Electricity + Control July 2018

IIOT + INDUSTRY 4.0

Driving African manufacturing to next-level competitiveness

chain management as well as various man- ufacturing entities. “More CIOs are includ- ing an IoT component in their strategies, so we can expect a higher uptake across all verticals, albeit at a marginal introducto- ry level,” says Potgieter. He says that there are challenges when implementing IIoT and that interoperability and security are probably the two biggest ones: “A major concern surrounding the Industrial IoT is interoperability between devices and machines that use different protocols and have different architectures.” In terms of security, Potgieter says that companies need to know that their data is secure: “The proliferation of sensors and other smart connected devices has resulted in several security vulnerabilities. Mitigation of this lies in the planning phase. Compa- nies need to understand the objective of their IIOT journey and which systems and

processes it will impact. This approach en- sures that a secure layer is placed on the connectivity component, enforcing that devices are secured pre–implementation, making security part of the solution.” The Eseye Anynet Secure connectivity solution, as an example, addresses just this. In partnership with AWS, Eseye has streamlined the connectivity security as- pect by encrypting hardware at the source with authentication certificates and keys, which are synchronised at startup to the AWS cloud environment. Potgieter says that designing the correct connectivity solution for an industrial client requires a detailed insight into the expected outcomes of the IIoT solution and the client’s information technology environment: “This enables the correct level, quality and price of connectivity to be determined to suit the backend systems and analytics platforms.”

The manufacturing sector is set to evolve thanks to the rise of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Specifically focused on industries with machinery and production processes, Jeremy Potgieter, Eseye, SADC regional head, says IIoT will significantly enhance manufacturing: “By enabling the acquisition and accessibility of far greater amounts of data, at far greater speeds, and far more efficiently than before, IIoT, will bring immense benefit to an industry that needs to find better ways to streamline processes and the use of data.” Potgieter says that IIoT is part of a larger concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) and will greatly improve connectivity, efficiency, scalability, time savings, and cost savings for industrial organisations: “Companies are already benefitting through cost savings due to predictive maintenance, improved safety, and other operational efficiencies. IIoT networks of intelligent devices will also enable industrial organisations to break open data silos and connect people, data, and processes from the factory floor to the executive offices. Business leaders can use this IIoT data to get a full and accurate view of how their enterprise is doing, which will naturally improve decision-making.” Industries ahead of the curve, which have already embraced IIoT, include supply

Jeremy Potgieter, Eseye, SADC regional head.

Devices for all-round operator control and monitoring

protection are new to the range. Like all devices in the PRO series, the newThin Cli- ents can be extended by mountable compo- nents (extension units) – such as mounting adapter, keyboard tray and keyboard. New expansion options are operator controls with USB interfaces and an extension box

with adjustable handles for easy operation of the panels on the machine. The all-round IP66 protected Simatic HMI Thin Client Ex OG is the new addi- tion to the series of Ex HMI devices. It can be used in 1/21 and 2/22 zones without any special measures such as elaborate enclosures or additional certifications. The Ex OG HMI devices are specially de- signed for applications in industries such as chemicals, oil, gas and shipbuilding, and are suitable for use in extreme tem- peratures ranging from -40 °C to +65 °C. The new Ex OG devices are complement- ed by material for four mounting types and equipment options such as cameras, Bluetooth, wireless and internal RFID(Ra- dio Frequency Identification) readers. Enquiries: Gerhard Stauss. Email gerhard.stauss@siemens.com

Siemens has extended its system family of all-round protected HMI (Human Machine Interface) devices for machine-related, cabinet-free visualisation and automation. High-performance Simatic Thin Client PRO operator terminals with 15, 19 and 22 inch screen sizes and all-round IP65 degree of

30 Electricity + Control

JULY 2018