FEATURE COMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKING What can you risk not knowing?
Jez Watson, managing director of CD Automation UK explains how remote data access helps solve the top five challenges process engineers face
I
magine your television set didn’t have a remote control. Now imagine
the TV was located at the opposite end of a huge manufacturing shop floor. Finally, imagine you had 100 TV screens that can only be operated manually. This is a nightmare scenario process engineers would have to deal with on a daily basis, were it not for intelligent remote data access. Over the last two decades, industrial
companies have become significantly more efficient by integrating digital technologies and intelligent automation solutions into the manufacturing process. Technology is developing at bewildering speed and is, at the same time, unearthing hidden benefits that engineers wouldn’t have dared dream of just ten years ago.
QUICK GUIDE FOR REMOTE DATA ACCESS The implementation of industrial automation solutions and advanced machines is normally motivated by three challenges - namely, making the production line more efficient, safer and more flexible. One of the technologies that industry
has found particularly useful when responding to these three challenges is remote data access. This feature allows designated personnel to access data stored by data loggers within the plant from anywhere in the world, using any device that has internet access, including smart phones, tablets or laptops. Data loggers can service remote
analogue and binary input or output modules, measuring transducers, inverters, microcontrollers, recorders, display panels, HMI panels and pretty much any other device used in industry that has the option for communications. Data loggers with remote access, like
Lumel’s SM61 product, are used to monitor key information like temperature, flow or pressure across industries, including in the utilities, water and waste, pharmaceutical or manufacturing sectors. Remote data access saves time and costs by suppressing geographical distances - it provides a real time, accurate picture of what is happening
18 NOVEMBER 2014 | AUTOMATION
in the plant at any given time. Most importantly, remote data access gives production engineers and process managers the peace of mind that everything is running smoothly. Remote data access can solve the top five challenges process managers deal with on a daily basis - uncertainty, system security, lack of time, information and alarms.
NO MORE UNCERTAINTY In critical processes and continuous production in particular, the ability to access production data at any time, from any place, is key. Critical and potentially dangerous situations could occur at any point, regardless of the time of day, number of staff present or whether the production manager is on the premises or not. This situation results in a state of constant anxiety for many process managers. Having safety measures in place is
crucial, but the ability to check whether things are running smoothly at any given time, is priceless. Remote data access is the best way to monitor and manage operations on particularly large sites or when process engineers and managers are off-site. In manufacturing, even a few minutes or seconds of foresight can save down-time and costs. The Lumel SM61 data logger with www
server practically allows process managers to be in several places at the same time, which comes in very handy when the person in charge manages numerous sites or does a lot of travelling.
Jez Watson, managing director of CD Automation UK
By remotely accessing the data logger, managers can easily check if, for example, applications are starting and stopping or heating up and cooling down at specified times.
SAVING PRECIOUS TIME Process managers are always busy, which is why installing any new product should be as straightforward and as fast as possible. The Lumel SM61 data logger can be installed without stopping the entire application, which saves down-time. It can be fitted on a temperature controller, for example, simply by connecting the wires for RS-485 and applying power to it. The product can also be connected using wireless technology, to simplify the process even further. Remote data access is, by definition,
Above: data loggers with remote access, like Lumel’s SM61 product, are used to monitor key information like temperature, flow or pressure across
industries, including in the utilities, water and waste, pharmaceutical or manufacturing sectors
meant to save the process manager a journey to the control point. To help save even more time, the capacity of the Lumel SM61 data logger is particularly high. The device can read up to 2,500 values from up to 100 devices, each with 25 registers. As a result, all the information a process manager needs is stored in one place and can be easily accessed at any point, from any place and by several users simultaneously.
Below: remote data access saves time and costs by suppressing geographical distances
REAL TIME AND HISTORIC INFORMATION Another benefit of data acquisition modules is the availability of real time and historic information, which can be used to monitor the efficiency of different applications. The historic data feature also allows process managers to analyse the state of the system before an alarm goes off. By correlating historic data, any process can be made more efficient and overall operations can be significantly improved. The cost of down-time in industry can be anything from a few hundred pounds to tens of thousands of pounds per hour. Unlike a missing TV remote control, which is slightly inconvenient, when it comes to industry, the question all companies should be asking themselves when considering the purchase of remote data access equipment is this - ‘can we risk not knowing?’
CD Automation
www.cdautomation.co.uk T: 01323 811 100
Enter 206 /AUTOMATION
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