Sustainability

Industrial sustainability: Get better measurements, analytics, visibility for better results

As sustainability becomes more important for industry, facilities need better measurements, analytics and visibility for better results.

Courtesy: Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering

 

Learning Objectives

  • Understand how aggregating and analyzing measurements ensure better results.
  • See how hardware and software tools can connect information from disparate systems to support sustainability efforts with greater visibility in a dashboard of actionable information.

Industrial sustainability insights

  • Aggregating and analyzing measurements can ensure better results for sustainability efforts.
  • Improved hardware and software tools can connect information from disparate systems to help analyze and support sustainability efforts with greater visibility in a dashboard of actionable information.

Sustainability is becoming more important to industrial customers, and hardware and software tools can help, said Mark Densley, director business development, factory automation and packaging, discrete automation, Emerson at Pack Expo Las Vegas 2023.

A video explanation of an Emerson booth demo showed how industrial edge computing devices connect to multiple sensors and logic devices using many protocols, as needed, across industries. This ensures data from often disparate systems is gathered, processed and made visible in real time for the people and processes that need it for smarter, faster decisions. Communications methods can include IO-Link Wireless, MQTT, OPC Unified Architecture (UA), Modbus, analog communications and WirelessHART. A dashboard, which can be built with available software by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), end users or through provided services, can add visibility.

Better sustainability measurements, visibility, results

That higher level of visibility can help measure use of energy and consumables, such as electricity, compressed air, steam, hot water, cold water, soft water and chemicals used in processes.

Hardware, software and engineering services can help, and metrics of such increased visibility often is less than a year with most customers. The systems are agnostic with data sharing and can exchange information to enterprise, cloud and historian systems in real time, as needed.

Mark Densley, director business development, factory automation and packaging, discrete automation, Emerson, explained how sustainability initiatives can be improved with gathering measurements and making information visible where and when needed for better decisions. See related video interview from Pack Expo Las Vegas 2023.
Mark Densley, director business development, factory automation and packaging, discrete automation, Emerson, explained how sustainability initiatives can be improved with gathering measurements and making information visible where and when needed for better decisions. See related video interview from Pack Expo Las Vegas 2023. Courtesy: Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering

Greater connectivity, visibility improve industrial outcomes

Additional information explained how a broad floor-to-cloud Emerson portfolio included solutions and systems such as Aventics, Branson, Movicon, PaceEdge and PACSystems. A floor-to-cloud approach unlocks trapped data and connects islands of automation, giving manufacturers the visibility and control to solve critical challenges and ambitious goals: improving overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), increasing energy efficiency while reducing waste and creating safer operations and digital record keeping. Emerson multimedia monitoring solutions, including CoreTigo wireless communication, analyze water, compressed air, gases, electricity, steam (WAGES) and other utilities. The Edge Analytics Dashboard measures efficiency, optimizes productivity and avoids or reduces downtime. Emerson said the multimedia monitoring cabinet solution supports insights to help meet sustainability goals.

As the Emerson displays and dashboards explain at Pack Expo Las Vegas 2023, sustainability efforts can save money, but it’s not only about identifying waste and using less. Making smarter decisions, supported by data and optimization helps. How does a 20% reduction in downtime, sound along with a 10% reduction in gas use and 15% reduction in water?
As the Emerson displays and dashboards explain at Pack Expo Las Vegas 2023, sustainability efforts can save money, but it’s not only about identifying waste and using less. Making smarter decisions, supported by data and optimization helps. How does a 20% reduction in downtime, sound along with a 10% reduction in gas use and 15% reduction in water? Courtesy: Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering

Mark T. Hoske is content manager, Control Engineering, CFE Media and Technology, [email protected].

KEYWORDS: Industrial sustainability, sustainability analytics, dashboards

CONSIDER THIS

If you’re measuring the right things, are the right people acting on those measurements quickly enough to make a difference in sustainability efforts?

Written by

Mark T. Hoske

Mark Hoske has been Control Engineering editor/content manager since 1994 and in a leadership role since 1999, covering all major areas: control systems, networking and information systems, control equipment and energy, and system integration, everything that comprises or facilitates the control loop. He has been writing about technology since 1987, writing professionally since 1982, and has a Bachelor of Science in Journalism degree from UW-Madison.