IoT: Problem Solved

Although the talk is mostly about “adding value”, the real drivers for IoT implementations are usually problems. So which problems can be removed by IoT, and how does IoT do that?

Oil refineries are large industrial processing plants with many units of operation. They are often integrated with petrochemical facilities that further process the products of these refineries and, in turn, deliver to other “downstream” production plants. Around many refineries industrial complexes have grown, producing hundreds of products that range from fuels to plastics and specialty chemicals. If a refinery stops operation, this often means millions of dollars in lost revenues, and this ripples through the entire chain of downstream producers. 

The availability of Nitrogen

Processing plants like oil refineries require Nitrogen, an inert gas supplied in gaseous or liquid form. The availability of Nitrogen is of critical importance for the refinery, as it is used to purge flammable gases out of lines and vessels. In normal operation, the use of Nitrogen is typically quite limited, but during upset conditions, the use could suddenly spike. Although rare in most plants, upset conditions do occur from time to time, and plants are designed to handle those. As the use pattern of Nitrogen is unpredictable, Nitrogen suppliers are expected to closely monitor the inventories and make sure there is sufficient stock at all times or risk penalties. If a refinery needs to stop or reduce operation because of a lack of Nitrogen, the financial consequences can be enormous.

Liquid Nitrogen production in Texas

Collecting real-time data

Monitoring the levels of the Liquid Nitrogen tanks at refineries was one of the first industrial implementations of (what is now called) IoT. The reasons are obvious: The benefits of eliminating the pain of large financial penalties and lost revenues easily outweigh the costs of the IoT implementation. With this system, the distribution team at the supplier has access to real-time information about the tank levels and can refill the tanks well before the inventories drop to critical levels. The team can set automated alerts at different escalation points to provide itself with ample warning. It can also use the information to schedule top-off filling of partial loads in case deliveries of a nearby facility leave the Liquid Nitrogen tanker with some remaining supply.

What our clients told us

This phenomenon, eliminating a significant problem for the organization, is still the most important driver for IoT implementations. At Evalan we have created new IoT solutions for many different types of applications. We recently decided to survey these and ask our clients and project engineers which problem was eliminated by the IoT solution. The results are shown in the table below. Each client was asked to provide up to three answers.

Reasons for introducing an IoT solution – provided by Evalan ‘s clients and Project Managers

*The first of these entries does not belong in this table. There is an underlying, other problem why IoT systems were introduced in the first place. And that is the problem that matters. Those problems were included as well. For example, one of our clients needs real-time remote monitoring of the energy use of the building to claim the financial subsidies associated with the investments necessary to make this building a “zero-energy building”. This client installed an IoT system that did not perform reliably, which resulted in missed revenues.

We included this entry in the table because in many of our projects start for that reason – to eliminate the pains created by the existing IoT system. This pain is another important characteristic of IoT: IoT’s complexity is often underestimated. Connecting devices, machines, appliances, moving objects, and other assets to the cloud seems straightforward, and for some applications it is. Building secure, scalable, future-proof #IoT solutions that can be operationally managed requires specialized skills, especially if the solution needs to integrate with existing enterprise systems.

“Science Projects” with off-the-shelf hardware and some custom programming can be found everywhere in the IoT space, especially in smaller organizations. They are useful as they add to the insights and knowledge of the people involved. But they often do not survive the first real operational test or scale-up.

BACE IoT – a ready to deploy IoT solution that connect asset to the cloud, is fully integrated with Azure, and delivers its data via a RESTful API  

If you or your organization is exploring IoT, or if you recognize one of the entries that are mentioned in the table above, fee free to contact us. We are happy to share our experiences and can also explain how an “IoT Connector” like BACE IoT can help you get a fully developed, proven, state-of-the-art IoT implementation quickly.

For more information and a demonstration, see www.bace-iot.com . You can contact us via +31207790344 and [email protected] .

Evalan

Evalan is an experienced IoT solutions provider based in Amsterdam, and serves clients in industry, real-estate, agriculture, healthcare and departments of the Ministry of Defence.