Alexander Richter — Business Development EngineerModbus is a data communications protocol and has become a de facto standard protocol to connect industrial electronic devices. But how could those devices become part of the internet of things and what use cases could be developed? With this series of blog articles, we would like to give answers, ideas, suggestions, and helpful hints. To demonstrate how easy, it is to bridge the gap between devices and IT/cloud infrastructure by using Modbus Cloud Connect.
Maintenance costs can also be high in other industries such as transportation, utilities, process and construction. In these industries, companies generally have machinery, equipment and infrastructure that require regular maintenance and repair. However, service costs, such as those arising from the manual reading of meter readings, are also often a burden on the company’s expenses.
In order to be able to map all these necessary activities, many companies have special internal or external service and maintenance teams that ensure that all devices and systems are working properly and that operating and status data is recorded.
Service and maintenance costs can therefore represent a considerable cost factor for companies, which can be significantly reduced through connecting.
Sustainable benefits through connectivity
Connecting machines, systems or even individual devices can help to reduce service and maintenance costs in a variety of ways. For example, access to data from networked devices enables proactive maintenance, which reduces the likelihood of unexpected downtime and the need for costly repairs. This is possible because networked components can read out the status data of the connected devices and send it for evaluation. This means that problems can be detected in advance and warnings or notifications can be sent to connected systems and therefore also to maintenance personnel. This allows suitable measures to be derived as required before a problem becomes serious.
In addition, holistic connecting solutions can reduce service costs by simplifying communication between connected devices and maintenance personnel. This allows technicians to diagnose problems remotely, such as reading Modbus registers and troubleshooting if necessary, eliminating the need for costly site visits. In combination with a connected cloud solution, connecting modules offer the possibility to build up a pool of their own historical data, which helps service personnel to identify recurring problems and optimize maintenance schedules. In addition to reducing service costs through, for example, remote reading of meter or operating time readings, connecting can also help to reduce maintenance costs by minimizing the need for physical maintenance of devices. Networked devices can create a digital image (“digital twin”) of a machine and communicate status data remotely, which can lead to extended and variable maintenance intervals and thus save costs. This is particularly advantageous if the networked devices and systems are located in remote or difficult-to-access locations where a physical inspection is costly and time-consuming. connecting ex works and retrofitting decades-old systems using universal connecting components is also possible in most cases today without any problems.
Other challenges faced by industrial companies can also be tackled with intelligent connecting. Unwanted manipulation of device parameters, which can lead to increased wear in the system and possible recourse claims, can be identified and eliminated. This not only protects the customer relationship, but also actively secures your own business model digitally.
From industrial door to digital twin
Jansen Tore has been involved in the production, installation, maintenance and servicing of door systems for more than 40 years. The company focuses on the development and production of innovative door systems for fire protection, explosion protection, noise protection, burglary protection, heat protection and plant protection. Jansen Tore therefore supplies customized solutions for special requirements and has its core competencies in the manufacture of doors and their special drives.
For Jansen, the installation of the doors usually marks the start of a long-term customer relationship, which also includes contractually regulated maintenance and servicing for customers with time-critical processes. The aim here is to avoid breakdowns but also to keep an eye on the costs of the services to be provided. By connecting the door control system using Modbus Cloud Connect, Jansen Tore is able to continuously monitor the systems in the field, check the operating parameters, such as opening and closing times, and adjust them if necessary. Any error states that occur can now be read out remotely and measures can be taken directly with the customer so that costly service technician visits are only necessary if on-site intervention is unavoidable. In addition, manual manipulation of drives by customers can be detected quickly and recourse claims avoided, which digitally secures the company’s own business model.
This example shows how connecting creates transparency, saves costs and enables new services, which ultimately leads to a win-win situation for the provider and the customer.
Great added value through simple expansion
Overall, the benefits of connecting modules such as Modbus Cloud Connect in reducing service and maintenance costs are obvious. By accessing status data from connected devices, enabling proactive maintenance and optimizing communication between devices and service personnel, Modbus Cloud Connect can help companies reduce downtime, improve service quality and ultimately lower the total cost of ownership of their devices.
Last but not least, the low-threshold entry into the use of Modbus Cloud Connect for the described use cases is a significant advantage of the solution. In addition to the Plug&Work Modbus Cloud Connect module, customers receive connectivity via narrowband IoT and LTE-M, an intuitive self-service portal for managing all settings and parameters, as well as expert technical support from the grandcentrix Service Desk team, which assists our customers in setting up the initial connection.
Modbus Cloud Connect is suitable for many use cases, regardless of our customers’ level of digital maturity. Regardless of whether you are already pursuing an Industry 4.0 strategy towards a smart factory or want to network your first device. Significant added value can be achieved for both scenarios using our gateway. And because the individual added value for our latter customers usually only begins with the sending of their data, we offer customers without an existing visualization tool solutions from proven partners for use cases of any size and any budget.
Modbus Cloud Connect makes it easy to use, flexibly connectable and broadly applicable. Your device, directly to the cloud.