22 PPTex - Communications
Digitalisation for a new age I
n 2020, there have been and will be many developments across all industries where explosive atmospheres mean strict rules need to be adhered to.
towards the future and key plants looking to become more efficient through the optimisation of assets. The Industry 4.0 market was valued at an estimated US$71.7
computers are an ideal solution for companies adopting Industry 4.0 technology as they are more flexible, save costs, and help with innovation. Operating a closed loop system
There are some particularly exciting developments happening in terms of mobility
billion in 2019 and is expected to reach US$156.6 billion by 2024. The technology advancements related to Industry 4.0 will see
means data/systems can be managed more easily. Key drivers for Edge computing are that as the number of sensors increase,
in hazardous areas, including operating systems/chipset upgrades and new mobile products. However, the certification process for these products can take a long time – up-to 5 years in some cases. This is why the specifications for hazardous area mobiles and tablets, for example, aren’t the same as your desktop/laptop. Certification is for the proposed specification only and they cannot be upgraded (for ATEX/IECEx Zone 1). For Zone 2, there are more options and an I5/I7 Processor similar to the current specifications
much improved Return on Investment for many companies. For large refineries, downtime is extremely costly and many are adopting new technology to keep operations up and running. A Shell refinery in the Netherlands for example has its equipment and operation monitored by 50,000 sensors that generate 100,000 measurements a minute. Machine learning and AI were implemented to analyse and process this key data – preventing failures,
plants gain more insight and data sets. Local devices no longer have the processing power to deliver scaled analytics and the ‘Cloud’ can suffer latency issues. As Digital Twins communicate, low latency is key to make sure processes are done correctly. Edge computers will be heavily used for analysis, data cleansing, and filtering which means only important data is ‘sent’ to the engineering team to ensure all is in order. By using AI/ Machine Learning, algorithms can be used to build in operational limits that, if exceeded,
of ‘mainstream’ desktops/laptops can be used. You can therefore have confidence
helping maintenance strategies and keeping the plant working. The technology meant large
cause an alert to be sent to an alarm system or the control room, depending on the risk
that the devices are fit for purpose when they are officially released. All are MIL-STD-810G certified and have varying IP ratings. This
cost savings for the operator and notification periods increased dramatically.
associated with that part of the operation.
Digital Twins
Onshore and offshore networking
We have all heard the terms IoT, IIoT, and
Digital Twins, where a cloud-based asset is digitally run in the background, also offer ways for production to be improved. Breakages and failures can be seen before they happen, meaning operations teams can optimise the
How does this all work? First an initial radio frequency (WiFi) Survey, through proof of concept, then roll-out and integration, before then linking to ERP (back-end databases). There are key milestones that need to be
Industry 4.0 in relation to sectors looking
output without risking lives in the field. Edge
met – initially network. Without a suitable 4G
is only one piece of the ‘jigsaw’ for digital transformation though – it all needs to be linked, accessible, secure and relevant to the job role or use case.
www.hazardexonthenet.net
