While casually surfing the net one day, I stumbled upon an article about the most connected man in the world. Personally, I have two smartphones, a tablet and a brand new laptop so I thought I had this connectivity thing in the bag. But no, Chris Dancy has around 700 systems running at the same time, some of which are attached to his body, monitoring his functions.
By Jonathan Wilkins, marketing manager of industrial automation spare parts supplier European Automation
Some of the sensors he uses measure Dancy’s fitness, others his body’s response to the environment whilst the strangest are downright cyborg looking – such as the ultra cool Google Glass. But what if the most connected man in the world managed the most connected plant in the world? Now there’s an interesting question.
Dancy has been collecting wearable devices for the past five years and is now actually more connected than a typical factory.
“By the end of the decade, there will not be a job on earth that hasn’t been changed by smart objects, wearable computing or personal information,” explains Dancy.
His statement is particularly relevant to the manufacturing industry and, in many ways; the road has already been paved for that level of interconnectivity.
The concept of connected plant refers to the way in which people and systems can communicate effectively. Process control, operational, monitoring and maintenance systems have been successfully used for the last 30 years. The advent of SCADA and DCS (Distributed Control Systems) has changed the way in which operations are scheduled, planned and monitored. As a result, a greater emphasis has been placed on lean manufacturing, efficiency, reducing energy consumption and diminishing scrap.
Applying the concepts of connected plant allows connectivity between legacy plant monitoring systems and an increasingly mobile workforce. Furthermore, when people need to work from home, different locations such as warehouses or even clients’ sites, robust network and system integration is the key. It all boils down to greater standardisation of operational processes, traceability, safety and repeatability.
There is no doubt in my mind that the recent wave of automation trends, including Industry 4.0, Machine2Machine, Internet of Things and big data, call for even greater connectivity than was required even a year ago. And, just as analogue control systems were replaced with DCS, so the time has come for the application of mobile and more reliable data gathering.
Abiding by the connected plant philosophy provides operations managers with accurate and timely information about assets. Another added benefit is that it will increase profit and reduce the costs and risks associated with unplanned downtime.
A plant is similar to a living organism. Each application depends on the correct functioning of the one before it in the system, and health and safety practices apply at each stage.
And, just as in the case of the world’s most connected man, who lost 100lbs and improved his lifestyle thanks to the devices he wears, maintaining plant health can be achieved much more effectively through continuous monitoring and data gathering. Interpreting that data and making smart decisions based on it are part of the day to day life of the plant.
If you want to know more about the way equipment such as motors, variable speed drives and human machine interfaces (HMIs) can be incorporated into your plant, get in touch. It’s good to stay connected.
