Two prevalent themes in the work being done these days in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) are asset management and collaboration. Key automation suppliers are doing a lot of both—in particular, looking for new ways to collaborate in order to use increased connectivity, sensing and computing capabilities to achieve asset management goals.
Honeywell is the latest automation supplier to announce new collaboration aimed at asset optimization. Its work with Dover Energy Automation comes on the heels of similar industry initiatives, including Schneider Electric’s acquisition of MaxEAM to extend its enterprise asset management (EAM) suite, and GE Digital’s grab of strategic partner Meridium, which is focused on reliability-centered maintenance.
“It is clear that a robust ecosystem is key to successfully implementing an effective IIoT solution for manufacturers,” said Andrew Hird, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Process Solutions’ Digital Transformation business. “The need for deep domain knowledge and experience across a range of applications to quickly and fully evaluate a plant’s needs cannot be overstated. Dover’s expertise in equipment condition monitoring and asset integrity management is superior and makes it a powerful collaborator to provide expertise for our customers.”
HPS and Dover will collaborate as part of the Honeywell INspire program, Honeywell’s joint customer development program for its IIoT ecosystem. The IIoT ecosystem is a key part of Honeywell’s Connected Plant initiative that helps manufacturers leverage IIoT to improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of operations across a single plant or several plants across an enterprise.
Dover Energy Automation, which provides productivity tools and related automation software, is focused specifically on the energy sector, helping oil and gas operators monitor, predict and optimize performance to improve productivity. Products include Windrock monitoring and analytical systems for rotating and vibrating equipment, Quartzdyne downhole pressure transducers, and the Well Site Automation suite for onshore well performance optimization.
“This collaboration will benefit not only Dover and Honeywell by helping us offer more robust solutions, but also our current and future customers, who will be able to see impactful improvements in their operations with our combined expertise,” said Ali Raza, president of Dover Energy Automation.
Honeywell is looking to combine its capabilities in data consolidation, cybersecurity and software development with Dover’s deep domain knowledge in condition monitoring and asset optimization. The goal, Hird said, is a simple-to-use infrastructure that gives customers secure methods to capture and aggregate data so that it can be leveraged by using analytics and applying a range of domain knowledge from a vast ecosystem of equipment vendors and process licensors.
With a larger, consolidated data set, manufacturers can apply higher analytics for more detailed insights, scale the data as needed to meet the varied needs of single-site or enterprise-wide operations, and leverage a wider pool of data experts for monitoring and analysis.
The Honeywell INspire program brings together customers, equipment vendors, process licensors and Honeywell experts to jointly develop answers to operational challenges. Honeywell and its collaborators are leveraging IIoT to help customers minimize unplanned shutdowns, maximize output, minimize safety risk and optimize supply chain strategies.
