each site, but he expects that the $1 million per year savings projected for the Carson, Calif., refinery will be roughly transferable to Whiting and Toledo, which are similar-sized operations.

In fact, while most agree that the trend in mobility is toward wireless, many users today are still relying on synch cradles. For example, popular handheld tools from Emerson Process Management, such as the 375 Field Communicator, a Hart and Foundation Fieldbus configuration, calibration and diagnostics tool, as well as the CSI 2130 Machinery Health Analyzer, used for vibration collection and analysis, both require a physical hookup for central system synchronization. But as noted by Stuart Harris, vice president of marketing at Emerson, the Austin, Texas-based process automation vendor, “I think wireless most definitely will play a role in our next generation of handheld products.”

Get educated

Julie Fraser, principal at Industry Directions Inc., a Cummaquid, Mass., market research and consulting firm, sees mobility applications growing “reasonably rapidly” in manufacturing today. But one challenge, she believes, involves a lack of awareness among industrial end-users. “I think there are probably a lot of people using Maximo software who don’t know that MRO has an entire mobility suite that goes with it,” Fraser observes. Likewise, many end-users may not be aware of relatively young companies such as Transpara, and the capabilities that their software can provide, she adds. “So that, to my mind, is the biggest thing that’s going to slow this down, just getting the market educated as to what’s available.”

To see the main story this sidebar was taken from - "Saving Big From Wireless Extras" - please visit www.automationworld.com/view-2783 

*Web Extra: To download or listen to the complete Podcast interview with Industry Directions' Julie Fraser, go to www.automationworld.com/view-2713

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