Industrial Wireless Technology Survey Results

 

Background Information: What was the industry breakdown represented in our survey?

  • Process
  • Original Equipment Manufacturers
  • Contractors and Specifiers (Engineering Firms)
  • Users
  • Municipalities
  • Utilities
  • Others

 

 What industries participated in our survey?

Background Information: What was the job function breakdown represented in our survey?

  • Engineers
  • Maintenance
  • OEM Design Engineers
  • Production
  • Management
  • Quality Control
  • Others

Of the total 104 respondents, 45 of them (43%) let us know they were already using industrial wireless technology in their operations. Positive comments about their experiences centered around ease of installation and troubleshooting, and the ability to get data with a low budget. Most common problems reported were about signal integrity, interference, and line-of-sight issues during installation, all of which can be resolved with a site survey and signal strength test prior to purchase.

Wireless Technology for Industrial Applications: Have you considered, or are you already using, wireless for any of these applications? (Multiple answers allowed)

  • In-plant remote measurements: 42 responses, 25% of total answers
  • Getting critical information to the desktop: 41 responses, 24% of total answers
  • Temporary installations: 31 responses, 18% of total answers
  • Rotating/mobile equipment: 19 responses, 11% of total answers
  • Wide-range remote measurements: 17 responses, 10% of total answers
  • Hazardous location installations: 15 responses, 9% of total answers

Other uses included adding data collection points without having to run additional wires, plant access control (gates, doors, etc.), inventory counting and mobile PCs, barcodes for product transfer, and simple in-plant digital I/O.

Technical Details: What types of data would you (or do you currently) transmit wirelessly? (Multiple answers allowed)

  • Analog, discrete, frequency, and/or temperature signals: 52% of responses
  • Modbus, DeviceNet, or Profibus: 28% of responses
  • Ethernet: 12% of responses
  • HART wireless: 8% of responses

The most requested wireless applications today are those that get traditional sensor information. From survey answers, we can conclude that wireless is most useful in getting information from locations where running wires is cost-prohibitive.

Technical Details: What radio technologies best fit your application (Multiple answers allowed)

  • I'm not sure: 55% of responses
  • 900 MHz: 11% of responses
  • 2.4 GHz: 8% of responses
  • 5.8 GHz: 5% of responses
  • Bluetooth: 5% of responses
  • Licensed band: 3% of responses
  • Wi-Fi (802.11): 13% of responses

More than half of the respondents weren't sure which radio technology would best fit their application. Coupled with the next question (on wireless strategy types), these two are guiding Lesman's plans for upcoming webinars, lunch and learn seminars, Lesman University courses, and website and catalog content. You've got your hands full keeping your application running at its best. It's our job to help you find the best technology for your application.

If you're not sure what radio technology is best for you, we are, so contact Lesman on your next wireless application to ensure the use of proper technology.

Technical Details: Which wireless strategies best fit your applications? (Multiple answers allowed)

  • Sensor-based: 12% of responses
  • Uni-directional: 8% of responses
  • Bi-directional: 8% of responses
  • Point to point: 14% of responses
  • Point to multipoint: 13% of responses
  • Mesh network (expandable): 5% of responses
  • Wireless cloud (multiple protocols): Less than 1% of responses
  • I'm not sure: Nearly 40% of all responses

The large majority of respondents admitted that they weren't certain which wireless strategy would best fit their application. Lesman wireless specialists work with customers to determine what strategy would best fit their needs by asking questions like these:

  • Are you using wireless just for data collection, or do you want to configure the remote device via wireless as well?
  • Is your data going from one location to one other location (field to control room only) or to multiple points (field to control room AND inventory management AND maintenance)?
  • Are you already using multiple wireless protocols? 900 MHz sensors for sending analog signals, plus licensed band for radio communications, and Wi-fi for mobile computers?
  • Do your existing wireless networks overlap and cause noise and signal problems?

Application Issues: Which cost overruns forced project abandonment? (Multiple answers allowed)

  • Wiring?  35% of responses
  • Infrastructure costs? 35% of responses
  • Trenching? 21% of responses
  • Boring? 9% of responses

Cabling and installation for an automation project in an existing facility can run as high as 80% of total system cost and can exceed $1,000 per linear foot in regulated environments, like a typical power plant.

Respondents also listed distance constraints and the cost of adding "smart" hubs to their networks as a cause for project stoppage. Others noted that while the projects didn't stop, they did run into excessive cost issues.

Application Issues: What most often caused wiring maintenance issues? (Multiple answers allowed)

  • Corrosion: 32% of responses
  • Water in the conduit: 31% of responses
  • Burned cabling: 23% of responses
  • Freezing: 13% of responses

Other wiring maintenance problems reported by respondents included physical wear caused by frequent movement of instrumentation, lack of a power source for long-term monitoring, and wiring over long distances.

Application Issues: What concerns you about implementing wireless? (Multiple answers allowed)

  • Signal integrity: 34% of all answers
  • Security: 22% of all answers
  • IT department involvement: 18% of answers
  • Topography/topology: 14% of answers
  • Bandwidth issues: 8% of answers
  • Redundancy: 4% of answers

Signal integrity and security were the top two concerns with wireless. With a history of less-than-secure computer wireless networks and signal integrity problems with early attempts at using wireless in industrial installations, it's no surprise.  But, with today's technology, wireless systems can be designed that guarantee a level of security equal to or better than existing wired systems. And with a proper site survey and system test with adequate power and antennae, signal integrity problems can be eliminated before your wireless instrumentation is even installed in your plant.
Go wireless for universal networking and lower total cost of ownership
  • Protect your investment in legacy systems and integrate valuable data into your existing control systems
  • Get process data from remote areas that were too costly to monitor in the past
  • Improve overall plant performance by gaining access to more data -- anywhere in the plant

Collecting data from remote locations, reducing installation and overall costs for process data collection, monitoring equipment health over the plant network, improving data quality, reducing maintenance and downtime:  All good reasons to consider implementing wireless technology in your plant. But where do you find the right wireless for your operation? What can the recent improvements in industrial wireless technology really do for you?

 

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Last Ed. Date: 05/18/2009 03:56 PM
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