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Expertise

Telemetry analytics and data integration Four fields

Four fields, one problem: the data is there, but nobody is analysing it.

You are and you remain the experts on your plants. Like a star chef, you know best at what temperature the dish turns out right. But because you cannot be everywhere at once, this is where we come in.

What we offer is a highly qualified service in data analysis. What you can do for one plant, we do for all of them at once: compute clusters work through your telemetry data in a single pass, rather than plant by plant. That raises output and brings the cost of maintenance down.

In principle we work anywhere data can be collected and analysed. We work where plants in continuous operation produce readings that nobody can bring together in a spreadsheet. But these four fields are where our focus lies at the moment.

Our fields

01 / 04

Mechanical Engineering

ROTATING ASSETS

A rotating machine leaves the densest data trail in your entire operation. Monitoring a single unit is something practically every condition-monitoring system does today. It gets hard once units from different manufacturers and model years sit side by side and you want to know which of them behaves differently from the rest. That is exactly what we bring the vibration and process data of your whole asset base together for, in one unified analysis.

Which unit is running out of pattern, and should it stay that way?

Signals

  • Speed
  • Vibration
  • Bearing temperature
  • Oil pressure
  • Exhaust temperature

Assets

  • Diesel engines
  • Gas engines
  • Gas turbines
  • Generators
  • Pump systems
  • Compressors
02 / 04

Large Plants

PROCESS AND AVAILABILITY

A plant is not one asset, it is a network of thousands. The streams within it depend on one another, which is why a deviation rarely originates where it is first noticed. We model those couplings and make the state of every single point visible, even across millions of measuring points. That lets you trace a deviation back to its origin instead of regulating the symptom.

Is your bottleneck not where you suspect it is?

Signals

  • Flow
  • Pressure
  • Fill level
  • Valve position
  • Analysis values

Assets

  • Oil rigs
  • Gas pipelines
  • Power plants
  • Chemical plants
  • Production plants
  • Refineries
03 / 04

Renewable Energy

GENERATION, STORAGE AND DEGRADATION

Generation fluctuates, storage ages and prices on the power markets change every quarter of an hour. Anyone operating on averages alone loses both the overview and the pace. We compute down to the cell, the stack and the individual asset, so that you decide operation and marketing on the same data basis.

Where did you lose valuable energy today?

Signals

  • Cell voltage
  • State of charge
  • Stack current
  • Irradiance
  • Wind speed

Assets

  • Residential and utility-scale storage
  • Electrolysers
  • Wind farms
  • Solar farms
04 / 04

Fleets

MANY IDENTICAL ASSETS

A fleet is repetition, and therefore the best statistics you can get. What stands out on one unit can be checked against every other one at once. The hard part is not the model but the connection, because units in motion deliver incompletely, late and in bursts. We build the transfer so that gaps and stragglers do not distort the result.

One-off or a series fault?

Signals

  • Position
  • Load
  • Operating hours
  • Fault codes
  • Consumption

Assets

  • Construction machinery
  • Commercial vehicles
  • Wind turbines in series
  • CHP units

From the sensor to the analysis

  • Capture. Sensors, controllers, historian, third-party systems. We collect the data where it is produced — even when that means a protocol from the nineties or a field device with no second chance to connect.

  • Transport and storage. A stream that does not break, and a store that keeps the raw data. What has once been thrown away is no longer available to the second model — which is why the raw layer is not negotiable here.

  • Model and quality. Assets, signals, units, time reference. A data model in which a value cannot exist without context in the first place, and checks that fire before an analysis computes over gaps.

  • Analysis. Condition monitoring, anomalies, forecasting, reports. At the end there is no demo but something that runs in operation and that the Monday-morning shift trusts.

Partners & technologies

7
  • Databricks
  • Apache Kafka
  • STACKIT
  • Apache Spark
  • Kubernetes
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Hetzner

FAQ

11 questions
How do I start my project with Control-F?
The basis for exceptional projects is robust partnership. Before we start a project, it is essential that we understand your particular needs and goals. Our approach usually involves an initial workshop that serves as the precursor to the main project. That step helps us lay a solid foundation for a successful and collaborative path forward.
How do I know whether Control-F has a solution to my problem?

Working out how we can support you begins with a conversation, with no obligation attached. Getting to know each other helps us explore the ways we might work together.

A workshop tailored to your specific needs is often our first step. In it we gather requirements, run brainstorming sessions or — if your plans are further along — sketch a roadmap for starting a PoC.

How does a project typically run?
It starts with a first conversation and a thorough analysis of what is needed, which forms the basis for a kickoff workshop where the direction of the project and our joint effort are settled. That workshop usually produces a backlog listing the tasks to be implemented over the course of the project. Depending on the project's specific requirements, we either carry the development on under the lead of Control-F's specialists or give our clients' in-house teams targeted methodological and strategic support.
How can I tell whether Control-F is the right partner for me?
Common ground is best found in conversation. This site does give you a first look at our culture and our appetite for innovation, though. Working with our clients as partners matters more to us than short-term gains.
Which data sources can be connected?
PLCs and control systems via OPC UA and Modbus, historians, MES and ERP systems, cloud telemetry and file stores.
Do you also work with legacy infrastructure?
Yes – that is rather the normal case. Plants run for 20 years, software rarely does. We build the bridge instead of demanding a replacement.
How is data security ensured?
Hosting in your own data centre, at STACKIT or at Hetzner – in the EU in every case. Encryption in transit and at rest, role-based access, audit logs.
Do you also offer long-term support?
Yes. Operation and further development are part of the model – we do not hand over and disappear.
What size of company do you work for?
We work for mid-sized firms just as we do for DAX corporations and world market leaders. Since a company's success — and the amount of data it holds — no longer depends on headcount alone, we are in principle a worthwhile partner for any company.
Which industries do you address?
We focus on mechanical and plant engineering and on the energy industry. That is where we are at home. We are happy to leave our comfort zone, though.
Why are you based in Konstanz?
Konstanz combines the best of both worlds for us: proximity to innovative companies in Baden-Württemberg and Switzerland, together with the quality of life on Lake Constance that lets us attract and keep the best people. The region is home to a great many hidden champions and world market leaders in mechanical and plant engineering — exactly the people we work for. At the same time we keep an office in Berlin, and our remote-first way of working leaves us flexible enough to work with clients across the whole DACH region.

Your case

We know that every task has its own particulars and that the break sits somewhere different in every plant — a protocol nobody speaks any more, a store that threw the raw data away long ago, a model with no time reference. Write and tell us where it is stuck for you. We will tell you what can be got out of the data you already have today, and what is still missing for it.

Discuss your case