Industrial Monitoring & Control
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| Wireless device networking is experiencing equally large interest in manufacturing automation. Eliminating the need to install and maintain physical cables significantly reduces the cost associated with new installations, as well as the deployment of incremental data points as the installation grows or changes. Hard-to-wire assets such as rotating machinery can now be easily reached and integrated into the network, and assets can just as easily be relocated or reconfigured, without the time and cost required for re-cabling.
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Process Monitoring
Process monitoring provides plant operators with essential information on plant productivity, requiring sensor solutions that can continuously monitor process performance and identify deficiencies in real-time. The prospect of a wireless interface for these sensing points holds particular appeal for plant operators, allowing them to extend monitoring to previously unreachable areas and to deploy additional measuring points at a small fraction of the cost of an equivalent wired point. Naturally, a prerequisite for success is the ability of the wireless network to deliver high reliability in harsh industrial environments. |
As many SenzaNET deployments have shown, wireless device networks possessing mesh networking, channel hopping and time synchronization capabilities meet this crucial test. The release of the WirelessHART standard by the HART Communication Foundation in 2007 marks a breakthrough for the process industry, paving the road for standards-based and interoperable implementations of these networks.
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Plant Asset Management
Wireless monitoring of equipment, components, and machines also enables more efficient utilization of assets and personnel. Asset management and its overall effectiveness, especially with respect to shorter downtimes, will often determine the success of the company. For industrial asset management specifically, much more predictive diagnostic information is usually available at the device level than is being extracted, largely due to limitations in wired data transmission. The new WirelessHART standard will enable millions of installed HART devices to share this valuable information. SenzaNET in its WirelessHART-compatible version can transmit this data directly into automation systems, so that maintenance activities can be preplanned and optimized. In addition, linearization, calibration and reconfiguration of devices can be performed remotely, resulting in improved workforce efficiency.
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