The Industrial Internet of Things

The Industrial Internet of Things  (IIOT) is also known as Industry 4.0 and Industry Digitisation. Essentially, it means the connection of industrial electrical and mechanical infrastructure, process machinery and equipment to the Internet. The purpose of the connection is to enable the acquisition of condition data, which can then be subsequently analysed to turn the data into commercially useful information. The benefits of IIOT will be global and apply to virtually all industrial sectors, e.g. oil & gas, process industries, logistics, airports, data centers, marine, mining etc.

A key part of the IIOT jigsaw is condition monitoring sensors, which are necessary to provide continuous data on the condition of the equipment. Some of the benefits include identifying best-performing equipment which can influence future procurement policy; detecting and predicting developing failure conditions to enable remedial action to be taken in advance of failure; increasing safety by removing people from places of risk to obtain the data; providing significant savings to current Opex maintenance costs.

While the “digitisation” of large-scale businesses is accelerating worldwide, there remains a considerable level of uncertainty about what / how to do and when to begin implementing policy. Part of the reason for this is that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is still in it’s infancy. Thus, how to turn vast amounts of data into commercially useful information is still developing, albeit at a rapidly accelerating pace.

However, many organisations have realised that what / how the data will be analysed is not immediately essential, as this will change as AI continues to advance. What is essential is to include condition monitoring sensors in new build specifications. Not including it will build in obsolescence to this equipment together with the increased cost of installing sensors in the future.

Exertherm provides thermal condition monitoring solutions for electrical equipment, including LV/MV switchgear, MCC, and transformers. It is fully tested, accepted and successfully deployed by major OEMs, including ABB, Schneider, Eaton, and Siemens.

The Exertherm sensors are provided with a Lifetime Guarantee level of reliability of zero maintenance, thus avoiding any additional future costs of sensor maintenance or replacement for the life of the equipment in which it is installed.