Managing Automation - September 2008 - (Page 45)

By tying together mesh networks and WiFi, “you can significantly reduce the number of WiFi access points you have to have,” says Bob Karschnia, vice president of wireless for Emerson Process Management. “That is a huge advantage in a geographically dispersed environment.” Emerson worked with Cisco Systems to create a WiFi/mesh networking combo. The products are marketed under the heading of Emerson Smart Wireless self-organizing solutions. ALL WIRELESS, ALL THE TIME For some manufacturers, however, implementing wireless for particular applications or in certain corners of the network is not enough. For them, the most desirable solution is to replace all wired networks throughout the enterprise in favor of wireless, with the goal of reducing costs and increasing flexibility. This is a fairly new phenomenon, says Manish Rai of Motorola, but an achievable one as long as manufacturers are willing to take on integration challenges and accept the lack of mature standards. “We are finding that the biggest headache for manufacturers today is the cost and complexity of wiring,” says Rai, director of product marketing, enterprise wireless LAN, Motorola, which estimates that manufacturing facilities spend $1,500 or more to install one wired Ethernet cable. Even considering the cost of installing wireless access points, wireless is less expensive, he says. If you are making decisions about what type of wireless infrastructure to implement — or how to enhance an existing infrastructure — you are well-advised to follow some general principles, according to Jeff Becker, director of global wireless business for Honeywell Process Solutions. First, aim for one system that will work for multiple departments and applications. Make it as simple to operate and maintain as possible. And, most important, make all your decisions with an eye toward the future. “It’s tempting, but don’t just buy the cheapest and easiest thing to solve your problem today,” Becker says. “You have to consider how you might deploy wireless in the future. Expect that you will have more wireless apps.” Make sure your infrastructure is robust enough to support future technical developments, new ap- plications, and more users, he says. Meanwhile, whether you are charging ahead with a full-scale wireless infrastructure deployment or cautiously implementing small pockets of wireless, make sure the technology vendors and service providers you use understand your present and future needs. “Without your input, they’re not going to give you what you need,” says Hall of EDS. WIRELESS IN MANUFACTURING – PART 2 WIRELESS APPS TAKE WING Now that industrial wireless networks are more reliable and secure, manufacturers are finding new applications and new ways to work. BY STEPHANIE NEIL ifteen minutes. That’s how quickly plant personnel at ConocoPhillips must be able to respond to an alarm on the plant floor. It’s a matter of safety — sometimes, a matter of life and death. Unfortunately, until recently, the company couldn’t always be sure of its ability to respond in time. “The plant standard says in applications like tank farms, we need at least a 15-minute response time,” says Alan Autenrieth, control system team leader at ConocoPhillips’ Sweeny refinery in Houston. “When we started [evaluating] the physical operations — how many operators we have, where they are, and whether they can see an alarm and respond within 15 minutes — the answer didn’t come back the way we wanted.” That was three years ago. Today, more than half of the Sweeny 8,000-acre site is blanketed by a wireless mesh network that places alarms in front of operators at any location, allowing them to respond faster. This same infrastructure, based on Honeywell Process Solutions’ OneWireless technology, also pushes procedural instructions to operators with handheld devices and provides graphical displays of tank levels and pumps in operation. Indeed, while ConocoPhillips implemented wireless to solve a specific problem, now that the infrastructure is in place, the company is exploring new applications that can surf the airwaves. Within the past year, wireless in manu- F facturing has peaked to a point where it is considered more than just an inexpensive alternative to hard-wiring. Due to several influencing factors — namely, availability of secure network topologies, the emergence of industry standards that soon should ease communications among devices, and interoperability gateways that connect different networks, as well as allow integration with enterprise applications — wireless applications are taking off in manufacturing. Several years ago, wireless was typically installed to monitor non-critical assets, such as instrumentation. Now, the application scope has broadened. New wireless-enabled applications track people, send out alarms in emergencies, provide graphical operating instructions via PDAs, and transmit manufacturing intelligence to iPhones or BlackBerries so that business decisions related to production can be made in real time. The availability of new wireless technologies has enabled this shift. But another big factor has been the workforce. As baby boomers retire, industry onlookers anticipate there will be 50% turnover in the workforce in the next five years. As a result, manufacturers need to not only find ways to capture the intellectual property walking out the door, but also figure out how to deliver that knowledge to a younger generation that is accustomed to having a wireless gadget in hand. “Manufacturers are in transition,” says Jeff Becker, director of the global wire- 45 September 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - September 2008

Managing Automation - September 2008 Contents Take 1 Letters Tech Vendors Defy Economic Slump by Plugging into Developing World Growth New E2open Chief Outlines Plan to Accelerate Growth Is This Marketing as It Used to Be or Something New? The OMAC Group Attempts to Widen Its Influence Automation Federation Names Chief, Plots Growth Notes Cover story: The Innovation Gap Special Report: Meet the Progressive Manufacturing High Achievers Progressive Manufacturer of the Year Business Model Mastery Innovation Mastery Customer Mastery Supply Network Mastery Data & Integration Mastery Education & Training Mastery Leadership Mastery Operational Excellence Mastery Special Report: Catching the Wireless Wave Part 1: No Clear Infrastructure Winner Part 2: Wireless Apps Take Wing Part 3: The Human Side of Wireless Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - September 2008

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