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Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
All-things-business. Smart & connected.
Your reliance on systems and technology is ever-increasing.
All the while, failures keep surprising you.
Your people rush around, leaving no time for checks and optimisations.
Yet your Operations department continues its efforts to plan while costs keep rising.
The question arises: How can you be kept actively informed in order to react swiftly and most efficiently?
Connect critical information with Industrial Internet of Things.
Want to know how to efficiently work thanks to data and smart sensors?
Always and everywhere have up-to-date insight into what needs to be done now?
Fully automated without manual intervention?
We can make it happen.
Anytime. Anywhere.
Smarter operations with connected data..
Full operational insight
Automated actions and information
Stay proactively informed
Information flows applied to your processes
Optimisation and reduction of operational costs
Product control and validation
Production capacity and resource availability
Integrations with e.g. ERP and CRM
Automated monitoring for e.g. hygiene
Risk and deviation reporting
Meeting reduction targets
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) automation
Raw material, product and order data at source
Automated planning
And a whole lot more
Frequently asked questions about Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
The solutions are basically the same. When we use the general term IoT, we are talking about solutions for businesses and consumers. When we talk about IIoT, we are referring to solutions specifically for the(manufacturing) industry.
When we talk about IIoT, we are also talking about solutions that have a role to play in terms of:
- compliance with internal and external regulations
- demanding conditions and harsh environments
- more explicit conditions with a critical impact.
IIoT stands for: Industrial Internet of Things
In Dutch ‘Industrial Internet of Things’ translates to: ‘Industriële Internet der Dingen’
We’ve listed the key points for you:
- an IP67 rating or higher for sensors and systems,
- data processing exponentially higher and faster (<100ms for IIoT vs. 1 second for IoT)
- strategically designed infrastructure with end-to-end redundant connectivity
- guaranteed stable data exchange, even over long distances
- suitable for protocols such as Modbus, Profinet and OPC UA
- interfacing with PLC (hardware) and SCADA (software) systems
- processes with a long lead time and for which equipment cannot be 'just' switched off
Common terms in the world of IIoT are:
- Digital Factory
- Smart Industry
- Industry 4.0
- The Fourth Industrial Revolution
- Future-proof industry
- Digital chain
- Smart industry
- Smart skills
- Robotics
- Circular production processes
- Smart maintenance
The most common drivers for starting with IIoT are twofold:
- You wish to create added value for your customer.
- You are striving to improve an internal process.
Key benefits at a glance:
- Product improvements
- Predictability
- Better service
- Tracking of goods
- Increased efficiency
- Improved safety
- Energy savings
We’ve listed common reasons to start with IIoT:
- Connect systems and processes effortlessly, even if they are not originally connected.
- Create a truthful view through modern protocols and communication.
- Add new systems easily.
- Centralise data and information.
- Monitor 24/7 with modern techniques, including Machine Learning & AI. This allows you to be everywhere at once.
- Link effortlessly with external sources and services, e.g. via the internet.
Some examples of successful outcomes with IIoT:
- Minimise downtime
- Maximise progress and scale your processes
- Improve planning and communication
- Create a single view of your entire operation, including your internal tools such as planning, ERP, CRM and external data streams
- Identify deviations in your processes and systems that lead to energy losses, e.g. outside regular production hours
- Discover energy usage and interdependencies of systems in your process chain
- Achieve easy wins and returns by making relatively small and simple adjustments that lead to savings and optimisations
- Reduce costs and create new investment opportunities through energy savings
Modernising your operations and processes is inevitable. As such, IIoT offers significant benefits. That said, it may be important to consider whether it is the right choice for your particular situation:
- When considering IIoT, it is essential to understand and evaluate the total cost. Identify clear business goals and measurable outcomes.
- Also, make sure your organisation is equipped to tackle the security challenges associated with the connectivity of IIoT devices. You need people and partners who are knowledgeable about the process, machines, PLC, modern (cloud) technology, cyber security and data.
- It is also important to ensure interoperability with your existing systems. In other words, the ability of your chosen IIoT solutions to communicate, interact and exchange data with your existing systems, devices and software. Even if they were not originally made for each other.
In short, be prepared that applying IIoT involves a lot of questions that take time. It is essential to carefully take all considerations into account before deciding whether IIoT is suitable for your specific circumstances.
Start small. By starting small, testing with little risk and moving forward step by step, you can experience the benefits without major disruptions to your current processes.
Go for quick wins. In doing so, choose simple projects where the most urgent concerns and optimisation are needed. Think of adding sensors; this is usually a quick fix and makes existing machines accessible without downtime. Moreover, if you import existing data, you will easily and smoothly achieve new insights.
Share relevant information only (and fast). Avoid making people sit around waiting for something to happen and looking at screens all day. Instead, proactively provide information from your systems in a variety of ways. Ultimately, the IIoT only has a chance of success if the notifications from your sensors are easy to interpret visually and your people can work with them.
In any case, make sure that the operations manager receives all information that has a critical impact on the product, process and business outcome.
There are plenty of solutions that allow an IIoT network and sensors to operate completely isolated and offline.
Communication between a sensor and the system where the data converges can be done in many ways. Consider sensors that are wired or wirelessly linked via, for example, WiFi, Modbus, Ethernet, Profinet, OPC UA, NB-IoT, LTE, 4G/5G or LoRaWAN.
Once the data is unlocked from the device or sensor, there are many ways to get it where it needs to go. Commonly used technical solutions to move this data are MQTT, API and Websockets.
Infinite, worldwide and even in space. As long as it has some form of communications traffic, it can function.
This allows sensors to cover not only physical locations but also moving objects such as pump trucks, forklifts, crates, pits, trucks, containers, and parcels.
On average, battery or rechargeable sensors last 3 to 5 years. The most important factor is the reporting period, e.g. every 10 minutes.
It is usually possible to replace the battery. The sensors report their status regularly so that failures can be prevented and replacement can take place in time.
Yes. In 2024, IIoT is here to stay, with a projected growth to 64 billion connected devices by 2025.
Modern devices will automatically become part of an IIoT network. Think of mobile devices that can effortlessly control lights or alarms.
The best solution is to monitor the in-place network. This will quickly reveal which (unknown) IIoT devices are connected in the network and what they are communicating with.
In many cases, a firewall can also provide quick insight into what traffic is taking place to find traces of IIoT and sensors.