Wireless for Safety

Wireless systems may be useful to enhancing the safety profile within a factory operation. These systems can be used to prevent injury through improved communication and enhanced situational awareness within the factory. Wireless safety systems are used in many applications including those designed to prevent chemical handling mishaps, avoid heavy equipment accidents such as “struck-by, and back-over” incidents, prevent falls through active position monitoring and safety interconnects, provide situational awareness within confined spaces, and improve safety for non-employees.

Along with adaption of wireless sensor networks for industrial automation, there are more applications of wireless technology created by users after they are more familiar and comfortable with the wireless technology. Also because of the strong benefits of wireless applications that can save project execution time and cost, more and more wireless has been used for secondary or backup systems for time-critical application such as safety or control applications. Based on this movement, ISA-84 working group (WG) 8 developed a technical report on wireless for safety systems other than those of a safety integrated system (SIS), i.e., those systems with a system integrity level (SIL) rating below ten. The technical report describes the additional elements needed to be addressed when wireless technology is used in an Independent Protection Layer (IPL). Refer to the ISA technical report TR84.00.08-2017 Guidance for Application of Wireless Sensor Technology to Non-SIS Independent Protection Layers for more information.

Reprinted from "Guide to Industrial Wireless Systems Deployments" by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Get your copy here.

Business Case for Industrial Wireless

One of the key enablers of factory automation is the availability of wireless radio frequency devices. Some applications of radio frequency devices include process control, oil and gas refineries, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) control, slotted microwave guides, pendants to control cranes and machine tools, active and passive radio frequency identifier (RFID) for tracking parts, tools and consumables, wireless barcode readers, remote sensing of critical process parameters, mobile telephony, door openers, emergency communication, and general factory Wi-Fi for internet connectivity. In addition, devices not directly associated with the manufacturing process such as microwave ovens and mobile telephone hot spots must be included when designing a factory wireless system. As useful as wireless communications is, it must be recognized that spectrum is limited and there must be judicious choices about when it should be used, and when wired connections are preferable.

In general terms, wireless (as with any upgrade to a factory or enterprise system) should satisfy a requirement related to quality, reliability, efficiency, safety, regulation, or environment as shown in Table 4. The requirements pertain to the business enterprise which in the case of a manufacturing operation means the plant or factory. A wireless deployment should be designed to satisfy one of the key business concerns listed.

Table 4. Purposes for initiating a wireless systems deployment

• Functionality - Is wireless required to achieve an aspect of function within the factory operation? For example, does the factory require a mobility to achieve a goal?
• Reliability - Is reliability of the production line improved? The ability to manufacture products, parts or assemblies which conform to the engineering definition, and can demonstrate conformity.
• Safety - Are people or equipment made safer? The ability of employees to perform their jobs free from recognized hazards including falls, hazardous energy, confined space, ergonomics, and hazardous materials, and being able to demonstrate compliance with all safety regulations.
• Efficiency - The ability to meet target costs and continue forever to reduce unit production costs.
• Quality - The ability to manufacture parts and assemblies which conform to the engineering definition, and be able to demonstrate conformity.
• Environment - The ability to demonstrate compliance with applicable government regulations at the city, county, state, and federal level.

Reprinted from "Guide to Industrial Wireless Systems Deployments" by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Get your copy here.

Analynk A75x RF Industrial Wireless DIN System

Analynk A75x

The Anaynk A75x series offers simplicity and reliability in a point to point, multipoint or wireless mesh system. One A753 transmitter can communicate with multiple A750 receivers for redundancy. A repeater can be added simply by placing in between a transmitter and receiver, no programming is required. Three radio options are available: long range 900MHz 1W, 900MHz 50mW and 2.4GHz 63mW. In addition to transmission of the industry standard 4-20mA, our transmitters can directly process thermocouples, RTD and switch states. Up to 32 inputs may be transmitted with one transmitter when the A753 is paired with our A16000 expansion module.

MODEL NUMBERS:

• A750 Receiver
• A750-Mod (RS232/485)
• A753 Transmitter
• A759 Repeater
• A753-PL Transmitter (pulse)
• A750-PL Reciever (pulse)
• A753-LP Transmitter (900MHz 50mW)
• A750-LP Receiver (900MHz 50mW)

FEATURES:

• 35mm DIN rail mount
• Standard 1W long range output, optional 50mW & 63mW
• Removable 2.0dBi dipole antenna
• DIP switch selectable channels
• Signal Strength indicator
• Repeaters available
• No software required
• Factory configured for your application

APPLICATIONS:

• Remote 4-20mA installation
• Redundant 4-20mA outputs
• Temperature monitoring
• Tank level monitoring
• Remote switch monitor
• Pulse transmission
• Remote alarms
• Rotating devices (e.g. kilns)
• Temporary 4-20mA

For more information, contact Analynk Wireless by visiting https://analynk.com or by calling (614) 755-5091.

Glossary of Terms in Wireless Networks in Process Control

Below is a list of terminology, abbreviations, and acronyms used in wireless network technology applied to process control.

• 6LoWPAN
• IPv6 Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks
• ARPA 
• Advanced Research Projects Agency 
• ARUBA
• Refers to Aruba Wireless Networks, now a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.
• BLIP 
• Berkeley Low-power IP stack
• CAP 
• Contention Access Period
• CFP 
• Contention Free Period
• CISCO
• A company that develops, manufactures and sells networking equipment.
• CSMA-CA 
• Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance
• DAO 
• Destination Advertisement Objects
• DIO 
• DAG Information Object
• DIS 
• DAG Information Solicitation
• DODAG 
• Destination Oriented Directed Acyclic Graph 
• DSN 
• Distributed Sensor Network
• ETX 
• Expected Transmission count
• GTS 
• Guaranteed Time Slot
• HBN 
• Hydrobionet
• ICMP 
• Internet Control Message Protocol
• LLN 
• Low power Lossy Networks
• MAC 
• Media Access Control
• MBR 
• Membrane Bioreactor
• MEM 
• Micro electromechanical
• MERU
• Refers to Meru Networks, a supplier of wireless local area networks (WLANs).
• MOTOROLA
• A company that designed and sold wireless network equipment.
• MRHOF 
• Minimum Rank Objective Function with Hysteresis
• NCS 
• Network Controlled System 
• OF 
• Objective Functions
• OS 
• Operating System
• PID 
• Proportional-integral-derivative controller
• PRR 
• Packet Reception Ratio
• REPEATER
• Device that takes an existing signal from a wireless router or wireless access point for rebroadcasting.
• RPL 
• Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks 
• RSSI 
• Received Signal Strength Indication
• WBN 
• Wireless Biosensor & Actuator Network 
• WIFI
• Technology for radio wireless local area networking of devices based on the IEEE 802.11 standards.
• WINS 
• Wireless Integrated Network Sensors
• WIRELESS ACCESS POINT
•  A networking device that allows a Wi-Fi device to connect to a wired network to create a second network.
• WSN 
• Wireless Sensor Network
• ZIGBEE 
• Popular, low-cost, low-power wireless mesh networking standard.
• Z-WAVE 
• Tightly controlled mesh network that caters to the smart home and smart building space.

Happy 4th of July from Analynk!

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." 

Thomas Jefferson

Process Control and Wireless Networks

Industrial plants, factories and process automation systems are increasingly deploying information and communications technologies to facilitate data sharing and analysis in integrated control networks. Despite the harsh process control environment, signal propagation loss and radio frequency (RF) interference, wireless connections provide fast and easy access to a variety of field instruments and reduce network installation costs and ongoing maintenance outlays. This serves as an incentive for the adoption of industrial wireless networks based on industry standards such as ISA100.11a, a wireless networking technology standard developed by the ISA (International Society of Automation) and the WirelessHART, a wireless sensor networking technology based on the Highway Addressable Remote Transducer Protocol (known as HART). Wide-scale adoption proceeds cautiously though, as industrial environments vary widely and process control systems exhibit a multitude of critical wireless networking requirements, such as:

• Deterministic transmissions in shared wireless bandwidth.
• Low-cost operation.
• Long-term durability.
• High reliability in the harsh radio propagation environment.

Wired connections have proven themselves effective in supporting reliable, point-to-point communications between the controller and the field instruments. A problematic limitation exists with wired connections though - they are unable to accommodate the growing demands and future requirements to support adaptive network topology and rapid reconfiguration encountered in new process control systems.

In lieu of laying down miles of cables to connect hundreds of field instruments, industrial wireless communication networks provide wireless connections with customized network topology, allow for plug-and-play configuration, and offer lower installation and maintenance costs.

Compared with the requirements of standard Internet data services, wireless in the process control environment has stricter quality of service (QoS) requirements. These include more highly reliable transmissions in mobile use cases as well as centralized data analytics, tighter message latency, and lower power consumption.

Hazardous Area Antennas

Gathering information in hazardous areas is critically important for plants to access. Wireless communications is vital for improved efficiencies, real-time monitoring of machinery and equipment, and the safety and well-being of personnel.

Hazardous area antennas from Analynk Wireless are designed and constructed for very rugged industrial applications. Furthermore, all Analynk hazardous area antennas  are UL  listed for Class 1, Groups C & D and have ATEX/IECEx Certification. Finally, a range of frequencies are available from 900MHz, 2.4GHz, Cellular, GPS, Iridium and dual bands.