Chemical Engineering December 2011 - 41

policies across all devices and systems
within the entire network. Capabilities
should be able to meter and route
diverse communications based on
criticality and realtime network availability.
System alerts should notify the
administrator and vendor of any areas
of potential device- or bandwidthlatency
problems, before they occur.
These are core features that make it
possible to promise security, performance,
and reliability in a multi-vendor,
multi-frequency industrial wireless
network. An ideal system gathers
and centralizes wireless network performance
data and presents the data
in table or graph format, such as producing
wireless reports on " rogue " devices,
spectrum signal and noise ratio
strengths. In the end, this capability
should allow administrators to use reports
that help them to make informed
decisions about whether the network
needs to be tuned or expanded to meet
operational goals.
9. Management and maintenance
support and metrics. If something
goes wrong, or needs fixing, what type
of support can you expect from your
vendor? Do they have around the
clock support to meet your business
needs for system reliability, especially
during turnarounds when immediate
responses are necessary to meet tight
deadlines? Other support services
that should be evaluated include wireless
application management, diagnosis,
troubleshooting, management
of systems, policies, performance and
security, auditing, remote monitoring
and regular roadmap reviews. What
types of measurements does your
vendor provide to track stability and
performance? Can the vendor help you
establish a baseline of performance to
determine the before-and-after impact
of whether a wireless system is helping
to achieve the desired results?
10. Process improvement. The vendor
should be mindful of your business
rules and processes and ensure
that the system will not disrupt standard
operating procedures. With that
in mind, be aware that a wireless
system often uncovers better ways to
perform, whether in critical asset utilization,
worker productivity or data
availability.
■
Edited by Rebekkah Marshall
Author
John Barth works with Apprion,
Inc.
(Address:
1340
Space
Park Way, Mountain
View, CA 94043; Phone: 650934-5762;
Email: john.barth@
apprion.com) in its Strategic
Chemical and Energy Accounts.
In his nearly 20 years
in the technology industry,
Barth has served in capacities
from sales and account
management to project management
to executive leadership. His clients
have included more than a dozen major chemical
manufacturers and petroleum refiners as well
as all of the so-called " majors " in the integrated
energy area. Prior to joining Apprion, Barth was
the vice president of professional services for
Rapid Solutions, a Houston-based technology
organization that pioneered realtime proceduremanagement
and field-mobility software for industrial
facilities.
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Chemical Engineering December 2011

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