modernizing their operations, Rachel and her team are ready to help develop the industry leaders of tomorrow.