PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) run machines and production processes. Industrial routers provide the “C” in ICT connectivity, but the “I” functionality needed for remote maintenance and diagnostics is limited. This is where middleware comes in. 

Reactive service is yesterday’s model. Technicians visit sites in order to service machines at regular intervals and all too often — 63 percent of the time according to research conducted by ARC — no corrective action is needed. Therefore, this model is inefficient and expensive: moreover, it doesn’t enable preventative maintenance. 

What’s clearly needed is a proactive model, one that eliminates wasted visits and detects issues before they impact on the machine’s performance. That’s what everyone in the value chain wants. End users want maximum up time. OEMs and systems integrators want minimal service and support costs.

Middleware Bridges the Gap

In a very smart nutshell, a middleware solution created by eWON bridges the technology gap that separates PLCs and cloud computing. It not only allows technicians to monitor machine performance from any location using a Web browser and a secure Internet connection, but it also raises the maintenance bar by enabling an all-round value-added service. For example:

Middleware, as the term implies, is software that sits in the middle, between users and machines. It lets users talk to the PLCs and it also allows PLCs to talk to the users. A systems integrator can therefore check the PLC program remotely and adjust or modify the code, which is a great feature during installation and initial start-up.

Information retrieved from the PLC allows design engineers to identify and solve complex problems, which leads to a better understanding of the machine and in turn this facilitates product improvements.

And customer service staffs, which are not IT engineers, can maintain machines around the world using a few mouse clicks.

Conclusion: the ability to better monitor and control their machines allows OEMs to add value to their offer via improved engineering, maintenance, training, installation and uptime.

An Embedded Platform

eWON’s solution doesn’t impact on the way that machines are designed. The embedded middleware platform supports all mainstream PLC protocols and all broadband networks, both wireline and wireless.  

The platform is embedded in what would otherwise be a regular industrial “router,” but the brand new functionality belies that term. It includes the ability to poll PLC variables and to acknowledge and trigger multiple actions based on preset alarms.

It adds the ability to store tag (News - Alert) data values in an internal database, thereby enabling statistical analysis of events and trends. 

Instead of learning how to program in proprietary PLC protocols, engineers can use BASIC or Java. And internal Web technology provides the intuitive click-to-view interface that removes the need for service staff to have IT skills. 

What’s in a Name?

Routers only route and modulate, so what do you call this multi-functional device? There’s no suitable term so the company decided to call it an eWON. Names don’t really matter: what you do with it is the only thing that counts. Consider what Apple (News - Alert) did with “Mac,” which is short for Macintosh. 

Now It Gets Better: Much Better

SNMP is an Internet-standard protocol for managing devices on IP networks and to a computer server eWONs look like regular SNMP agents. This opens up numerous possibilities.

The monitoring/maintenance software can be located at any point-of-presence anywhere in the world, but it can also be “in the cloud”, i.e. be employed as a service, which is something that eWON offers. In this case, the term Talk2M is self-explanatory and has a nice marketing ring.

Service staff, design engineers and end users, if they are so inclined, can employ a regular Web browser to “Talk” to their machines, e.g. investigate the reason for an alert, or check the historical log to see if there might be an upcoming performance issue.

Fig.1: The central Talk2M VPN Server farm enables an unlimited number of on-demand connections, which are easy to implement thanks to installation wizards. No special incoming port setup is needed; there are no firewall issues; no need for fixed IP addresses; and standard data SIM cards can be used for 2.5G/3G services.

Multiple users can share the same Talk2M account. They share the same list of global eWONs but can have different permissions. A neat feature is the ability to select eWONs from an address book.

This proactive model can be used by OEMs to rethink customer service and convert it from a cost center to a profit center, one that can cover a variety of SLAs.

Connectivity

The Internet connection can employ all mainstream wireline and wireless access technologies, i.e. LAN/ADSL and 2.5G/3G. Network layer and application layer VPN technologies establish dedicated, end-to-end tunnels between machines and the Talk2M server.

Conclusions

Talk2M lets machine builders improve customer service, set up remote diagnostics and establish maintenance programs. But at the end of the day, it comes down to money, as visualized in Figure 2. eWON’s solution minimizes travel and staff costs, i.e. no IT skills are needed; they only need to know their machine.  

Fig. 2: The left-hand column shows typical service costs: 45 percent for emergency calls; 40 percent for routine calls; and 15 percent for preventative calls. With remote access emergency cost goes down to 9 percent; routine to 15 percent; and preventative goes up to 25 percent. Do the maths and you get an impressive saving of 51 percent. Source: Gartner (News - Alert) DataQuest.