Many hazardous process industry environments suffer from data loss or data silos. Assets such as, traditional motors, pumps, and mounted bearings, are all important assets that need monitoring for their health and condition. Deploying condition monitoring sensors is one solution, but how do you ensure all your data is collected across multiple devices and sent via your wireless network to a central location? It is not uncommon for these such devices to be one-to-one connections with mobile devices that require a person to physically be standing next to the sensor to retrieve the data. This creates a scalability issue and therefore is not suitable for wider condition monitoring analysis. This is a challenge many process industry sites face and can result in slow response times or delays in critical maintenance. BLE Offers a Solution BLE […]

Why do process industries represent a wireless networking challenge? The first thing to understand is that sites can cover vast areas often with large outdoor spaces. The outdoor areas vary from areas—such as tank farms and storage yards—to busy processing units packed with dense metallic structures. It is also significant that hazardous areas are likely scattered throughout these outdoor environments away from the main office buildings. Hazardous area wireless networks are difficult enough to deploy without the requirement of spanning multiple disparate locations. Deploying Wi-Fi in process areas like this is no easy task. Each project is different due to the nature of the environment and the intended use case in each area. Hence custom wireless solutions are often the go-to solution for hazardous area wireless networking. But where do you start with a custom […]

Born of a need for automatic product reading at the point of sale in retail environments, barcodes have become an integral means of rapid asset identification across a wide industrial spectrum. Process engineers in oil and gas industries use barcoding to effectively manage inventory equipment. Chemical inventory barcodes allow users to identify container contents without risk of human error. Barcoding is even being used in conjunction with blockchain to combat ethical and traceability issues in the mining industry. Mobile barcoding can help companies in each of these segments improve efficiencies and maintain a competitive edge in increasingly digitized marketplaces. Unlocking the full potential of this technological transition requires workforces to be equipped with high-efficiency mobility solutions like Bluetooth barcode scanners. What is a Bluetooth Barcode Scanner? A Bluetooth barcode scanner is a mobile barcoding solution […]

Are your devices certified for use in hazardous areas? Practically every wireless device manufacturer serving harsh industrial environments has been asked that question before. It is being posed more frequently than ever thanks to the IoT revolution. Process industries are increasingly adopting strategies for improved digitization across their sites and facilities. This naturally leads to questions about safety certification. If you are one of the few manufacturers who hasn’t been asked about safety-certified wireless devices already, don’t worry, it is only a matter of time. A common misconception among buyers is that standard wireless devices can be easily certified retrospectively. This is rarely the case. Getting an existing device approved to standards required for hazardous areas is no easy process. It isn’t low cost or quick to do either. Here we will run through some […]

The safety of workers, whilst always important, is moving higher up the list of priorities for investment. Workers in process industry environments face a variety of risks over and above their counterparts in other industries. ‘Hazards of the job’ are that much more serious, with a higher potential risk. Falling objects, exposure to dangerous substances, fire, and explosion of flammable gas and dust are potential threats and whilst large-scale disasters are thankfully rare, they still occur. It is unlikely that any one location technology ticks all of your boxes, and there is no silver bullet. Hybrid location technology is the only practical solution to the complexities of the use cases in the process industries. It involves using two or more location technologies as part of the same solution: To deliver wider coverage with reduced infrastructure […]

This article aims to show the advantages of using RFID tags for asset management or in hazardous process industry settings compared to more traditional barcode solutions. Uses of RFID Tags and Barcodes in Hazardous Areas Radio signals are potential causes of explosions in hazardous areas. As such, the use of Radio Frequency Identification, known as RFID, needs to be carefully considered. Versatile and low cost, passive RFID systems can improve efficiency, reduce downtime, and aid productivity. These systems have proven valuable to industrial companies, helping with asset and personnel tracking, inventory management, maintenance planning, and more. As such, they are becoming more and more commonly found in hazardous areas. This rise in popularity is reflected in the updated IEC 60079-14 standard. In June 2014, a new clause concerning RFID tags was added and has potential […]