a new era oF IndustrIal coMputIng Industry 4.0/sMart FactorIes


industrial manufacturing environments. with growing levels of complexity, industrial applications demand secure, on-site computing systems that offer the user high levels of security, ultra-fast connectivity and, above all, resilience. Indeed, with growing digitisation, many


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operators are required to meet shorter lead times, faster deliveries and have tighter margins. Keeping downtime to a minimum is, therefore, a key concern for manufacturers. the era of smart Manufacturing has begun to


drive a new wave of It technologies into industrial spaces, where edge computing systems ensure privacy and data security, while guaranteeing uptime and addressing bandwidth requirements that have become crucial to operations. this is of particular relevance for Ireland, where


the manufacturing sector contributes 12 per cent of total employment with €12.5 billion in wages and employment axes annually, almost three in 10 (29 per cent) manufacturing jobs are in high-tech sectors, four times the eu average, according to the Ibec Manufacturing in Ireland report 2021.


IDEntIfyInG thE EDGE aPPlIcatIon For Industry 4.0, edge computing bridges the gap between cloud and on-premises infrastructure. the traditional drawback of the cloud has been high levels of latency or low response times, caused by the distance between the infrastructure supporting it and the location of the application. even with the proliferation of existing data


centres in Ireland, It at the industrial edge offers users the best of both worlds, placing physical infrastructure and business-critical It closer to the point of use, enabling businesses to combine the benefits of cloud computing with the ultra-fast response times required by on-site equipment. this is especially so for businesses such as agri- food, where Ireland is the largest net exporter of dairy ingredients, beef, lamb and spirits in europe. with many processing and manufacturing plants often sited in rural locations, far from the clusters of urbanised data centres. applications that benefit from edge


computing can, in general, be subdivided into three categories, each with their own specific designs and benefits. they include It facilities; commercial and regional offices; and Industrial or harsh environments. the latter often comprises ruggedised micro


data centres deployed in locations where ambient environmental conditions are difficult to control. challenges can include a wide range of temperature or humidity conditions, water hazards, the presence of dust or other contaminants, and the need to protect computer systems from collisions and vibrations, as well as the obvious need for physical security to guard against unauthorised access. as the second largest exporter of medical devices in


oday, increased levels of automation, advanced robotics, aI and machine learning are driving unparalleled change within


Marc Garner, VP, Secure Power Division, Schneider Electric UK & Ireland, explores how to mitigate application downtime in the era of smart manufacturing.


europe, the ability to deploy It safely in sterile environments is also critical.


DEfInInG thE InDUStrIal EDGE For industrial operators to capture the benefits of increased automation, they cannot rely on cloud-technology alone. McKinsey states Industry 4.0 is a term referring to the increased digitisation of the manufacturing sector, driven by “the rise in data volumes, computational power and connectivity; …analytics and business intelligence capabilities, new forms of human- machine interfaces [including] augmented reality systems; and improvements in … advanced robotics and 3-d printing.” these applications required the support of


industrial edge data centres, which are It systems containing integrated racks, power and cooling, and distributed across a number of geographical locations to enable endpoints on the network. when deployed within industrial manufacturing plants or distribution centres, the application is referred to as the “industrial edge”. given the increasing importance of computing


in factory and industrial automation environments, it is inevitable that greater numbers of edge computing systems will be installed in these harsh and remote locations. to achieve the shortest possible roI and gain both the resilience and speed demanded by aI and other Industry 4.0 technologies, manufacturers must properly measure asset performance, identify any problem


areas, and make real-time changes that will improve their operations. this is also where on-premises It becomes


critical and is where the majority of the data capture occurs. Industry 4.0 requires that computing systems are tightly integrated into the manufacturing process, but it also means that resilience and high availability become key design concerns for the accompanying edge infrastructure.


BUIlDInG a rESIlIEnt InDUStrIal EDGE downtime is the curse of any manufacturing operation and any integrated It systems cannot afford to add to the risk of lost production. a 2016 study by aberdeen group, found that 82 per cent of companies had experienced unplanned downtime in the previous three years, which could cost an average of $260,000 (€224,458) per hour! Industrial edge systems, therefore, must be built to the highest standards of availability, if necessary, to tier 3, which promises an uptime of 99.98 per cent or an average of 1.58hr of downtime per year. tier 1 level data centres, with 99.67 per cent


uptime, for example, can be down for 28.82hr per year. In the example above, such a difference in downtime could cost upwards of $7 million (€6.4m) per year! clearly, an investment in improved reliability delivers significant benefits to the bottom line.


12 deceMber/January 2022 | Factory&HandlIngsolutIons


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