Case Study: Kennametal achieves up to 50% faster machine setup and 50% higher press availability with Microsoft Power Apps

Kennametal pushes manufacturing into the future with IoT and Microsoft cloud solutions

Kennametal, a global manufacturer of industrial cutting and milling parts, faced slow, manual shop-floor processes and siloed data tracked on paper and spreadsheets that hindered production visibility and responsiveness. To modernize its factories, Kennametal migrated to Microsoft Azure and adopted analytics and IoT solutions including Power BI, Azure IoT Hub, and Microsoft Power Apps to drive a data-first approach to operations.

Using IoT sensors, Azure IoT Edge/Hub, Stream Analytics, Azure SQL Database and Data Lake to ingest and store machine data, Kennametal built Power BI dashboards for real-time monitoring and used Microsoft Power Apps to rapidly create operator alert and lead-board apps. The Microsoft Power Apps-enabled solution helped reduce machine setup times by almost 50%, increase press availability by 50%, deliver the plant’s most productive month in certain departments, and cut root-cause investigations from weeks to hours—boosting output with the same staff and improving operator engagement.

Kennametal

Frank Constantine

Plant Manager