Remote site monitoring provides real time benefits

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team May 10, 2004

The SP100 is a new remote monitoring system from process weighing specialist Procon Engineering.

The SP100 is a new remote monitoring system from process weighing specialist Procon Engineering.

The use of remote vendor inventory management systems (VIMS) to monitor and control the usage of raw materials has brought important real time benefits to a wide range of industries especially where bulk materials and liquids are a vital part of their process.

Vendors often supply product on a consignment basis and the inventory management system allows them to keep a constant check on supplies of raw material at a particular customer.

By studying trends in usage they can optimise their manufacturing schedules to meet expected demand and forward plan their delivery logistics.

Procon Engineering, which has combined its latest developments in weighing technology with advances in communication technology and system connectivity, is confident that the SP100 remote monitoring system significantly broadens the benefits of VIMS to encompass complete remote plant monitoring.

This ensures that any potential problems or changes in plant status are identified and assessed as they happen, thereby minimising the risk of shutdown.

The all encompassing SP100 offers a broad list of benefits, providing system suppliers, vendors and plant management with important real time data on the plant operational conditions and status.

Procon Engineering works closely with both the supplier and user of the raw materials to provide a complete integrated system.

At the heart of the SP100 system is a central processing unit that accepts analogue and digital inputs from a range of instrumentation and sensors, measuring and processing parameters including weight, level, pressure and temperature.

The system performs two main functions.

First it monitors and controls raw material usage and secondly, casts a "watchful eye" over the operation of the plant itself.

In a typical automatic stock re-ordering system, the master unit receives weight information from the plant storage silos, continuously transmitted from local weighing instrumentation using high speed serial data communications.

When the raw material level in given silo falls below a preconfigured level, the master unit automatically telephones and connects to the computer system of the supplier and automatically re-orders more material.

Although remote monitoring systems can be linked to suppliers and service engineers via conventional land lines, the advances in GSM satellite technology offer distinct advances.

This allows vendors, field based service engineers and plant managers to receive and access real-time data from the plant via mobile phones or GSM modems virtually anywhere in the world.

It also means that remote sites in areas where there are no reliable landlines can be monitored.

The systems can be configured to send SMS (Short Message Service) mobile text messages, highlighting changes in plant status triggered by parameters moving outside preset limits.

These may simply be to warn that product is running low in a particular silo or to highlight more serious operational problems.

The fact that changes in status are highlighted when they happen means that effective risk assessment can be made before serious problems arise.

It may be possible to effect a short term repair or reset an alarm remotely, allowing full remedial action to be taken at a convenient time in the near future.

Although traditional analogue weighing systems can be used in remote monitoring systems, digital systems offer distinct advantages.

With analogue systems, the output is a combined average output, meaning that problems with individual load cells will largely go unnoticed.

However by monitoring the digital outputs from individual load cells, either directly or through digital junction boxes, problems can be identified and appropriate action taken.

For instance it may be possible to electronically disconnect the faulty load cell and re-calibrate the vessel to effect a temporary repair.

The SP100 can be used for both single and multivendor applications in single or multisite locations.

There are advantages for users and multiple vendors to use the same integrated system where the same central software is used, tailored to individual supplier requirements and securely partitioned.

There is little doubt that remote monitoring is an important company asset and can bring significant cost savings to both suppliers and users of raw materials.

It can also form an essential part of any structured predictive maintenance program operated by companies.