No. 7 & 7A,
Jalan Tiara, Tiara Square,
Taman Perindustrian Sime UEP,
47600 Subang Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia.
+603-8023 9829
+603-8023 7089
Fictron Industrial Supplies Sdn Bhd
No. 7 & 7A,
Jalan Tiara, Tiara Square,
Taman Perindustrian Sime UEP,
47600 Subang Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia.
No. 7 & 7A,
Jalan Tiara, Tiara Square,
Taman Perindustrian Sime UEP,
47600 Subang Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia.
Fictron Industrial
Automation Pte Ltd
140 Paya Lebar Road, #03-01,
AZ @ Paya Lebar 409015,
Singapore.
+65 31388976
sg.sales@fictron.com
Automation Pte Ltd
140 Paya Lebar Road, #03-01,
AZ @ Paya Lebar 409015,
Singapore.
+65 31388976
sg.sales@fictron.com
Interconnectedness The Way of the Future
28 Feb 2019
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New technology strikes the market at a pace that is hard to keep up with. It sounds as soon as you make an upgrade, the next month there is new and better technology available. Think about your television, cell phone, watch, refrigerator or automobile. Go ahead of time, be strong and buy the newest technology. It feels fantastic, doesn’t it? You are now the proud owner of the newest and greatest gadget. But alas, reality sets in and you realize that “state-of-the-art” is just a fleeting moment in time. Twelve months from now you will be a generation, possibly two, behind. Are you all set to buy in again? Your new great watch is a couple of hundred dollars. Your phone, now that could be a thousand dollars, your refrigerator several thousands and your automobile tens of thousands. When does it stop? Fortunately, or unfortunately, it never does.
Now let’s think the plight of the manufacturer. Of course, companies desire the latest and greatest capabilities for employees and machinery. Organizations want to take advantage of technology to get better safety, reliability, and productivity. Then again, prolonged updates to working assets are costly and cannot potentially be afforded on a regular basis. At some point, companies need to draw a line in the sand and say that’s going to have to be good enough for the next five, 10, 15 years, or more.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is connecting both the physical and virtual worlds together. It is aiding businesses work faster, people work smarter, and processes to be more effective across the globe. Manufacturers have to be brilliant about when and where they invest capital.
Take a paper mill for example. Multi-million-dollar assets are used to turn timber into pulp and turn pulp into paper and these machines are pricey to upgrade. Within a paper mill there are dozens of smaller machines, each performing a critical role. These machines are every bit as vital as the de-barker, digester, headbox, dryer, and reel. Each of these devices are likely handled by a Distributed Control System (DCS) or Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), which really are skilled industrial computers. Today all of these pieces of equipment have network interfaces of some sort so that machines can interact with each other and with business systems. A fully incorporated paper mill will have hundreds of connected devices spanning multiple generations of technology.
The networking needs of a manufacturing floor are very different than that of the front office. Staff members in an office setting can overcome a network outage for minutes, possibly hours, with minimal influence to the company’s bottom line. While they may lose reach to email and printers, the company continues to generate revenue as long as production equipment is able to produce a salable product.
Conversely, manufacturers cannot withstand network outages on the plant floor. On the plant floor time truly implies money. Each minute a piece of hardware is off line and it is costing the company's dollars. When production is compromised, hundreds of lost dollars becomes thousands of lost dollars in a hurry.
Machines ‘talk’ to their input/output subsystems and to each other at intervals of less than one second. Many times, these inter-communications are assessed in milliseconds. Machines must be online and conversing at all times. As production expands, manufacturers need to incorporate new machines with old machines. The problems of integrating these varied platforms is not for the faint of heart.
Manufacturers should find a partner that appreciates these special needs and can help them design, deploy, and maintain strong networks for the plant floor. Priorities will include identification and remediation of communication bottlenecks on existing networks. It may be necessary to work with a variety of business partners to properly converge plant-floor and office systems, providing real time manufacturing data to the front office to help drive needed business outcomes.
It is vital to know that the most accurate production data resides in the DCSs and PLCs described prior. If data can be gathered and contextualized in an expeditious and meaningful way, producers can improve profitability. They could possibly avoid a run-off spec or non-conforming product, or modify production to minimize giveaway. Furthermore, they can examine the data and make an updated decision to run a particular product on a different shift to take advantage of labor, weather, or utility costs. The status quo of running manufacturing plants the same way it’s always been run isn’t viable in today’s highly competitive environment.
When deciding a partner for your plant floor networking needs, you want to pick one that not only understands the unique needs of the manufacturing environment but also understands the network technology of yesterday, today, and the future. You should look for a team that can help you mix all of your production assets regardless of age. Finally, your goal should be to connect the ‘shop floor to the top floor’ to drive effective business outcomes and truly take advantage of the industrial IoT.
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
Now let’s think the plight of the manufacturer. Of course, companies desire the latest and greatest capabilities for employees and machinery. Organizations want to take advantage of technology to get better safety, reliability, and productivity. Then again, prolonged updates to working assets are costly and cannot potentially be afforded on a regular basis. At some point, companies need to draw a line in the sand and say that’s going to have to be good enough for the next five, 10, 15 years, or more.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is connecting both the physical and virtual worlds together. It is aiding businesses work faster, people work smarter, and processes to be more effective across the globe. Manufacturers have to be brilliant about when and where they invest capital.
Take a paper mill for example. Multi-million-dollar assets are used to turn timber into pulp and turn pulp into paper and these machines are pricey to upgrade. Within a paper mill there are dozens of smaller machines, each performing a critical role. These machines are every bit as vital as the de-barker, digester, headbox, dryer, and reel. Each of these devices are likely handled by a Distributed Control System (DCS) or Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), which really are skilled industrial computers. Today all of these pieces of equipment have network interfaces of some sort so that machines can interact with each other and with business systems. A fully incorporated paper mill will have hundreds of connected devices spanning multiple generations of technology.
The networking needs of a manufacturing floor are very different than that of the front office. Staff members in an office setting can overcome a network outage for minutes, possibly hours, with minimal influence to the company’s bottom line. While they may lose reach to email and printers, the company continues to generate revenue as long as production equipment is able to produce a salable product.
Conversely, manufacturers cannot withstand network outages on the plant floor. On the plant floor time truly implies money. Each minute a piece of hardware is off line and it is costing the company's dollars. When production is compromised, hundreds of lost dollars becomes thousands of lost dollars in a hurry.
Machines ‘talk’ to their input/output subsystems and to each other at intervals of less than one second. Many times, these inter-communications are assessed in milliseconds. Machines must be online and conversing at all times. As production expands, manufacturers need to incorporate new machines with old machines. The problems of integrating these varied platforms is not for the faint of heart.
Manufacturers should find a partner that appreciates these special needs and can help them design, deploy, and maintain strong networks for the plant floor. Priorities will include identification and remediation of communication bottlenecks on existing networks. It may be necessary to work with a variety of business partners to properly converge plant-floor and office systems, providing real time manufacturing data to the front office to help drive needed business outcomes.
It is vital to know that the most accurate production data resides in the DCSs and PLCs described prior. If data can be gathered and contextualized in an expeditious and meaningful way, producers can improve profitability. They could possibly avoid a run-off spec or non-conforming product, or modify production to minimize giveaway. Furthermore, they can examine the data and make an updated decision to run a particular product on a different shift to take advantage of labor, weather, or utility costs. The status quo of running manufacturing plants the same way it’s always been run isn’t viable in today’s highly competitive environment.
When deciding a partner for your plant floor networking needs, you want to pick one that not only understands the unique needs of the manufacturing environment but also understands the network technology of yesterday, today, and the future. You should look for a team that can help you mix all of your production assets regardless of age. Finally, your goal should be to connect the ‘shop floor to the top floor’ to drive effective business outcomes and truly take advantage of the industrial IoT.
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com