IIoT, Cyber Security & Instrumentation - A Step Towards The Future

The advent of information technology has changed the way we work, with a number of smart gadgets continuously connected to the internet. These gadgets are the ‘things’ referred to in the term ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT). When extended to manufacturing and production industries, this is known as the ‘Industrial Internet of Things’ (IIoT). The ‘things’ in IIoT are intelligent machines that share data using advanced communication technologies for more reliable, efficient and safe operation of the plant. Most of the devices are hooked to the network allowing instantaneous monitoring and control. IIoT has the potential to unleash benefits by providing information to be used in increasing plant availability, resulting in operating the process plant near the threshold design parameters and minimizing downtime. While technology is no longer a constraint, the means of implementing it for use in industry seems challenging.

- Shrirang Deshpande

The industrial internet of things (IIoT) is currently a trending topic in the process and automation industry. This technology has the potential to provide the industry with knowledge of the hidden parameters which have always existed in plants but remained unutilized due to a lack of analytical processes. This article intends to focus on the fundamentals of IIoT, its implementation and challenges.

OT, IT and IIoT in the Process Industry 

The connection of all process parameters in a plant to the control system forms the backbone of operation technology (OT). Implementing OT capabilities on ethernet, LAN or WAN to share this plant information for further optimization formalizes the concept of information technology (IT) for the industry.

IIoT is a combination of OT and IT, bringing the process parameter information to a common platform to share relevant data with relevant systems in real time. In the process industry, these vary from the data of known tagged plant devices to information from untagged sensors which is available but remains unutilized.

The innovation in hardware and its connectivity on communication networks in recent decades has made this a reality. The signal transmission from sensors has migrated from conventional 4-20 mA current signals to digital signals i.e. HART, FOUNDATION fieldbus and wireless. These signals not only share details of process parameters but also provide diagnostic information about the sensor. Bringing this valuable information onto the network provides better insight into these individual components and ensures overall healthiness of the plant. Data integration in the network provides the means to effectively improve performance in a working production facility.