The Industrial IoT uses sensors to collect data in the hopes of speeding up processes, gaining efficiencies, and ultimately reducing the overall cost of a product or service. In many ways, this is similar to other types of IoT, but industrial IoT deployments are quite different in several ways.
The term IoT is used to describe the practice of connecting everyday objects into networks designed to collect and analyze data in order to streamline and automate processes.
But once you start designing a specific IoT project, you begin to realize that the benefits and challenges of IoT are very different, depending on the specific goals. If you’re designing an IoT project for an industrial environment, the differences come even more dramatically.
Industrial IoT uses sensors to collect data with the hope of speeding up processes, gaining efficiencies, and ultimately reducing the overall cost of a product or service. In many ways, this is similar to other types of IoT, but industrial IoT deployments are quite different in several ways.
The first lies in the fact that one implementation can be very different from another in terms of the physical environment of industrially connected devices, and factories, workshops, mines, and power substations that have been in operation for years may not have been designed to accommodate the sensitive sensor devices needed for the IoT in the first place.
This means that sensors need to be installed in environments where conditions are very harsh and where the HVAC, ventilation, or power supply is not as good as it could be.
Second, while it is true that technology is part of most industrial operations today, the hardware, software, and protocols used are very different compared to what we are used to at the enterprise or consumer level.
At the enterprise level, we often deal with protocols that are strongly advocated by organizations such as IEEE and ITU. However, it is these types of standards organizations that promote manufacturing protocols and platforms that the Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Agreement (MESA) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
Thus, one of the main challenges facing the Industrial IoT is to deal with this aspect: transferring data obtained from industrial systems using their own unique application platforms and standard protocols to enterprise systems.
8 key points to consider before starting an industrial IoT project
Data collection and analysis
While almost all IoT projects require the collection and analysis of big data, each deployed industrial IoT has unique characteristics. The type of data, collection methods, and analysis may depend on the sensors and software deployed inside highly complex, customized machine equipment.
These sensors may be deployed in a variety of places – locally, regionally, or globally. Regardless of size, each deployment of the IoT will be different in terms of what data is collected, how it is collected, and why it is collected.
Challenging Environments
Some industrial IoT deployments are easy in terms of the physical environment. You can, if you’re lucky, deploy sensors into facilities where the climate is fully controlled. But in many cases, the places where sensors and other sensitive network devices need to be deployed are in harsh environments, including high temperatures, severe cold, and poor ventilation.
Clean energy is also an important aspect to focus on. In many cases, industrial IoT requires ruggedized IoT sensors and network hardware that can withstand these types of physical environment challenges.
Quality Control
A major difference between the Industrial IoT and other types of IoT is that much of the data collected for the Industrial IoT is used to automate quality control processes. Quality control is an important aspect for most types of industrial products, including raw materials, agriculture, and building construction. But the type of quality control data collected and the method of collection is highly dependent on the specific vertical industry.
Energy Efficiency
Another driver for implementing the Industrial IoT is to uncover energy efficiency and automate it through numerous methods. This may entail implementing smart sensors into HVAC and lighting systems inside manufacturing plants and collecting sensor-generated data, implementing artificial intelligence into plant equipment to keep it operating at optimal levels, and finding out where energy efficiency can be improved by upgrading and modernizing certain parts of the plant. The applications for this are almost limitless.
Improving Supply Chain Visibility
It is well known that Tim Cook was a master at manufacturing supply chains before he became CEO of Apple. No matter what industry you’re in, improving supply chain processes is critical. But figuring out what aspects of the supply chain can be improved is easier said than done.
Many supply chain processes are computerized, yet there are inherent digital silos. This leads to blind spots in the supply chain, which ultimately leads to higher costs. Many industrial IoT projects are designed to provide end-to-end supply chain visibility.
Retrofitting Equipment
In many cases, industrial IoT projects require retrofitting industrial equipment with IoT sensors. This will include many devices such as manufacturing equipment, forklifts, and storage containers. While a few industrial IoT projects may be installed on entirely new sites with entirely new equipment, most will require updating legacy processes and tools in order to bring them into the IoT environment.
Industry-specific applications and protocols
If you’ve never been exposed to industrial IT before, you’ve probably never heard of protocols like OPC, MQTT DDS, or AMQP, nor have you been exposed to applications based on SCADA and MES platforms.
All of these and more are common applications and protocols used in industrial IT environments. The challenge, therefore, is to connect these industrial devices and platforms with the company’s enterprise-level application software and data storage mechanisms.
Combining Industrial IT and Enterprise IT
Although industrial IT has existed for quite some time, in many cases the factory and enterprise parts of the IT landscape have operated independently of each other. For example, even if a manufacturing facility is connected to a network, that network may have been built initially as a closed system, with no connection to the enterprise network at all.
But in the case of the Industrial Internet of Things, the two groups must work together as a single department. This can be difficult because the processes, technologies, and security mechanisms are not the same between the two groups. Fortunately, organizations such as the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) are developing frameworks that will help fill this gap.
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