Electricity + Control March 2018

INDUSTRY 4.0 AND IIOT

turing plant. For instance, they can have a fixed top, either flat or a lock box, to carry totes, but in this case, they have to be loaded and unload- ed by hand. Other fully automated configurations include conveyors and cart transporters, including Omron’s LD Cart Transporter range, which was re- leased at the start of 2017. Conclusion For manufacturers and distribution centres, having the flexibility to release manpower from repetitive jobs to more productive employment, while being able to provide comprehensive, fully automated traceability will be a real game changer in fast paced food production and supply environments.

Victor Marques is the Country Manager for Omron South Africa. Enquiries: Omron Electronics. Tel. +27 (0) 11 579 2600 or email info.sa@eu.omron.com

round up

INDUSTRY 4.0 AND IIOT

Scalable Computing Industrial companies that want to use Industrial IoT (IIoT) data to make better business decisions must first make sure workers can access that data when and where they need it. New scalable com- pute offerings from Rockwell Automation give decision makers access to real-time data to solve analytical challenges and adapt to changes at every level of an organisation. This helps improve pro- ductivity and efficiency in a Connected Enterprise. Rockwell Auto- mation is introducing three compute offerings at the device level to help operators make faster, more informed decisions closer to the source of information. Each offering allows users to run appli- cations in a Windows 10 IoT Enterprise environment to gain better insight into machines and equipment. The variety of platforms also gives users flexibility to meet individual application needs:

• Allen-Bradley ControlLogix compute module • Allen-Bradley CompactLogix 5480 controller • Allen-Bradley VersaView 5000 industrial computers

“Time is of the essence in industrial operations, so it’s critical that workers be able to consume data as close as possible to where it’s produced,” said Christo Buys, Business Manager – Control Systems, Rockwell Automation Sub-Saharan Africa. “These new

device-level compute offerings provide real-time, close-to-the- source data access to help drive productivity in any industry.” Enquiries: Christo Buys. Email cbuys@ra.rockwell.com