When pumps and sensors are spread over a great distance, troubleshooting can require long trips to disparate places. What if data from those remote critical assets could be collected and monitored before setting out? Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) solutions can be the way to solve that challenge.
Remote access to machinery and assets in the field has never been more critical. About 5 per cent of machine data is transferred to a local controller, with the remainder lost. Ideally, an organisation could capture that data to optimise its installation. However, it is expensive in terms of costs and time.
Technological advancements and developments have created new pathways to gather accurate data from sensors in real-time. Users can make time-critical decisions with the right systems, saving time and money.
What service can provide this?
This is where ifm steps in. It has a new IIOT product called Sensor2Cloud. Sensor2Cloud technology allows the collection of process data from the sensor. That data is sent directly to the cloud. No connection to a controller, computer, or company network is needed.
The Sensor2Cloud can be used to monitor and evaluate remote locations. These locations include machinery and processes that are not connected to company infrastructure. The Sensor2Cloud system can even be connected to assets that don’t even have power connected.
The Smart sensor data is sent directly via a mobile network to the cloud and can be viewed on a web-based dashboard to visualise and analyse cloud data.
What does Sensor2Cloud do differently?
The first thing about the Sensor2Cloud system is that it is simple to set up. Once you mount it and connect it to the system, it is ready to go. This plug-and-play IIOT setup is designed to operate within any operating system.
Second, the data is transmitted over 4G to the cloud. This allows small businesses to be flexible and manage their sensors while allowing larger businesses to operate them separately from their IT networks. There is also no need to create a stand-alone system for devices. It can all be accessed from any smart device or computer via a multi-factor authentication process.
Third, ifm has designed Sensor2Cloud to be user-friendly. Users can customise the information they see, so they know what to do when alerts come in or if there appears to be something wrong. That information is critical for reducing labour and maintenance costs.
Who is using Sensor2Cloud as an IIOT solution?
ifm has been a partner with a food and agri-business enterprise that operates in 60 countries. The company supplies food and industrial raw materials to more than 20,000 customers across the globe. The company is among the world’s largest suppliers of cocoa beans, cocoa products, coffee, cotton, and rice.
Regarding the company’s Australian markets, it farms almonds and grows cotton. Its primary growing region for almonds is in northwest Victoria. That is because it is usually dry and sunny, with plenty of water for irrigation from the Murray Darling River. Its almond farm has 28 pump stations in Victoria, with an additional 18 in New South Wales, on the other side of the river.
The pump stations vary in size and location. The pump stations can hold up to seven pumps and are generally connected to 250kW motors. All the pump stations are located next to the Murray River or near large dams on its farm. The dams are for water storage, forming a link between the Murray River and the irrigation channels for the almond trees.
The business must always keep an eye on the irrigation pumps. Any irrigation pump’s failure is directly linked to the company’s almond yield. If it were to lose water for a few days, the trees would become stressed, and the yield quality would drop. The pumps also operate the fertiliser system, so failure is not an option. These bigger issues come before the general maintenance needs, cavitation, bearing wear and tear, and mechanical issues.
When ifm was working with the customer, the farm used a different product for condition monitoring. It had also invested in vibration units for one area of its almond farm connected to the cloud via WiFi.
What was the customer looking for?
ifm learned that the enterprise was looking for several things as an IIOT solution. First, it wanted something user-friendly that used a traffic light level of warning. Green is good, yellow is a warning, and red is bad – many such setups operate using this system.
It also wanted a cloud-based system to remove the task of software maintenance. They had commissioned a series of 4G towers throughout the farm, so it would be easy for the data to be sent from the sensors to the cloud. It would also use its irrigation suite at the front end and integrate its vibration units into a common platform.
Another key consideration is ensuring that employees get the information that they need. An efficient system of email notifications was set up to ensure this goal was achieved. Farm technicians would deal with red-level problems, the IT team would look at the irrigation suite of traffic light problems, and the maintenance team would have detailed graphs and trends to observe through the Sensor2Cloud package.
The business found that Sensor2Cloud was a reliable product that integrated into its internal systems and provided local customer support. The cost structure suited the company’s cash flow, with the subscription model providing budgetary ease and improved financial forecasting.
For more information, visit https://www.ifm.com/au/en/au/aktionen/sensor2cloud
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