Let the machines do the talking
Biolab and others monitor remote equipment via wireless solutions
By Karen Abramic Dilger, contributing editor -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 4/1/2003 12:00:00 AM
Hotels and resorts don't ever want to hear that their palatial indoor pools are unsanitary. If the devices that regulate the water's pH balance or chemical level are malfunctioning, the pool may need to be shut down. And to some, a hotel without a pool is like a fish without water. This is a scenario that Atlanta-based BioLab—a supplier of water treatment products, chemicals, and equipment—seeks to prevent.
"Our customers not only have a strong need to improve water quality, but also want assurance that chemical levels are being controlled," says Steven Clark, BioLab director, who counts commercial pools, water parks, fountains, and recreational water facilities as customers. "They have to know water temperature, water flow, status of feeding equipment and operations, and their chemical usage rate. They also need up-to-date reports on sanitizer and pH levels, which are regulated by local health departments."
BioLab offers this equipment monitoring process to its customers via a compact wireless device that talks to smart controllers at each water facility. The Snap-M2M (machine-to-machine) system from Temecula, Calif.-based Opto 22 includes a digital input/output (I/O) system that both sends and receives readings to and from field instruments to computers. A Nokia 31 terminal serves as a wireless connectivity bridge between the modular I/O and cellular networks, and supports remote management. Biolab uses AT&T Wireless as its carrier for a cellular network that utilizes the global system for mobile (GSM) communications standard.
The system's I/O modules automatically gather real-time operational data such as pH balance and water temperatures, and interface to a network operations center provided by Professional Consulting Services, Chicago, which also aggregates, stores, and presents information via a portal. "If levels fall outside of preset limits, an alarm is sent through our hosted data center, which routes it to the most appropriate people," says Clark. "Users can make changes in set points, verify information, and access historical data all from a PDA [personal digital assistant]. It gives them a better productivity tool and allows them to more quickly respond to critical situations."
Market potential
Although BioLab and other M2M users typically are OEMs, the system also can be deployed on the factory floor. Additionally, wireless process automation may leverage 802.11b "Wi-Fi" networks, not just cellular.
A similar system, Opto 22's Snap Wireless LAN I/O, is used during the assembly-line production process at the Grupo Antolin headliner (interior ceilings) factory in Hopkinsville, Ky. "This is a case where the existence of harsh conditions, such as water, in one part of the manufacturing environment precluded the option of a wired solution," says David Crump, marketing communications manager for Opto 22. "The system is used for sending and receiving serial and digital signals between Grupo Antolin's robotic equipment and customized control software."
The system also is being used to deliver serial data from several bar-code scanners used in these production processes. The Snap I/O system acts as the interface as the finished headliner SKU bar-code data is scanned and the data is transmitted back to the control software, which then determines the appropriate assembly procedure and sends the commands necessary for execution. As a result, says Crump, Grupo Antolin has increased its overall production rate and reduced its workforce.
According to Crump, wireless solutions such as M2M have the potential to penetrate three major markets: OEMs, which can embed the wireless applications into their own hardware; process control automation on the shop floor; and IT operations targeted for executive-level personnel.
"These C-level executives are not operators in the trenches looking for run rates or temperatures. They are concerned with getting the big picture, looking out long-term to see how the production data may impact regulatory compliance, energy management, or supply chain management."
What sets the M2M application apart from operators using radio-frequency equipment and handhelds to link to plant-floor systems is that human intervention is not a necessary element. The brainpower comes from the devices themselves, which contain the technology to interact with back-end plant-floor systems and capture production-related data from remote locations, automatically and unmanned.
This wireless device-to-system communication is on many companies' radar screens today because it adds a dynamic layer of intelligence to real-time remote monitoring, notification and messaging, plant dispatching, and scheduling. Users also save on typical hard-wire costs and gain numerous benefits, including streamlining the decision-making process, reducing equipment downtime, and preventing potential problems before they occur.
Why is the field ripe for wireless? Various advances have occurred since the ideological dot-com boom a few years ago that foresaw widespread use of wireless PDAs by managers—a vision that didn't fully materialize. For instance, wireless local area network (WLAN), an infrastructure that connects PCs and devices to LANs, has greater speed and enhanced security features. Also, the price point for hardware has come down considerably over the past few years, particularly for PC or wireless cards and access points. (See definitions table, next page.)
Economical option
Cost savings from plant-floor wireless—at least when focusing on getting more information from machines and devices—begins with distributed I/O technology. I/O modules are smart controllers that enable two-way communication between field instruments and enterprise or plant-floor systems. The I/O module and device(s) being monitored should be within a few hundred feet or signals could become degraded, and data integrity may be lost.
"Low cost is the primary advantage of distributed I/O, which means putting dedicated control close to the information being gathered," says Tom Edwards, an Opto 22 application engineer. "Installation costs are reduced due to less wiring requirements. Plus, it allows more processing power for each I/O, and system performance remains constant. The amount of traffic required for decision-making is much faster because processing is done locally."
Prior to deploying the Snap M2M system, operators at Biolab did not have easy access to system monitoring data. "Accessibility through PCs was not possible, and installing land lines was a major stumbling block due to high costs," says BioLab's Clark. "But the Snap system controller is smart enough to know where signals are coming from, which are then translated and sent to our dealers, managers, and customers. Customers use the portal to log in through a secure network to gain access to all their pools, where they can generate graphs or see a dashboard of current operations."
In addition to improved customer service, Clark also anticipates benefits on the corporate inventory side. "We can measure how much material is being produced, such as the sanitizer we produce. This will allow us to decrease working capital, better schedule production, and reduce operating costs." After completing the introductory phase of the implementation, the company plans to use the system for preventive maintenance. "By monitoring vibration and amperage status, we'll be able to anticipate and prevent failures in our equipment."
The architecture involved in setting up a wireless network in a small plant is simple and economical, and entails plugging in an access point to an Ethernet port for a connection to wireless-enabled PCs. "Computers with Wi-Fi cards that are within a 100-foot range perform well," says Robert Cushman, senior manager for Accenture's Boston-based office. "Users can buy an access point for $120, which acts as an antenna that broadcasts to all Wi-Fi-enabled PCs. A Wi-Fi card for a laptop may cost about $50."
For devices to interact wirelessly with back-end systems, the overall platform uses a communications standard. Cellular standards are well established, though there is some jockeying for "third-generation" standards. Wi-Fi, however, may encompass the hottest standards, as evidenced by the proliferation of Wi-Fi "hot-spots" in places like coffee shops and airports.
Of course, plant-floor wireless also may involve wireless access to established supervisory systems, even if the underlying connections between controllers and the supervisory system are wired. Here, industrial automation software vendors have worked to make client-side access as rich an experience through a wireless PDA as it is through a desktop PC. "Our goal is to integrate with one container and host all connectivity via one display," says Roy Kok, a product manager for GE Fanuc Automation, Charlottesville, Va. "Users can pull real-time content, near-real time data, and long-term data into an appropriate viewing tool for a very robust application."
GE Fanuc, which acquired Intellution last fall, offers a full range of supervisory control solutions, including the iFIX human-machine interface (HMI) and Cimplicity HMI packages, as well as I/O drivers. Another tool, InfoAgent, functions similar to a Web-based digital dashboard, allowing users to personalize views using thick or thin clients.
GE Fanuc's supervisory and historian systems include wireless options. According to Kok, InfoAgent's ability to act as a Web-based dashboard also supports the needs of managers and executives who want wireless access to critical plant-level trends and analytics. "A typical historian would have canned data and graphics that might be appropriate for certain users," says Kok. "But an executive might want to drill down to different information, or design his own view."
A likely merger
Foxborough, Mass.-based Iconics is another HMI and supervisory control software vendor offering wireless solutions. Most of Iconics' users have installed wireless solutions on a 802.11b network, says Russ Agrussa, president of Iconics, which has been investing in wireless applications for nearly four years.
"The popularity of wireless started with residential use, but now people are realizing how much it can do for manufacturing. In the future, the public and private wireless networks of today likely will merge into one," says Agrussa. "Users will have one account and be able to switch back and forth between LAN and cellular."
Security, however, is a higher concern in manufacturing settings than when browsing Web sites over a cappuccino. Although anyone can buy a PC card and access point to form an unsecured wireless network, WLANs may include password protection on access points and desktops within the network, as well as a separate encryption protocol called wired equivalent privacy (WEP).
"Simple security features often are not used properly," says Accenture's Cushman. "Many corporations have rogue access points that are not protected, so independent users can set up within a firewall. WEP has been under attack recently as a lightweight, static encryption key, versus a dynamic standard that would prevent hackers from breaking in."
The level of security adopted by organizations depends on the criticality of the data; however, most companies believe it is an extremely vital issue. "Most manufacturers are very concerned with setting up tight security with wireless systems," says Renee Robinson, product marketing manager for Wonderware, Lake Forest, Calif. "It's a critical issue for many of our users, particularly for industries such as airports and utilities. And companies not only fear malicious hackers, but competitors as well." With Wonderware's supervisory control and plant-floor systems, users must first log onto the system using assigned roles that control the type of information each user sees, and how much control they are allowed.
Wireless routers, which allow users to broadcast signals to multiple PCs, contain built-in firewalls for protection. "WEP comes standard with most routers, although it used to require purchasing and installing a separate piece of hardware or software," says Robinson. "Also, most laptops, PDAs, and other handhelds are wireless-enabled off-the-shelf, which means they are equipped with wireless chips and therefore don't need an external card."
According to Robinson, the time couldn't be more perfect to introduce wireless on the shop floor. "Over the last few years, many companies have taken the first steps toward adopting wireless, such as installing Ethernet and getting the entire plant interacting with supervisory control stations to see an overview of what is happening. Plus, wireless cards only cost $30 and the underlying bandwidth is increasing."
The ambitious vision of wireless of the late 1990s may be a bit toned down today, but expect steadier adoption of industrial wireless in cases where it makes sense, given the recent improvements in infrastructure, as well as specific industrial wireless solutions. As Accenture's Cushman sums up, "Wireless technology is not a panacea for age-old manufacturing problems, but it's ushering in a wave of new capabilities, allowing companies to execute better, faster, and cheaper."
| Who's inside | ||
| GE Fanuc Automation: www.geindustrial.com | Iconics: www.iconics.com | Opto 22: www.opto22.com |
| Wonderware: www.wonderware.com | ||
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