Role of HISTORIAN in a fast-changing industrial world

Role of HISTORIAN in a fast-changing industrial world

by | Mar 15, 2023 | Articles

Big Data is the new buzzword in the town as industries realize its importance and benefits. Many sectors are investing in analytics to unlock hidden potential in the data generated by their machines. Most of this data comprises sensor data, process data, performance logs, etc.
The product design and development teams benefit the most from Big Data. The amount of data generated by industries is enormous and is constantly increasing. Some industries generate up to 8 gigabytes of data per day. This data needs to be appropriately managed. Thus, the role of a data historian becomes critical for smooth integration, storage, and access of industrial data.

Historian and its use in Industry 4.0 / IIoT

Data historian is a part of industrial automation solutions and helps with end-to-end data management. This data is processed by digital transformation services to help industries make data-driven decisions for maximizing operational excellence and profit. Some advantages of deploying data historians are:

  1. Data accessibility: Data historians can collect data from multiple sources and store it in a structured and secure format. Object linking, OPC UA, etc., are some protocols used to get the data ready for consumption.
  2. Cost reduction: Data compression algorithms used by data historians help store large data volumes efficiently for more extended periods. The maintenance costs are reduced significantly by data compression. Moreover, databases can be accessed by systems like MRP, ERP, SCM, etc., which reduces data loss and data integration costs.
  3. Easy access: Compared to relational databases, data historians are faster in storing or retrieving data in real-time. Thus, data is available 24X7 for visualizations or analysis.

Evolution of HISTORIAN with IIoT and Big Data

Data historians had supported product design and development teams in industries since the 1970s when the first general-purpose computers were introduced in markets.

The older data systems were time-series databases that were deployed on the industry’s premise. As a result, very little data was clocked, and the main focus was on data visualizations only.

With the advancement in technologies and the onset of the digital world, the focus has shifted to cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and IIoT platform. Due to these changes, the industrial engineering services teams expect data historians to have enhanced data wrangling capabilities.

This includes data identification, metadata addition, data relationship mapping, and dataset mobilization to various servers.

The old and standard data aggregation process has become obsolete. Product engineering services teams are looking for end-to-end data management and digital transformation services.

How HISTORIAN Improve the OEE

OEE, overall equipment effectiveness, is a benchmark to quantify manufacturing productivity. A 100% OEE score points to the fact that your industry produces high-quality products without any downtime.

Once the industrial processes are automated, the OEE benchmark will become more critical. Data historian is beneficial in improving OEE scores:

  1. Bidirectional communication is possible with advanced data historians.
  2. Data storage, processing, and analysis can be done in real-time. Thus, building and integrating machine learning models with batch analytics becomes easy.
  3. 24X7 data access helps in monitoring the industrial equipment and creating real-time alerts.
    Data encryption technology makes the system safe.

How HISTORIAN is Dominating the next Gen Industrial Data

The data historian is evolving with technology innovations and industry requirements. Simple data storing in the 1970s has changed to data architecture and infrastructure.

As per the Industry 4.0 requirements, features like data integration, asset modeling, visualization, analysis, etc., should be part of industrial automation solutions.

The future of data historians has much more data crunching and analysis in store for it. In addition, operations data historians are challenging to work with and expensive to implement.

Moreover, they have limited visualization and analysis capabilities. These data historians are not scalable across multiple platforms also. Thus, it becomes difficult for the system to process large volumes of data.

The key technologies that future data historians need to incorporate are:
1.Data wrangling: Data is the new gold for industries. If data quality is terrible, extracting insights from it will be a painful task. Thus, data historians should have capabilities like data aggregation, data cleansing, data enrichment, etc.

2.Digital Twin: The digital twin concept is to replicate the industry’s processes and products virtually. The virtual world provides the capability to model a product’s attributes based on the data associated with it.

3.Blockchain: It is a record-keeping technology that facilitates transactions through decentralized networks. No central authority can control the data in the blockchain ecosystem. Thus, the data remains safe and secure.

4.OPC UA: It is the primary communications protocol for Industry 4.0. OPC UA enables hassle-free communication between heterogeneous machines. This technology saves a lot of time and reduces costs for industries in collecting and sharing data for analysis.

The takeaway

The automation journey for industries isn’t a straightforward path. There are a lot of features that need to be incorporated into the Industry 4.0 framework. Utthunga takes pride in introducing its highly skilled team to handle automation for industrial engineering services.

This team can support digital transformation consulting and Testing as a service automation product. So, if you are interested in hiring a consultancy for industrial automation services, you can reach out to our team for a discussion.

How OPC UA is Revolutionizing Industrial Automation

How OPC UA is Revolutionizing Industrial Automation

by | Mar 13, 2023 | Blogs

revolutionizing Industrial Automation

Think about a production plant or a manufacturing unit, it is a visual cacophony of machines, robots, assembly lines, drives and many more parts, and yet completely (almost!) synchronized and working together. Bringing all of them together is the Industrial Internet of Things coupled with the open, Ethernet-based OPC UA communication standard that forms an critical part of the industrial automation landscape.

OPC UA does the job of integrating the IT/OT technologies with the diverse products, solutions and services across the entire OEMs, factory and process systems. Whether it is the security measures, networking, establishing standardized communication or needing a vendor and platform neutrality, OPC UA lays the foundation for a digitized industrial automation .

Source: Opcfoundation.org, OPC UA Interoperability for Industry 4.0 and IoT.

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Connecting machine data to the enterprise

It is a fact that automation in the industrial world open doors for new business opportunities, enhanced solutions and services. But, the reality faced is how to effectively transfer the raw data generated from the shop floor equipment to the business applications like ERPs, CRMs; and draw insights to take actionable decisions for a competitive advantage.

Having a fully automated OEM unit or process system means having real-time and accurate information from these systems for analysis, machine alerts, maintenance notifications etc. based on your priorities. OPC UA provides two paths for this integration process:

  1. Via customized development solutions and services through OPC UA stack APIs
  2. Providing COTS solutions such as connectors, servers, clients etc. that connect your machines, field devices and other equipment etc. to the enterprise

OPC UA is the open source communication standard protocol designed specifically for industrial automation. It acts as a bridge that connects the IT with the OT, for information exchange between machines, devices or within devices. Implementation of this magnitude needs extensive software and hardware support through the OPC SDK that helps the stakeholders to overcome the various development and integration challenges associated with this process.

Consisting of APIs, OPC UA stack, protocols and sample implementations that support different platforms like Windows, Android, iOS, Linux, and programming languages like C, C# and Java; the SDK makes your devices, products and applications to be OPC enabled.

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Meeting the Industry 4.0 requirements

Industry 4.0 mandates interoperability and standardized data connectivity for meeting its specific requirements including but not limited to

  • Integration across all levels.
  • Secure transfer and authentication at user and application levels.
  • Conformity to industry standards.
  • Scalability.
  • Semantic mapping of various information models to represent the actual products and their production steps.
  • Ability to plug-and-produce (instant discovery mechanisms that identifies OPC UA enabled devices and their functions when added to a network)

OPC UA serves as the common data connectivity and collaboration standard for local and remote device access in IoT, M2M, and Industry 4.0 settings. It supports OPC UA Server development, OPC UA Client Development and OPC UA Nano Server development for various communication mechanisms:

1. OPC UA client/server Model:

This one-to-one communication mechanism is used extensively in automation. The OPC server transfers the data to the OPC client based upon request in a secure, encrypted and reliable manner using the communication protocols such as EtherNet/IP, Modbus, etc.

2. OPC UA PubSub Model:

In the network, one-to-many or many-to-one communication mechanism is established. The data is available from the publisher, which can be accessed by multiple subscribers. Along with Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) and cloud environment, OPC UA PubSub enables real-time communication at the control level (sensor, actuator or embedded devices) and meets the demands of time-critical applications.

3. OPC UA over TSN:

While OPC UA provides a standardized mechanism for data communication in a secure way; TSN is the infrastructure of vast array of sensors, actuators and other automation devices that extends the OPC UA information model down to the field level. TSN provides interoperability to the data link (layer 2) of the communication network. Thus, allowing guaranteed, optimized and scalable bandwidths for real-time capability and low latency in the network.

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Utthunga’s OPC Spectrum

Utthunga’s comprehensive integrated automation service portfolio extends from the field-level devices to the enterprise-level systems. Enabling in this endeavour is Utthunga’s uOPC Suite, OPC product portfolio; and consultation and development services that help manufacturers to take advantage of all the modern technologies like AI, mobile devices, big data, machine learning, predictive maintenance, machine vision and more to create a smart industry automation environment.

As a flexible partner for OPC UA, our OPC offerings designed by experienced and certified professionals provide both horizontal (between devices from different vendors on different networks) and vertical support (from the factory floor to the enterprise level) thus enabling the industry 4.0 ecosystem.

Our technical and domain expertise in embedded, mobile, multi-platform and cloud connectivity for OPC UA Server development, OPC UA Client Development and OPC UA Nano Server development using the uOPC Suite helps in planning, executing, and delivering high-grade services and turnkey projects. It is designed to drastically reduce time and efforts to build custom solutions with easy integration and configuration.

Partners, end users, and customers can leverage our IP to deliver mix of solutions and services for:

  • Building products using out accelerators (protocol stacks, edge connectivity stack – uCOnnect, cloud application framework- Javelin)
  • Connecting heterogeneous system using our industry protocols stacks (HART, FF, PROFIBUS, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP etc.)
  • Creating field device integration and connectivity (FDT/DTM, FDI, OPC) solutions

Please visit our website or contact us directly to learn more about our OPC UA capabilities.

Software Testing in Industry 4.0

Software Testing in Industry 4.0

by | Mar 13, 2023 | Blogs

The fourth edition of the Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0, as it is commonly known is here to stay. The industrial processes are now witnessing a collaboration of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) for overall performance and business improvement. As digital transformation paves its way, industries are using more and more software to accomplish various tasks. Software vendors, be it ISVs or industrial OEMs, need reliable software testing tools to ensure the quality of these systems.

The quality and sustainability of an industrial automation system has to be thoroughly tested before it reaches the market. The software needs to be reliable and defect free to prevent any serious health or financial damage to the company. It needs to undergo field device testing, interoperability testing, pre-compliance or pre-certification testing and security testing besides the usual functional and non-functional testing.

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Functional testing:

Ensures each function of the software is in compliance with the required specification Is independent of the source of the codes
Involves black box and white box testing
Necessary and relevant inputs are given and the results are compared with the ideal outcome

Nonfunctional testing:

Ensures features like software usability, reliability, security, etc. are in place and the product is ready to be launched
Primary focus is on customer expectation
Gives insights into the working of the software
Software testing in industrial automation systems
In the internet of industrial things, variety of systems and components are connected together to work as a single system. An IIoT network can be said to be a combination of:

Field devices like sensors, actuators
Embedded devices
Desktop applications
Enterprise applications
Cloud applications
Each of these is dependent on software in some way or the other. Therefore, for assurance of quality, it is imperative to carry out testing for each of these component types.

To test each of them, a proper test framework required. The framework functions at different levels and tests various industrial field devices, hosts, applications and network for both functional and non-functional parameters. Here the quality assurance professionals ensure delivery of product and solution as per guidelines and specifications. Software testing involves setting of test jigs and test beds, which provide support for both actual testing and test simulations.

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Some of the testing areas are as below:

Industrial sensors

Industrial sensors are an imperative part of the industrial automation system. They help collect measurable data for functional testing purposes. The type of testing of sensors depends on the nature and application of sensors in the field.

Embedded devices

In order to check if the software and hardware in an embedded system meets the required expectations of both functional and non-functional attributes, it needs to be tested. Any protocol compliance testing company will run tests that not only picks out the bugs but also improves the system performance, efficiency and reduces the risks for both company and its customers.

Desktop and enterprise applications

A desktop application is essentially a software that monitors or controls the devices or performs other tasks (local to the plant) from a desktop. Enterprise applications on the other hand are mostly web-based that provide a business or an enterprise with macro information that directly impact profitability.

Cloud/on premise applications

Whether you use a third-party application like cloud to store data or store everything within the company, you need to make sure the applications are safe, secure, available and efficient.

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Conclusion

With the continued adoption of IIoT and the explosion in the number of things/nodes in the local, private and public industrial networks, software vendors must ensure that their products are top notch with few or no defects. Defective or error prone nodes in the network will become the bottleneck and undermine the value of the entire system.

It is here that testing frameworks and rigorous device testing and compliance testing play an important role to ensure industrial products operate as expected.

We at Utthunga are experts in providing end-to-end testing services that includes software, hardware and firmware. Contact us to know more about our software testing which is so very critical in the era of Industry 4.0.

5 Practical Applications of IIoT in Industrial Automation

5 Practical Applications of IIoT in Industrial Automation

by | Mar 13, 2023 | Blogs

industrial automation

Industrial Internet of Things or IIoT refers to interconnected instruments, sensors and other devices which can be networked together in an industrial setting. This connectivity enables remote access, efficient monitoring, data acquisition and collection, analysis and exchange of different data sources and a lot more. IIoT solutions have enormous potential for increasing productivity, and are also known for their low cost and quick implementation.

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IIoT solutions require various factors working together including:

  • Industrial ‘things’ – The devices that are directly or indirectly internet-enabled like human machine Interfaces (HMI), PLCs, IP cameras and sensors.
  • Connectivity – Connecting the internet with ‘things’ via industry protocols, Wi-Fi, 4G/cellular, Ethernet connections.
  • Data – Collection, storage and processing of data with the help of devices is central to the value of IIoT.
  • Cloud platform – A significant key to IIoT is the secure and centralised cloud platform to host the data and enable remote services.
  • Analytics dashboard – For analysis of data and monitoring machines.
  • Intelligence and action – Data is analysed by both smart device functions as well as humans to send alarms/notifications to any other system.

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IIoT in industrial automation

On the threshold of fourth industrial revolution, industrial organizations are investing more in IIoT to improve the operational performance, visibility and insights, which can help in streamlining the processes. Eliminating the complexity out of deploying, connecting and managing devices in industries is key to IIoT success.

Here are some of the key benefits that you can expect from industrial IIoT solutions:

Increase Efficiency

The top benefit of IIoT is that it provides the ability to automate, remotely monitor operations and make data-driven decisions, thus enhancing the operational efficiency.

Reduce Errors

Industrial IoT digitizes nearly all processes. By reducing manual procedures and entries, the risk associated with human errors is largely reduced.

Provide Predictive Maintenance

Machine and asset downtime can adversely impact industrial operations. Industrial IoT solutions can consistently monitor the performance and functions of various industrial assets and help in creating a baseline. This baseline along with corresponding data can empower the industries with the information that will enable them resolve pre-emptively any issues.

Improve Safety

Fully functioning IIoT solutions have integrated safety systems that uses data from monitoring and control devices to help in improving workplace safety. In case, any incident occurs, valuable data is obtained from these systems, which can help in preventing their repeated occurrence in the future. Wearables are also used in industrial IoT operations that keep tab on things such as the surrounding noise levels and employee posture, etc. and can instantly alert the employees when they do not follow proper safety procedures.

Reduce Cost

The knowledge gained through the IIoT solutions provide important data-driven insights which help in improving the processes, including designing, operation, manufacturing, marketing, sales and a lot more, thus, steering the business in profitable direction.

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Top 5 practical applications of IIoT in industrial automation

1. Remote access of machines

With remote access to industrial machines, the service engineers and other stakeholders can conveniently access the machine from their current locations, check their log files on the PLCs and change settings if required. It will take only a few minutes to access the machine and find problem, which will save a time-consuming trip to the manufacturer’s site.

2. Update new functionalities on HMIs

New functionalities are added to the machines to make the job more efficient and fast. While the programmer implements this functionality in the control panel of the machine, the HMI software needs to be updated, and tested in order to launch the new functionality. In that case, HMI software updates can be applied remotely through secure network access over the internet. With the web-based virtual network connection, you are able to view and check the HMI functionality anytime on that IIoT platform.

3. Predictive analysis for machine maintenance

As with all hardware, even the IIoT enabled machines undergo wear and tear before finally replaced with new equipments. In such scenarios, active and regular maintenance is crucial to prevent downtime and decreased production output. Using cloud to collect, store and access information on the machine parts, maintenance engineers can keep track of the remaining useful life (RUL) for every asset. Automatic notifications can be sent to the right person if an asset reaches its maintenance limit. By analysing the potential problems via remote access and online diagnostics tools, you are likely to get the right spare parts.

4. Analyse and optimize industrial robot actions

Industrial robots can make repetitive work easy. IIoT features with remote access can change the robot program actions and get better insights of the log files. Video analysis can also help in improving the actions of certain robots. Access to live stream and IP camera recordings can make improvements far more easy and fast. A VPN connection can be set up easily for full network access to any device that is connected to the robot.

5. Manage building automation data from multiple locations

IIoT can be used to monitor and control the heating, lighting, energy consumption, fire protection, employee safety and many other systems for multiple buildings from a central location. The real-time machine data can be transferred to a central cloud application, using industrial communication networks.

If you are planning to automate your processes in a smart way, then IIoT is the way to go. IIoT is bringing forth new business models to increase revenue, while at the same time acting as a force multiplier for improved productivity and efficiency.To know more about how Utthunga can help you create a smart building or factory and improve your business productivity, efficiency, reliability and ROI, visit https://utthunga.com/.

Top 4 IIoT advantages for Oil and Gas industry

Top 4 IIoT advantages for Oil and Gas industry

by | Mar 13, 2023 | Blogs

Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is the next big thing that’s happening across the industrial sector. An offset of the IoT, this technology revolves around the use of sensors, devices and software for industrial automation. A survey by McKinsey Digital states that IIoT is set to make an economic impact of up to $11.1 trillion by 2025. Companies that invest in IIoT are estimated to capture a major share of the profit margins. The oil and gas industry is one of the industries where IIoT is expected to play a huge role, both in terms of optimizing processes and enhancing safety.

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Below are the four IIoT advantages for oil and gas industry to leverage and add value to their integrated business strategies.

 

1. Asset tracking, monitoring & maintenance:

A typical oil and gas company has multiple refineries that need to be regularly inspected for maintenance and repair. Though it is very important, in many cases, the staff may not be able to do a thorough physical inspection due to various reasons. Setting up an equipment and connecting it to an IoT network can help reduce the need for manual inspections a great deal.

IIoT can be effectively used in monitoring the working condition of field devices, sensors, actuators, valves and other assets of the refineries. Sensors can be fitted on the pumps, pipes, filters, valves and other components. These sensors collect data regarding the asset operation, temperature, speed, pressure or other parameters based on pre-determined conditions. They transmit the data in real time to an external storage, that could very well be on cloud. An experienced technician can analyse the data collected by the sensors to identify if there is any malfunction or impending malfunction in the asset.

At the same time, the sensors also enable technicians to keep track of all the mechanical components of the machineries used in the refineries. It also enables managers to keep track of the replacement parts and spare parts. Based on the tracking details, they will have information regarding the exact location of the new spare/replacement part. Therefore, IIoT enables real-time asset tracking and monitoring, which is not possible during manual inspections.

Moreover, the data collected by the IIoT network allows proactive identification of possible issues. So, technicians can immediately go to the exact point where the anomaly was observed based on the data and do the needful.

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2. Data management:

The second major advantage of using an IIoT network is efficient and effective data management. Technologies such as cloud computing, standards based connectivity solutions, etc. help in better data management, which in turn reduces expenses and improves the profit margin. Integrated sensors collect data using industrial protocols from various assets present in the supervisory networks, plant networks, fieldbus networks and ICS networks. Cloud is used to aggregate, integrate and store data from different sources in different formats. Methods such as edge-analytics and edge-processing are used to analyse data and gain insights and information.

Two factors affect the informed decision-making process. First, is the need for reliable and accurate data, and second is the loss of experienced personnel due to organizational restructure or retirements. Through data analysis and remote monitoring, effective asset management and set up of maintenance programs will ensure that the decision makers streamline and optimise the rig operations.

Real-time data obtained from the IoT network can be used to improve the extraction process and drilling strategies. A study by Bain and Company shows that effective use of data management can help oil and gas companies improve their production by 6 to 8%. Also, with monitoring and maintenance, a lot of the unnecessary expenses can be cut down. Plus, the staff don’t need to spend a lot of time and effort on the field trying to identify possible causes of problems. The automated network brings all the data to their fingertips on their systems.

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3. Supply chain, logistics & transportation

The supply chain and logistics is one place where IIoT can be very beneficial. Based on the data collected from various touchpoints of the network, managers can plan and schedule their procurements, supplies, and identify the best practises. Connectivity is a huge problem when pipelines and ships are transporting oil and gas. At such time, the stakeholders need to rely on satellite communication to transmit data. It is also difficult to regularly check the working condition and obtain regular updates on the oil pipelines or the ships. Low-power wide-area networks (LPWAN) can be installed in areas of pipelines that are difficult to access. Additionally, wired and wireless networks can be setup along the transportation lines to collect relevant data and transmit it to a cloud source via the satellite connectivity. The office staff will have reliable and accurate information that will help them organise the oil deliveries better.

4. Health & Safety:

One of the major areas where IIoT can play a huge role is health and safety of the employees as well as maintaining the carbon footprint of the refinery. Oil and gas drills and refineries are usually located in dangerous and far-flung areas away from the crowded cities. While the remote location makes it convenient to drill oil, the same distance can make it difficult when there are health and safety issues. A network of connected sensors can help get real-time data on what’s happening on the ground. Also, remote equipment monitoring and predictive maintenance can greatly reduce machine repairs and breakdowns. Data such as pressure, air conditions and other parameters captured by the sensors and real-time images captured by surveillance systems can help ensure that the highest safety standards is maintained at the job site. The workers at the drill site are asked to wear wearables with trackers to ensure their locations can be immediately identified and notified in case of emergencies. All this data can be used to reduce accidents and fatalities.

The IIoT data helps reduce spills, pipe leaks and accidents, which could cause environmental damages. It can also be used, to analyse and identify areas where the carbon footprint can be reduced.

IIoT is definitely the future of the oil and gas industries. This technology helps enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs and aid business growth by delivering real-time and accurate data. Utthunga is a tech-based company with expertise in industrial automation. We can set up an integrated IIoT system for all your oil drilling sites and refineries based on your specific requirements. Contact us to know more.