Efficient Plant November 2017 - 14

feature | industry views

Better Decisions, Reliability
Saadi Kermani, technology evangelist and business-development manager, Schneider Electric,
Industrial Information Management, Montreal, wonderware.com.

I see benefits to mobile technology in two big areas. First, information access-with mobile capabilities you can view your data anywhere, anytime, on any device. This improves operational
visibility from the operators on the floor all the way along the decision-making chain to the
executives in the c-suite. When presented through intuitive and user-friendly interfaces, this
increased access to data dramatically improves operational decision making.
The second key area is asset management. Implementing mobile-operator rounds allows
users in the field to capture data from stranded assets and access best practices wherever they
are in the plant, optimizing operations for improved asset performance and reliability.
One of the biggest concerns we've heard about wider adoption of mobile technology is safety
and compliance within the workplace. While bring-your-own-device policies are feasible for a great
number of industries, it can be hazardous in heavy-industrial environments such as refineries that must
remain C1D2 compliant. For that reason it's critical that companies select a vendor that can either provide or
partner with suppliers of reliable, trusted C1D2-compliant devices.

Quick Access for Quick Response
Alan Cone, Siemens Industry Inc., Norcross, GA, siemens.com.
The desire to have quick access to plant data is driving
more companies to implement connectivity to mobile
devices in their factories. They are not interested in
controlling the plant and machinery with the mobile
device, but are looking for quick views into equipment
status and production information, as well as getting
access to alarms and messages. This allows them to
respond faster to resolve issues and keep the factory
running.
Siemens offers applications that connect HMI and
SCADA systems with mobile devices to allow viewing
the process screen that matches the operator's terminal.
Automation systems can also be set up to direct alarms
and messages straight to mobile devices as SMS text
messages or emails. This allows the operator to see the
alarm without needing to be at the HMI. There are also
apps that talk directly with HMIs, as well as the PLCs
on the factory floor, so plant personnel and maintenance professionals can see what is happening without

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being at the machine.
Customers are also considering using augmented
reality (AR) on the factory
floor. AR allows the mobile
maintenance app to recognize
equipment and display relevant
process data, schematics, and other
resources. This resolves downtime events
faster through better and more-efficient communication with support personnel. The application connects
to the SCADA data base to pull the data for the equipment in question.
Security is a concern of many companies. Siemens
allows security to be placed on the application by
enabling different levels of user access from read only/
view only access to full control. This access is based
upon the user login and ID defined in the engineering
system for the different products.

NOVEMBER 2017

http://www.wonderware.com http://www.siemens.com http://www.EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Efficient Plant November 2017