COMMUNICATIONS JULY/AUGUST 2020
KEEPING CONNECTED
The events of the past six months have meant reliable
communications technology is now more important
than ever for manufacturers
BY IAN POULETT, BUSINESS MANAGER UK, SIEMENS OPERATIONS TECHNOLOGY
In the last six months the world has learned
and unlearned how to live with the COVID-19
pandemic. It has prompted us to take stock of
every situation and evaluate the here and now.
In our world of automation and digitalisation
in manufacturing and industry, one of the
vital elements has been our success in using
technology to reap maximum benefi ts.
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5G dominated the global discussions
around networking technology in 2019 and was
launched in the UK late last year. It has made
communications much faster in many areas,
though for now it is mostly confi ned to mobile
communications networks. At an industrial level,
5G technology is still in its infancy. Although
many pilot projects are in progress, it may take
another year or two for it to be fully embraced
in industry networking. For the time being, the
humble Wi-Fi remains the hero.
With Wi-Fi now in its sixth-generation
iteration (creatively known as Wi-Fi 6), it’s clear
that it is here to stay. Its network is resilient and
when linked with the right hardware it makes it
easy to use leaky feeder antenna for long distance
applications in areas of high noise or interference.
It is easily scalable to add more features making
it faster and quicker. The applications are also
nimble and easy to deploy.
However, in an era where both OT
(Operational Technology) and IT (Information
Technology) converge on the factory fl oor, there
are many considerations in using Wi-Fi in an
industrial setting.
The fi rst WLAN (Wireless Local Area
Network) standard was released in 1997 with a
maximum data rate of 2 Mbit/s. To date, 35 billion
conformant devices have been sold worldwide
since 2010.
While over the decades Wi-Fi has prospered
While 5G has
made headlines
in recent months,
humble Wi-Fi still
has a role to play
mostly in the consumer market,
nonetheless it has also emerged
as a big player in industry,
supporting mobile equipment,
machine communication,
logistics and intralogistics
processes, and individual
rotating or mobile process and
manufacturing steps.
Wi-Fi is omnipresent: global
business transactions conducted
over the technology are currently
valued at around US$2 trillion.
In most industrialised countries
almost every private household
has an access point and it is an
indispensable part of mobile
applications.
The WLAN standard was
largely developed with basic
scenarios in mind: static
work on a laptop or to serve
stationary links between
buildings. Industrial units,
however, are not as ‘plug and
play’ as people may expect;
they are highly confi gurable
and to succeed with Industrial
Wireless Technology requires
understanding, engagement,
and planning.
For instance, when designing
wireless networks it is essential
that the equipment used is
designed for factory use and
conforms to industry standards.
Environmental conditions
will take a toll on typical IT
network equipment especially
when we are installing into
an electrical sub-station or
a railway network. For these
applications equipment has to
be certifi ed and tested against
related standards (IEC61850
for the former and EN50155
the latter). The equipment also
has to withstand harsh winds,
rains and whatever the weather
conditions throw at it. In such
setups normal IT equipment
does not work.
This can be achieved through
some basic but important steps:
Understanding
As a fi rst step it is vital to
understand what the application
is covering, and how and where
it is that we are building the
application. Knowing how
critical the application is and
to check if Wi-Fi is a viable
solution will help determine
next steps. In some cases, it may
be that a Wireline is a simpler
and straightforward solution.
Stakeholder engagement
A key step is to engage with
colleagues who have Wireless
Network Accreditation who
will work with the network
design team to achieve the end
goal. Carrying out a Wireless
site survey is a pre-requisite
and standard in most IT
based applications. However,
in the OT world it is seen as
an unnecessary process and
expensive. Having multiple
voices all singing from the
same verse will certainly aid
any objections.
Furthermore, if the
application is to be installed
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