I read an article (link below) Sunday night from “Plant Services” discussing how the IIoT is coming to compressed air. If you’re not familiar with IIoT, it’s the industrial version of the IoT. In case you’ve not heard of IoT, let me give you a quick explanation. IoT stands for the “Internet of Things” and subsequently, IIoT stands for the “Industrial Internet of Things”.
The premise of IoT is that you and your entire home can be connected with all the components and subsystems being able to communicate and interact with each other. Basically, a Smart Home. What drives me crazy is that the authors of these articles promote this is new. This is NOT NEW! My house has been automated for over 20 years. The lighting, HVAC, security system, garage doors, home theater, whole house sound system along with others all respond to the central computer that controls it all and can be activated by buttons on my iPhone, keypads in the house or timed based controls. It doesn’t need access to the internet, nor do I want it connected to the internet. One less thing I have to be concerned with related to viruses and hacking. Sure a connection to the internet could add a few features to my system but it’s not worth the worry at this point.
Now on the article in “Plant Services” discussing IIoT and how its coming to compressed air equipment. It states how compressed air equipment utilizing IIoT and connecting to the internet will be “a game changer based on the energy-saving impact”. It further states “it will bring smarter control for better efficiency and easier compliance reporting”. My question is: compliance to what and reporting to who?
The goal of any compressed air system in today’s world is better efficiency but you certainly do not need an internet connection for that to happen. My vendor for central compressed air system control (IZ Systems) has been providing this capability for years. Maybe not as long as my house has been automated but for a lot of years. The current system doesn’t require changes to the local controls and can be tied into nearly any type or brand of compressed air equipment. Thus making the system reliable as any failure in the central system will revert control back to the local controller.
The key to energy efficiency has nothing to do with the internet but rather with the central processor that controls the compressed air equipment while monitoring the entire compressed air system and more importantly, the proprietary algorithm that resides in the central processor. Yes, they can use an internet connection to remotely monitor the system but this plays no part in the efficiency and in fact, many of my existing clients will not allow their equipment to access an internet connection due to the same concerns I have over my house. Additional security concerns. The benefits just don’t outweigh the potential headaches.
But, the article states, with the IIoT, my compressor can call the service technician if there is a potential problem. I’m sure this would save all my clients some time however most of my clients already tie equipment monitoring into their DCS and trend various data points such as temperature, pressure and vibration. If there is an escalating problem the DCS notifies them and they determine who needs to be called for further inspection or repair. So in my opinion, having your air compressor make phone calls is not going to add a lot of hours to your day.
Rather than waiting and hoping the IIoT progresses to a usable point, in my opinion, your money would be better spent investing today in a solid service contract with a company that can provide true vibration analysis. I’m not talking about trending but rather vibration analysis by professionals that know what the frequency’s should be on your equipment and can spot problems from one initial vibration analysis.
I think you can determine that I’m no luddite. In fact, quite the opposite. I love technology and the great things it can provide us. I just don’t want my clients getting caught up in the wave of hype surrounding a supposed new technology and spending money on features that are either easily available today or worse, for something they don’t really need.
Perhaps as the IIoT progresses I’ll be proven wrong and this technology can truly provide value to my clients. But for today, I see it as a half baked cookie that nobody really needs to bite into.
Here is a link to the original article if you’re interested.
