Remote Data Monitoring Systems
Why Monitor Remotely?
Since the summer of 2021, new safety procedures and policies have spread through our manufacturing facilities like the rest of the world. But something has remained the same—if not not increased—the need to remotely access critical data.
As automation and Industry 4.0 solutions keep enriching the manufacturing processes around the world, our ability to produce higher quantity, quality, and variety of products keeps rising. In order to keep up with demand, manufacturers increasingly need to see more data in real-time. Having to wait for an end-of-shift report or only being able to subscribe to generic alarm notifications prevents manufacturing from addressing potential issues and performing the proper course corrections in time to keep everything running smoothly. This input comes from a diverse range of personnel that troubleshoot in different ways—and who are located in different places. Yet there is one common goal: monitor the status of production as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Remote Monitoring System Use Cases
Some industries that have been taking advantage of remote monitoring solutions:
OEM Suppliers provide value-added services to end users to monitor production, performance and maintenance on their equipment. Usually with turn-key and cloud-based remote monitoring systems.
Enterprise Operations with Remote Facilities have been using remote data monitoring solutions to provide a centralized data monitoring tool to view many locations in a streamlined fashion.
Remote Monitoring Architecture
At Corso Systems, we have explored a variety of architecture schemes and software platforms for remote monitoring frameworks. We have found that flexibility within the networking layer is critical, since no two manufacturing IT departments are built the same.
Most remote monitoring architectures fall within two categories:
On-Premise Hub
If ‘remote’ for your company means the ability to monitor production from an office or conference room within the facility network, then an on-premise facility hub would be sufficient. All production data stays within the facility and is routed to a facility hub for aggregation, storage and visualization.
Pros - Managed internally by end users, no or lower subscription costs
Cons - Not available outside the facility without a VPN, higher upfront costs
Cloud Hub
For many end users, the ability to view production or process metrics outside the plant network is the primary reason to add a remote monitoring solution. Data is securely piped to a cloud hub where a large user base can access visualization clients from any device that has access to the internet.
Pros - Lower upfront hardware costs, subscription-based pricing model, high availability
Cons - Externally managed infrastructure, user security needs
We have found that by using flexible architecture options and the power of platforms such as Ignition by Inductive Automation, remote data monitoring systems can provide end users with a robust and scalable solution quickly and cost effectively.
For more information on remote monitoring architectures please contact us. We will be happy to discuss your unique needs and requirements in order to outline a specific approach that will work for you.