Remote monitoring has become more popular in part because the costs have come down considerably in recent years. Web-based and wireless communications—as well as the reduced engineering staff that results from remote monitoring—can produce a relatively quick return on investment for both the vendor and the plant owner. For vendors, remote monitoring cuts down on the need for field service personnel. For plant owners, remote monitoring enables smaller engineering staffs while diminishing the number of costly shut downs. For both vendors and plant operators, cheap technology has minimized the amount of capital outlay required.
Even as companies move toward less expensive technology—much of it Internet-based—the connections don’t tend to be standardized. “We’re seeing a variety of technologies for remote monitoring, from direct connections to connecting via transfer data,” says John Schroeder, program manager for remote monitoring at the Switzerland-based ABB Group. “The industry has not standardized on anything, though the trend is toward Web-based direct phone connections.”
While much of the communication from the plant floor is Web-based, it can go to the user in any of a wide range of communication tools. “A lot of it is Internet based, and it can take many forms. It can be e-mail or phone calls through VOIP (voice over Internet protocol),” says Renee Brandt, product manager for Wonderware Visualization Products, at Wonderware, an Invensys company based in Lake Forest, Calif. “The monitor is typically Internet-based, but access can be through a tablet personal computer, a PDA (personal digital assistant) or phone. You can pull up a lot of information on an Internet monitor.”
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