MARCH 2019

Inside:
Machine learning basics p4
Edge data gathering p10

Supplement to Periodicals Publication

ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT
Rethink the
organization’s structure
Cyber-physical environments will change what managers do
By Jonathan Gross
A
ccording to a 2019 white
paper by the World Eco-
nomic Forum (WEC) and
McKinsey & Co., manufacturers
adopting Industry 4.0 can scale their
businesses two ways:
• Though operational excellence
and production system innova-
tions; or
• By entering new markets.
This thesis is supported by other
McKinsey research. According to
a 2016 study, nearly 90 percent of
surveyed companies believe that
Industry 4.0 innovations would help
them improve their competitive posi-
tions and operational effectiveness.
Eighty percent of U.S. companies
think Industry 4.0 would allow new
competitors from other industries to
enter their markets.
What is Industry 4.0
The term “Industry 4.0”—or the
Fourth Industrial Revolution—refers
to self-optimizing cyber-physical
industrial environments. In these
environments, systems collect data,
create analytical models, make deci-
sions and optimize production. The
result may shift the socioeconomic
fabric much as did preceding indus-
trial revolutions.
The first industrial revolution, for
www.controleng.com/IIoT
example, was born of innovations
relating to steam power, leading to
rapid factory development and as-
sociated production efficiencies. This
productivity gain supported growing
consumerism, urbanization, educa-
tion, employment and, in short,
capitalism.
The second industrial revolution
reflected widespread industrializa-
tion driven by mass production, steel
and iron works, electrification and
widespread rail transport adoption.
These innovations lead to modern
business management practices and
integrated supply chains, increas-
ing division of labor into skilled and
unskilled categories, and for better or
worse, widespread adoption of tariffs
to protect national economies.
The Third Industrial Revolution—
the digital revolution—followed
advances in semiconductor technolo-
gies that enabled personal comput-
ing, digital record keeping, cellular
phone technologies and the internet.
The result was interconnectedness,
globalization and business models
such as outsourcing and e-commerce.
Building upon its predecessors, the
latest, fourth revolutionary iteration
is catalysed by cloud computing, the
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and
Big Data. Cloud enables economical
storage of large datasets. Analytics
and artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly
analyze those large datasets, uncover
new relationships and surface new in-
sights. Insights provide decision-mak-
ers with timely and relevant decision-
supporting information, as well as
optimized, connected operations.
Will jobs be destroyed?
The fear is understandable that
robotic process automation will be a
net destroyer of good manufacturing
jobs. Leading experts suggest other-
wise. According to the WEC Forum
and McKinsey whitepaper, Industry
4.0 should be an “injector of human
capital… transforming work to make
it less repetitive, more interesting,
diversified and productive.”
Industry 4.0 is an opportunity to
shift low-value tasks to systems and
machines. It’s an opportunity to de-
mocratize decision-making based on
the availability of timely analysis.
The following real-world scenario
shows a company using self-optimiz-
ing systems to improve its competi-
tive positioning.
The company’s primary product is
a grain-based fuel. Through its bulk
production process, the company
produces various coproducts and by-
products. Coproduct and by-product
yield vary relative to primary product
yield. And, all yield varies based on
production parameters relating to
speed, humidity, temperature, vibra-
tion, weather conditions, system
pressures and raw material grades,
among others.
To truly optimize for profit, produc-
tion systems would need continuous
adjustment. Without information
IIoT For Engineers MARCH 2019 | 1
ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT
technology and automation, continu-
ous optimization wasn’t cost effec-
tive. The incremental cost of staff
would exceed the incremental margin
benefits.
We then modelled another sce-
nario, one where software systems
crunch the data and make micro-
changes to production processing
controls. The business case was
supportive. While initial technology
acquisition and implementation costs
were high, subsequent costs to main-
tain and optimize the system would
be low, and certainly lower than the
annually recurring salary costs in the
first scenario.
The model demonstrated a pay-
back within a few years, along with a
significant return-on-investment over
a 10-year forecast period.
Pillars of Industry 4.0
The framers of Industry 4.0 had
this type of scenario in mind when
the concept was introduced in 2011.
Industry 4.0 was conceived as part of
a German government initiative to
counter threats to its manufacturing
industries by China and other low-cost
producing nations. By computerizing
manufacturing, Germany protects its
position as a manufacturing power-
house notwithstanding its high-wage
labor environment.
The authors proposed a frame-
work based on smart, cyber-physical
systems that connect equipment,
software and people. The framework
is based on the following four pillars:
1. Interconnection. The systems
connect people, machines, sensors,
devices and software through IIoT and
allow communication among them.
2. Information transparency.
Data collected through interconnec-
tion must be available to operators for
decision-making.
2 | MARCH 2019 IIoT For Engineers
3. Technical assistance. The intent
is twofold: a) to shift low-value tasks
from people to cyber-physical systems,
and b) for systems to arm personnel
with analyses and information for
timely, effective decisions.
4. Decentralized decisions. Sys-
tems make decisions and take actions
autonomously.
In one common approach to In-
dustry 4.0 adoption, many consulting
and advisory firms advocate a proof-
of-concept approach where a quick
win demonstrating value incentivizes
teams to expand Industry 4.0 to other
functional areas.
This approach assumes that an
implementing company is either
testing with a non-strategic initiative,
such as energy management, or that
it otherwise has a well-built founda-
tion. If the underlying data, process
and technology architecture is strong,
it makes sense to test a closed cyber-
physical loop. In contrast, if a com-
pany foundation is shaky, a proof-of-
concept is probably premature.
In our case example, the fuel com-
pany didn’t have a strong foundation.
Its data was inaccurate, its processes
manual and inefficient. Its systems
didn’t meet its needs. As a
result, the company’s cyber environ-
ment is incapable of mirroring its
physical environment, let alone opti-
mizing it.
The company needs to first build a
strong foundation by:
n Architecting an environment
that spans enterprise resources
planning, manufacturing execu-
tion system and distributed control
system environments with the IIoT,
business intelligence and Big Data
warehousing;
n Properly implementing those solu-
tions; and
n Assuring that the cyber-world mir-
rors the physical world through system
adoption and disciplined business
processing.
Once it builds this foundation, the
company can wade into a strategy-
driving Industry 4.0 proof-of-concept
project.
Concluding thoughts
We’ve discussed new revenue
streams, elevated employee respon-
sibilities and system architectures. It’s
about how your company’s people
do their work. How can Big Data
sets turn into new revenue streams?
How can front-line workers turn into
front-line decision-makers? Who will
manage and maintain the data and
systems? Who will assure system
integrity and security?
Organization models that worked
well in the past won’t work in future.
They weren’t meant to support
Industry 4.0 concepts. The benefits
Industry 4.0 offers can’t be achieved
without rethinking an organization’s
structure.
Making changes to organizational
structures and embedded cultures can
be exceedingly difficult. Changes must
be well-timed. Don’t create new roles
for data science or anticipate new
revenue streams before the underlying
processes and systems are in place.
Take a holistic approach that links
organizational changes to business
processes and technology systems.
That way, the right systems will be
doing the right work. More important,
the right people will be doing the
right work with the right systems. IIoT
Jonathan Gross is a managing
director at Pemeco Consulting. He
leads the firm’s digital transforma-
tion assessment and vendor selection
practice areas.
www.controleng.com/IIoT
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AnAlytics, MAchine leArning, And Ai
AI isn’t all magic
Software uses real-time data to draw real-world conclusions
By Kevin McClusky consumer space; the industrial world
has caught the fever as well. Look at
W
elcome to the amazing the many recent headlines in major
world of data science! industrial publications. This will be
Okay, for those math ma- with us for a while. In fact, it will be
jors out there, your ears perked up. pervasive. So, you might as well get
Perhaps everyone else groaned. to know about it.
Stick with me! This isn’t all about We’ll cover some machine learning
the numbers. We’re about to explore and AI basics, how companies are us-
one of the most exciting emerging ing the technologies and their promise
technologies out there. We’ll break it for the future. In addition, we’ll look
down to help you get started. Sound at some practical details and steps for
good? Let’s dig in. implementing applications.
You’ve probably heard about the
promise of machine learning and Ai’s advent
artificial intelligence (AI). These two Analytics traditionally is the realm
technology concepts have caught the of statisticians. Before computers
world’s attention. Self-driving cars? were commonplace in industry, ana-
Human-like robots? Devices that lysts worked with pencil and paper.
know your schedule before even you Analytics today is a general term
do? Their promise isn’t limited to the denoting data science.
Finding a point
along a simple line, for
example, generally falls
under the category of
standard data analyt-
ics. The line is thought
of as a “regression.”
Finding the point
along the line is a
“regression analysis.”
Performing simple
regression analyses is
commonplace.
Machine learning
can be thought of as
a subset of AI, though
the two terms often
Figure 1: Parts can be categorized using color, but what if are used interchange-
the relevant parameters are too many to be displayed using ably. Machine learning
traditional visualization techniques? All graphics courtesy: is the statistical side of
inductive Automation AI, which also includes
4 | MARCH 2019 IIoT For Engineers
cognitive computing and modeling.
The boundaries of each category can
be blurry.
Another way to characterize
AI would be as computer code
that uses real-world data to draw
conclusions. These conclusions can
be acted upon automatically, if a
system is set up that way, to make
decisions. Then more information
can be fed into the system and more
decisions can be made. This descrip-
tion of AI reflects popular culture’s
perception of AI as something that
mirrors human thought. We take
information in, come to conclusions,
and make decisions.
Thus, human thought often can be
expressed in the form of ”if, then”
and other type propositions. In an
analogous manner, AI is instantiated
in any of several types of algorithms.
It’s useful to categorize the algo-
rithms into groups based on function.
A few of the larger groupings are
described below.
Algorithmic categories
This is where things start getting
interesting. Let’s break down some
major categories of machine learning
algorithms.
Clustering
Some algorithms “group” things
together. This is best illustrated with
an example. Let’s say a part is be-
ing produced. A quality assurance
department or in-line measurement
system will associate two measure-
ments with the part: width and
height. This data is used to generate
www.controleng.com/IIoT
 IEEE 802.16s – A standard built
SPECIFICALLY for Mission Critical Internet
of Things (MC-IoT) communications.

Summary:
Most oil & gas companies do not have access to enough
Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum to deploy standard
technologies, such as LTE or IEEE 802.16, the two most
common wireless technologies for their mission critical
data communications networks. Standards such as LTE,
were designed for the consumer industry, not mission
critical industries meaning oil & gas companies are forced
to install proprietary communications networks, putting
them at risk if the manufacturer goes out of business or
discontinues their product line.

Challenge: In the fall of 2017, a narrower channel standard technology was

Most oil & gas companies do ratified and published by the IEEE. IEEE 802.16s was a grass roots effort
not have access to broadband launched because mission critical entities were looking for a standard
spectrum that can support technology that could be used in the narrow channel bands they have
access to.
standard technologies such as
LTE and IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX)
Public broad-
leaving only proprietary solutions
band wireless
to deploy private communications
technologies are
networks for their mission critical
evolving towards
communications networks.
higher speeds
and smaller cell
Solution: sizes and are
A grass roots effort was formed focused on
to revise IEEE 802.16 to fit into consumer
smaller channel sizes – 100 kHz applications.
to 1.25 MHz providing a standard The public Internet of Things (IoT) services such as NB-LTE are being
communications technology that deployed with a focus on consumer market applications and are not
can be used in spectrum bands oil well suited for mission critical IoT applications.
& gas companies have access to.
The IEEE 802.16s standard is designed for the mission critical private
broadband wireless market. It provides multimegabit throughput using
Result:
relatively narrow channel sizes and long distances to minimize spectrum
Critical industry Companies
acquisition and network infrastructure cost.
have successfully deployed
communications networks for
their mission critical data using
the standard eliminating this risk.

brian.monahan@ondas.com


sWWWONDASCOM
AnAlytics, MAchine leArning, And Ai
a chart. Based on how the equipment it performs the categorization, but
works, parts would generally fall into merely automates something that
groups, for example, with slimmer can be done manually. Then why is
parts to the left and taller parts to the machine learning the better option?
top (see Figure1).
Colors can be used to make clear A fourth dimension
the categorization scheme. If you’re Well, what if another dimension
an Excel wizard you could generate is wanted? Perhaps conductivity is a
the graph yourself, plotting new parts parameter of some significance, or a
to the chart as they come through. humidity reading, or an anodization
Clustering becomes more power- current. But a 3D graph can have
ful as more information is added to only three dimensions.
the schema. Let’s say information is On the other hand, use of a ma-
added about rejected units. It turns chine learning algorithm means four,
out the blue group represents almost five, six or even 100 dimensions can
80 percent of rejects, whereas a green be graphed.
group represents around 20 percent. The clustering algorithm graphs
Now you’re on to something! each part based on its attributes,
But why stop there? Let’s say we identifying those close to each other
start collecting length as well. Imagine as groups. Once this is done it is
plotting in three dimensions. The blue, easier to see what attributes, or what
black and green figures might all be combinations of attributes, are most
close to you or far away from you. likely to lead to rejects.
Advanced graphing programs do this, This means additional refinement to
so it’s possible to continue to manually the groups can be done automatically,
input and group information. Group- based on the additional attributes,
ing is improved, showing 85 percent and it’s possible the blue group cold
of rejects in the blue group. be refined enough to predict 95 or 99
At this point, if clustering is done percent of rejects. Insight is improved
with a machine learning algorithm, significantly as to which as-built prod-
ucts most likely are to
be in need of rework.
The option exists
to pull them from
production before
unnecessary steps are
taken, saving both
time and money.
Decision trees
The thought exper-
iment just described
suggests some of the
possibilities inherent
in these techniques.
Let’s briefly look at
some others.
Figure 2: Decision trees begin with a few simple elements but Decision trees are
can be used to predict outcomes of highly complex processes. another conceptually
6 | MARCH 2019 IIoT For Engineers
simple technique with big implica-
tions. We build decision trees all
the time in our daily lives to answer
questions like: How’s the traffic?
What’s the weather like? Should I
call my mother today? (See Figure 2.)
Having an algorithm build one for us
is a simple task. Start by identifying
the data that describes a process, as
well information about the results.
The algorithm generated as a result
builds a tree that maps the predicted
outcomes. It runs through numerous
possibilities (perhaps thousands or
more) to come up with a tree that is
as accurate as can be.
Models and training
Other important analytic concepts
include modeling and training. Train-
ing occurs when process data is fed
into a machine learning algorithm
such that a model is generated,
allowing good and bad process ex-
amples to be identified.
Imagine someone sitting down with
a pen and writing out a decision tree.
Then they write another, and another,
until they have a pile of them. After
that, the best decision tree can be
identified, and the others thrown
away. That final decision tree would
be the model. For the clustering algo-
rithms, the model would just be called
a “clustering model” or “the model.”
In other words, using the optimal
decision tree, for example, a set of
data can be used to derive a predic-
tion based on the process flow. To go
back to the prior example, the first
statement might be, “if the width is
less than 23.5, then xxx,” and the
second statement could be, “if the
height is more than 43.3, then xxx.”
The machine learning algorithm cre-
ates the questions to get to the best
answers it can.
Decision trees have a lot of utility in
predictive maintenance applications.
www.controleng.com/IIoT
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AnAlytics, MAchine leArning, And Ai
As already mentioned, regression
analysis can be simple. It can be
complex when it comes to machine
learning algorithms.
Regression analysis
Again, the basics of regression
analysis can be illustrated by its use to
find a point on a line. To draw a line,
first decide what kind of line to draw.
Is it a curve? Is it a straight line? Does
it have many curves? If plotting it in
an x-y plane (two dimensions), this is
simple to do. Machine learning shines
when it is applied to complex data and
many dimensions. Drawing 100 dimen-
sions by hand would never be practi-
cal, but an algorithm can handle that
with ease, and can find the best fitting
regression with ease, if one exists.
Regression analysis can be very
useful in process tuning and pro-
duction forecasting. Not all data is
Get some hands-on experience
H 3. Brush up on statistics.
ow does anyone get started
with machine learning or
artificial intelligence proj-
ects? Here’s a few things to think
about beforehand.
1. Identify a problem. Start by
picking a process, area, or tech-
nique to improve. Find some-
thing with a strong need where
machine learning or AI seem like
they could help.
2. Gather data. The more data
the better. Thousands or millions
of data points help train a model
to be as good as possible. Make
sure to use quality data. Bad
data can easily throw off algo-
rithms. Data pre-processing and
cleaning is almost always one
key to success.
8 | MARCH 2019 IIoT For Engineers
appropriate for regression analysis
(e.g., data that is clustered), but it
can be great for items that have re-
lationships where one factor affects
other factors.
Deep learning
Perhaps you’ve heard of neural
networks? Do you know what they
are? I have a secret for you: no one
does. Okay, that’s not entirely true.
But it’s mostly true. Let me explain.
Neural networks are models that
contain thousands or millions of
nodes, which are small blocks of
computer code, each of which can
take input and produce output. Neu-
ral networks are so-called because
they are meant to model how neu-
rons work in our brains. Some con-
nections between nodes are stronger
and some are weaker, just like the
neurons in our brains.
(Or find someone who’s an
expert.) Understand sampling
techniques and causation versus
correlation. Having a sense of
the quality of the results helps
avoid false starts.
4. Have domain knowledge. (Or
find someone who does.) Know-
ing the process or techniques are
critical to knowing if results are
reasonable. Data scientists are
great, but simply unleashing one
on some data won’t get good
results.
5. Create the model. This can
be with any machine learning
software that exists. Modern
supervisory control and data
acquisition (SCADA) systems have
some popular machine learning
For neural networks, the algo-
rithms don’t just configure the nodes.
They build them. They can build
models with millions of nodes to
process data.
As a neural network digests data,
it morphs and changes until it does a
fairly good job at predicting outcomes
or providing categorizations. It can be
trained to do just about anything. It
could take recent sensor readings and
produce a probability of a problem
arising. Or it could evaluate a set of
1s and 0s to determine whether it
portrays a cat. All these millions of
nodes somehow “understand” the
image. It’s just simple math for each
node, but somehow the arrangement
and weights of the nodes allow for
drawing conclusions.
This is why I say no one really un-
derstands them. Ask a data scientist
to explain neural networks, and he or
algorithms built in. Numerous
cloud offerings and platforms
include these type algorithms as
options.
6. Deploy the model. Often
models can be run next to
machines or on premise, even if
built on the cloud or using other
tools. Find the best way to run
the model for the organization.
If part of a critical process, run-
ning it on the premises is ideal.
7. Monitor for success. If success
can’t be measured, no one will
know it exists. Have prior process
data available to compare to the
latest. If the model needs refine-
ment, go back to step five. Keep
in mind that sometimes trying
several models or combining a
few delivers the best results.
www.controleng.com/IIoT
 Wi-Fi Friendly
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enclosures are manufactured with
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analogous to how a brain works.
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she will be able to explain the math. Ask that same data for an external antenna to connect
scientist to explain how it can recognize Fluffy amidst those the device.
bytes, and the word “magic” may arise in the explanation.
As impressive as neural networks are, they present a • Non-corrosive
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to stay, and the tech industry is fully on board. The technol-
ogy has proven its value, and adopting companies see them-
selves pulling ahead of the pack. AI isn’t the answer to every
problem, but when applied well, it can make a large differ-
ence in a short amount of time. Go out there, have some
fun and build some models! You’ll be glad you did. IIoT

Kevin McClusky is co-director of sales engineering at

410.760.9696
Inductive Automation. McClusky is an expert in the field
of industrial automation software integration. His work
includes oversight, creation and support of numerous
HMI, SCADA, MES and IIoT projects.
www.fiboxusa.com
IIoT For Engineers MARCH 2019 | 9
Flow Control
Extend edge data gathering with
multivariable instruments
Measure multiple variables to deliver data-rich IIoT applications
By Conner Oberle
A
little recognized benefit
of advanced process instru-
mentation is its ability to of-
ten measure more than one variable.
For example, a pressure transmitter
may provide a temperature read-
ing. This is not the case with every
type instrument, as some have more
capabilities than others. The simpler
the instrument, such as those used
to measure temperature, the fewer
variables. On the other hand, complex
instruments such as differential pres-
sure (DP) flowmeters often measure or
infer multiple process variables.
These secondary,
tertiary or greater
variables result from
a variety of sources.
Some are provided
simply for compensa-
Figure 1: Some DP flowmeters add a sensor
for measuring process fluid temperature.
All graphics courtesy: Emerson Automation
Solutions
10 | MARCH 2019 IIoT For Engineers
tion of the primary measurement. For
example, many sensors used to mea-
sure pressure (piezoresistive, capacitive
and others) require compensation for
temperature, so the transmitter must
include an internal temperature sen-
sor as the adjustment factor.
In other situations, including a
different type of sensor extends the
capability and versatility of an instru-
ment. Let’s look at these and other
scenarios and examine capturing
additional information in an Industrial
Internet of Things (IIoT) context.
Strictly compensatory
As mentioned, sensing elements
can be influenced by operating
conditions. For example,
a piezoresistive sensor
used in a pressure
instrument delivers
a different signal
for a 100-pounds
per square inch (psi)
reading at 10 degrees
C than it will at 80 de-
grees C. The transmitter
must have an internal sen-
sor to determine the pressure
sensor’s temperature so the read-
ing can be adjusted appropriately.
A clever engineer may realize
there is a provision for capturing the
temperature reading. But how can
this be realized in practice? First, the
instrument maker must provide the
compensatory reading for the pres-
sure sensor itself, so the temperature
sensor is located to capture that value,
but this temperature may not reflect
the process. It can in some situations,
but the pressure sensor may also be
some distance from the process fluid
and effectively insulated. The temper-
ature reading may simply monitor the
transmitter housing interior. Anyone
using the temperature reading must
understand where it comes from and
what it represents.
Intentionally variable
In some situations, instruments are
intended to provide a range of infor-
mation, and therefore one or multiple
sensors are inserted into the process
media to attain the highest degree
of accuracy. Let’s examine a specific
example.
DP flowmeters are the most com-
mon technology for flow measure-
ment. The concept is simple: when
an obstruction (the primary element)
is placed in the path of a fluid flow,
there will be a pressure drop propor-
tional to the volume of fluid moving
through the primary element. A DP
transmitter measures the pressure
drop, and its electronics convert the
pressure drop into a flow reading. This
is the primary variable from the trans-
mitter, but what other measurements
are possible?
Multivariable transmitters have
additional sensors within a single
transmitter. An additional pressure
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Figure 2: Using direct readings from a DP flowmeter combined with known process fluid and configuration characteristics,
it is possible to calculate a range of values, including mass flow.
sensor is located within the trans-
mitter module to measure the line
pressure. Instead of simply knowing
that the differential pressure is 3 psi,
this additional measurement allows
the pressure on the primary element’s
upstream and downstream sides to
be known.
Additionally, multivariable transmit-
ters can take readings from tem-
perature sensors. These valid process
readings can be used as individual
values, without need for separate
pressure or temperature transmitters
on the same line.
Calculating flow only requires
knowing the differential pressure.
This may be enough, but oftentimes
a flow measurement point requires
full compensation of more than 25
parameters, including density, viscosity
and discharge coefficient. Critical to
compensating for these parameters
is temperature. Getting accurate
process temperature readings requires
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a temperature sensor in the right
location (Figure 1), which under most
circumstances means another process
penetration. A DP flowmeter assembly
can incorporate the temperature sen-
sor as part of its installation, ensuring
an accurate reading for a reliable mass
flow measurement.
Having known characteristics
When it is possible to measure DP,
line pressure and fluid temperature,
these three values can be combined
with measurements fed into the trans-
mitter’s configuration (Figure 2). If
plant personnel provide the fluid type,
primary element configuration and
line size to the transmitter, a range of
process measurements can be calcu-
lated, such as:
• Mass flow
• Volumetric flow
• Energy flow, and
• Totalized flow.
These measurements can be gener-
ated by one instrument with one
primary output. If such a sophisticated
instrument is installed in a convention-
al analog I/O environment, the opera-
tors will get one variable—flow—and
that’s it. An engineer watching the
transmitter’s local display may see an
indication of what is really going on
inside. It will step from variable to
variable, showing the flow value, DP
reading, temperature and perhaps
line pressures depending on how the
transmitter has been configured. This
represents a missed opportunity.
Capturing supplemental data
A technician trying to interface with
existing process instruments in most
environments has a challenge. Field
instruments communicating with a
distributed control system (DCS) via
conventional 4-20 mA analog loops
do not interface easily with IIoT net-
working protocols. It may be possible
IIoT For Engineers MARCH 2019 | 11
Flow Control
Figure 3: A WirelessHART adapter mounts on a
transmitter housing and sends data via the larger
WirelessHART network. Wired connections need not
be disturbed.
to access a specific instrument through the DCS
or historian connected to it. However, if the DCS’s
I/O infrastructure is more than a few years old, it
may be limited to plain analog loops.
So how does a multivariable instrument,
such as the DP flowmeter, send its extra
data to a host system?
The easiest answer is via a digital process
fieldbus protocol, such as FOUNDATION Fieldbus. Proto-
cols can send enormous amounts of information easily, at
least in terms of data volumes created by field instruments,
which by IT standards is still pretty low. A DP flowmeter
can send one, two or more variables via the fieldbus signal,
and the host system can handle all the data and informa-
tion. Reaching into the host system using IIoT protocols
such as EtherNet/IP should be manageable and straightfor-
ward. However, plants using fieldbus I/O are still a minority,
although this situation is
improving.
A second solution, al-
most as easy as a fieldbus,
depending on the DCS, is using HART-enabled
I/O. If the DCS is less than 10 years old, it may be
equipped with smart I/O able to read HART infor-
mation superimposed on the conventional 4-20
mA signal. This HART signal can be detected and
decoded by the host system, revealing ad-
ditional data sent by the instrument. If the
plant is progressive and this type of I/O is
in use, extracting the extra data is similar to
a fieldbus system, although the bandwidth available with
HART is lower, so information will not flow as quickly.
Unfortunately, however, even some new DCS platforms do
not include HART-enabled I/O.
If neither fieldbus or Hart are available, possible solutions
become more complicated. Some plants overcome the
limitations of conventional I/O by adding HART multiplex-
ers. A single device captures HART data from a group of
instruments, scanning through them in sequence. Band-
width limitations make it a slow process, unsuitable for
monitoring fast-changing variables.
Simplicity of wireless
Absent one of the sophisticated I/O approaches just
mentioned, adding a WirelessHART adapter (or using
a native WirelessHART transmitter) is arguably the best
interface to get process data, whether simple or multi-
variable, into an IIoT environment. The adapter (Figure 3)
mounts on a transmitter housing and can send data to a
WirelessHART gateway without disrupting the established
wired connection to the host system. Since WirelessHART
is digital, the gateway can convert it to Ethernet or other
protocol such as Modbus RTU. Most HART-enabled instru-
ments can be configured to prioritize variables as needed.
Using WirelessHART solves both multivariable capture
and analog-to-IIoT conversion problems, allowing users to
maximize the versatility of instrumentation and technology
networking capabilities, even in a legacy environment. The
result is an installation easily accessible using leading IIoT
technologies and protocols. IIoT
Connor Oberle is a global pressure product manager
for Emerson Automation Solutions in Shakopee, Minn.
responsible for Rosemount multivariable transmitters. He
holds a BS in mechanical engineering from the University
of North Dakota.
12 | MARCH 2019 IIoT For Engineers www.controleng.com/IIoT
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