Chemical Engineering May 2020 - 18

Newsfront
Wear it Well
W
IN BRIEF
TECHNOLOGY DRIVES
TRENDS
BOOSTING
PRODUCTIVITY
LIVE EXPERTS ON
DEMAND
ENHANCING SAFETY
Wearable technologies help chemical processors improve productivity and safety of workers
Honeywell
earable technologies
- cameras, tablets
and other devices
loaded with applications
(apps) and software that
can be attached to the body or
personal protective equipment
(PPE) - are catching on in the
chemical process industries (CPI)
because they provide an efficient
way to increase productivity and
enhance safety for maintenance
technicians and field operators.
Technology drives trends
While the concept is not new, as wearables
have been available for years, the technology
has dramatically improved, making them
more user-friendly, feature-rich and suitable
for hazardous environments than previous
iterations, opening avenues for use in a variety
of industrial applications. Wearables
are being applied to enhance maintenance
and operator activities by providing digital
libraries of necessary documents and overthe-shoulder
coaching, and are improving
worker safety by supplying location, health
and other information about the wearer in
an effort to assist with emergency response,
mustering and access control.
" Three factors are making wearable technologies
more prevalent today: improved
devices, the ability to design end-to-end,
integrated solutions and better connectivity
options, " explains Tracey Countryman, managing
director and global lead for Industry X.0
Digital Manufacturing and Operations at Accenture
(London, U.K.; www.accenture.com).
" In the past, the devices were clunky, not suitable
for industrial or hazardous environments
and were often carried in a heavy metal container
that had to be strapped on. However,
they've come a long way toward reconciling
themselves for the industrial environment. Today's
versions are lightweight, durable and
have better enclosures, so they can be certified
for use in hazardous environments and
are available at a better price point. "
She adds that by leveraging the newest
technologies to build more customized, endto-end
integrated software solutions, facilities
are able to digitize the entire work process
18
FIGURE 1. Honeywell's Intelligent Wearables are android devices that can be
hooked through clips to an industrial hard hat and are loaded with software
that provides field personnel with the necessary tools and information
and load it into a device where workers can
access documents, instructions, training videos,
work orders and the like via apps and
voice commands. The third component is
connectivity. " Three to four years ago, only a
few plants had WiFi, but now more facilities
are employing WiFi for pervasive connectivity.
Bluetooth is also widely used and 4G and
5G technologies are available at lower costs,
making connectivity a much less expensive,
more viable and easier-accessed prospect in
industry than ever before, " notes Countryman.
" These three factors are driving the adoption
of wearable technologies for industrial use. "
And, statistics demonstrate the anticipated
growth. " The Industry 4.0 market opportunity
is currently worth $110 billion by
total economic value, with Accenture estimating
that the industrial internet of things
(IIoT) could impact 46% of the global economy,
estimated at $14 trillion, by 2030. In the
connected worker space, wearable technology
and wearable sensor devices alone is
growing at a predicted 13.1% compound
annual growth rate and is estimated to reach
$4.3 billion in the next 20 years, " says Mark
Bernstein, CEO of Wearable Technologies,
Ltd. (Leicestershire, UK; www.eleksen.com),
quoting from an Accenture Industrial Internet
of Things Positioning Paper Report.
More specifically, Accenture's Countryman,
quoting Accenture's Digital State of the
Industry Report, adds that when chemical
companies were asked how much they'd
invest in mobility/wearables in the next 12
months (from 2018), 77% said they'd invest
nothing; however, 16% said they'd inCHEMICAL
ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM MAY 2020
http://www.accenture.com http://www.eleksen.com http://WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
Chemical Engineering May 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering May 2020
