Drives & Controls October 2022

27 www.drivesncontrols.com October 2022 BIG DATA n Inaccessible data Assets can sometimes generate data in a format that is inaccessible via traditional industrial systems. Some smart devices have on-board data, such as error logs, which is not communicated via standard communication protocols but would be extremely useful when analysing events that are causing downtime. Non-digitalised data At some facilities, personnel still complete forms and documents in a physical paper format, with no provision for integrating this data with digital records. In the more modern approach, digital methods are used to gather this data, leading to “paperless”plants. Transmitting stranded data to the cloud Organisations that want to analyse operational performance across an entire facility, or multiple facilities, are looking for ways to transmit stranded edge data from the field to the cloud, so that it can be historised and analysed. When stranded data can be liberated from traditional data sources and transmitted to cloud-hosted applications and services, it creates many opportunities to achieve significant benefits. Examples include remote monitoring, predictive diagnostics and root cause analysis, long-term data analytics, like- for-like asset analysis within and across multiple facilities, cross-domain data analysis, and insights into production bottlenecks. IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) initiatives canmeet the challenges of stranded data and effectively connect edge data to the cloud. These systems integrate hardware technologies in the field, software running both at the edge and in the cloud, and communications protocols, to securely and efficiently transmit data for analysis and other uses. Edge systems can be an integral part of automation systems or installed in parallel to monitor data not needed by the automation systems. The latter approach enables organisations to obtain the data they need without impacting existing production systems. However, the key is that these new digital capabilities can connect with all forms of stranded data. Edge connections include compact or large PLCs ready to connect with industrial PCs (IPCs) running Scada or edge software suites; controllers that are ‘edge-enabled’and running Scada or edge software suites; and IPCs that are running Scada or edge software suites. Hardware deployed at the edge may need wired I/O and/or industrial comms capabilities to interact with all sources of edge data. Once obtained, the data may need to be pre-processed or organised by adding context. Maintaining context is particularly important in manufacturing environments where there can be thousands of discrete sensors monitoring and driving mechanical and physical machinery actions, and modern automation software systems help to achieve this. Finally, the data must be transmitted to higher-level systems, using protocols such as MQTT or OPC UA. It is important for any system to be standards-compliant, but flexible. Once an edge system is in place and can access the data, it should then be made accessible to higher-level IT systems, with seamless communications to cloud-hosted software. Connecting the edge to the cloud Hosting software in the cloud cuts costs, with organisations able to avoid buying and managing IT infrastructures. Cloud computing can be referred to as an ‘elastic computing’ environment because more computing or data resources can be added in real-time as required. The cloud also eliminates the challenges of configuring, deploying and managing IT hardware and software systems. Resources can instead be focused on pursuing core business objectives. Critically, the cloud enables big datasets to be processed efficiently, with CPU processing power scaling based on the needs of the analytics. Greater accessibility is possible, with data accessible fromwherever and whenever, through any device capable of hosting aWeb browser. Data security can be enhanced using different servers for storage, with back-up and disaster recovery options. A cloud architecture is the enabling infrastructure of many IIoT data projects, and the combination of these two technologies enables innovative interactions among people, objects and machines, spawning new opportunities for business development. n Awhite paper called ‘Liberate Stranded Data Via IIoT can be downloaded from https://go.emersonautomation.com/ Liberating-Whitepaper-and-AppNote