Efficient Plant May 2021 - 14

feature | mobile asset monitoring

HMIs
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Linda Htay
IDEC Corp.

Human-machine interfaces are often the best choice to provide mobile access
and monitoring capabilities for industrial operations.
INDUSTRIAL-EQUIPMENT END USERS are increasingly
calling for their machines and systems to provide mobile access and
monitoring capabilities, much like consumer-grade devices. Yet
there are many connectivity, networking, and security challenges
with implementing mobile services at a typical manufacturing plant.
In most instances, mobile functionality is desired to allow remote
personnel to operate and maintain assets so operating data can
be gathered and visualized. This is the case for new and existing
systems.
With the correct industrial-grade products, end users and original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have several options for
delivering various levels of mobile access and monitoring solutions.
In particular, human-machine interfaces (HMIs) effectively provide
flexible, full-featured, and secure mobile access and monitoring.

SEEKING OPTIONS
Establishing a mobile-connectivity solution rarely is a one-size-fitsall project, especially for industrial equipment. In the field, several
controllers, sensors, and industrial-communication protocols are

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involved. Even once the source data is obtained, it must be made
accessible by mobile devices over the local IT network or through a
cloud-based system.
In some cases, bulk downloads of stored data may be required.
When mobile visualization is needed, some end users only require
a basic dashboard, while others want a more comprehensive view,
usually using a browser. For many situations, a mobile app will
quickly and easily present the essential information. With other
users, brief email warnings are sufficient.
While there are similarities among each of these options, particularly with initial data acquisition, transmitting and presenting the
information involves many variations. Because an industrial HMI
is built for field conditions and is easily installed at the operational
edge, it can be the best platform for multiple mobile access and
monitoring roles.

FILE-TRANSFER PROTOCOL
Some machines or systems produce periodic collections of data,
such as from a production run, a daily summary, an alarm log,

MAY 2021

4/26/21 9:27 AM

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Efficient Plant May 2021

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