Pervasive sensing is a concept that has been prominent at the past few Emerson Global Users Exchanges and will no doubt be front and center later this month in Austin as well. The Pervasive Sensing strategy is Emerson’s brand of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), where the focus is on the value that can be gained by the proliferation of advanced (cheap and easy) sensors throughout a plant.
Wireless technology is key to making sensors cheaper and easier to install—and thereby more pervasive. Although Emerson introduced several wireless sensing products at last year’s Exchange in Denver, the supplier also knows it’s not the only company with good ideas. “Sometimes the smartest and fastest way is to acquire them,” said Steve Sonnenberg, president of Emerson Process Management, during last year’s keynote.
Emerson’s latest acquisition, therefore, fits in well with this plan. The supplier has announced its plans to acquire UK-based Permasense, which makes wireless non-intrusive sensing technologies for oil production, refining, chemical, power, pipelines, metals and mining and other industries. Permasense systems use ultrasonic wall thickness measurements to continuously monitor for metal loss from corrosion or erosion in pipes, pipelines or vessels, and deliver high-integrity data from even harsh environments.
The acquisition not only puts Emerson more firmly on the path of pervasive sensing, but also helps it expand in markets that hold significant long-term growth opportunity.
“Corrosion and erosion can significantly impact the safe and reliable operation of our industrial customers’ infrastructure, which can have dire consequences. Wireless non-intrusive corrosion monitoring is a transformational shift that helps customers immediately understand the health and integrity of their infrastructure in real time and enable them to fully optimize their operations while maximizing safety,” said Mike Train, president of Emerson Automation Solutions. “For example, with the increasing complexity of the types of crude oil coming into a refinery, corrosion is becoming a significant issue in the uptime and profitability of a refinery. Now refinery infrastructure can be monitored and controlled using this non-intrusive technology.”
The Permasense product line will become part of Emerson’s Rosemount portfolio of measurement and analytical technologies. The technologies complement Emerson’s Roxar intrusive corrosion monitoring and non-intrusive sand management systems. With Permasense and Roxar technologies in its portfolio, Emerson will be the largest provider of integrity and corrosion management solutions in the marketplace.
“The addition of patented Permasense technologies along with our existing Roxar technologies enables Emerson to provide customers with a more complete corrosion monitoring solution and a clearer picture into the performance of their infrastructure based on what they’re demanding of it and the strategies needed to optimize production,” said Lal Karsanbhai, group vice president for measurement and analytical technologies at Emerson.
