Wireless technology has created ostensible noise in manufacturing — some are calling it revolutionary. But let's be real. The industrial wireless market is not new by any means. Wireless-based technology has been used in the industry for decades — mostly in the form of licensed radio transmitters, which have been used in long-distance data communications applications. Wireless has been a part of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems in oil, gas and electric power for just as long. And while there's little doubt that the factories of the future will be controlled by wireless technologies, until recently, wireless connections have been expensive, slow and subject to the suspicion that they could be easily tampered with. As a result, industrial controls have remained hard-wired.

The wireless links of today, however, are faster, more economical and more secure. To that end, reports The ARC Advisory Group, wireless technology — "already the backbone in homes and offices worldwide" — is about to see widespread adoption where it may have its most profound impact: on the plant floor and out in the field.

The ARC Advisory Group, upon releasing its "Wireless Technology in Process Manufacturing" report in August, forecasts the worldwide market for wireless technology in manufacturing to grow from $325.7 million in 2005 to more than $1 billion in 2010. And earlier this year, the National Manufacturing Week show in Rosemont, Ill., spotlighted wireless technologies — from RFID to 802.11 — among top IT issues.

Wireless network technology is particularly popular with smaller manufacturers, according to ASSEMBLY magazine's State of the Profession 2006. Almost one-half (48 percent) of respondents at small manufacturers claim they will implement wireless systems in their plants during the next 12 months versus 40 percent of respondents at large manufacturers. Manufacturers in the fabricated metal products industry (46 percent) expressed the most interest in wireless systems.

The major trend in the market, however, is growth through incorporation of new wireless technologies. "Although the underlying principles have been long established, wireless technology is poised to change plant operations in a revolutionary way — particularly in the area of wireless networks and wireless sensor networks," Plant Engineering recently pointed out.

These technologies have their roots in the IT, telecom, consumer and military markets. Manufacturing is adopting them in cases where the value of wireless information is apparent, but the market is far from saturated.

Wireless LAN technology, for instance, has been mainly deployed at indoor facilities, but these are expected to expand to encompass entire plants. Further, new wireless sensor technologies are set to reduce the cost of information dramatically as they are developed and deployed in manufacturing.

There are a number of important factors that are driving wireless' role as an emerging technology today in manufacturing automation. Foremost, manufacturers see wireless technologies as an enabler of entirely new business processes that will not only be less expensive, but "will be safer, more reliable, and far more transparent than their current manufacturing practices," says ARC Advisory Group Senior Analyst Harry Forbes. Perhaps the most compelling reason to adopt wireless technology is cost. "Using wireless systems for applications that would otherwise require wires dramatically decreases installation time and the exponentially escalating cost of materials and labor," says Plant Engineering.

A major factor favoring greater deployment of wireless technologies in manufacturing is the ability of wireless applications to enable new and better ways of operating manufacturing plants, and process manufacturing stands to feel the greatest impact, according to The ARC Group. In the past, process manufacturing has been unable to use wireless on a broad scale such as in field operations, but new sensor networking and WLAN developments can change this in the very near future, presenting a huge opportunity for manufacturers who can use wireless to gain new visibility into hidden processes, assets and activities.

On the asset management front, wireless technology offers a more cost-effective means of monitoring plant equipment and production processes. In addition, it enables real-time decision making to optimize production or to head off maintenance issues prior to their production interruption. "Literally millions of field devices are installed at great cost in process manufacturing facilities," ARC notes. Yet because most are not digitally enabled, their ability to share process and maintenance information is significantly limited. As such, a huge opportunity exists for wireless technology to enable such "stranded" assets to the benefit of operations, maintenance and business systems across the enterprise.

In addition to better visibility and improved asset management, another compelling reason to adopt wireless technology is reach. Hesh Kagan, director of technology marketing at Invensys Process Systems, told plant Engineering:

Fundamentally, wireless networks deliver the same basic business benefits as wired networks: they connect data point A to data point B, enabling timely information sharing for a wide range of application and reporting functions. But because of the low cost of wireless sensors, and the no-cost of running wires, more points can be connected far more cost effectively than wired networks, raising the possibility of enabling way more detailed measure of process variables, including measures of things that could not even be measured before. Freed from the restrictions of wires, it is possible to set up measures for virtually any point of the enterprise and receive this information in real time.

"The benefits of tomorrow's wireless technology stretch far beyond saving installation and wiring costs," said Jack Bolick, president of Honeywell Process Solutions, which is one of a number of suppliers announcing expanded wireless offerings recently. "These new advancements will help plant operators gather field data more easily, increase asset life through continuous monitoring and improve the safety of their most important assets — their people."

Like any promising technology, there are of course concerns. When leveraging wireless technology in industrial applications, security is a key concern.

Dr. Gene Yon, president of Accutech, a division of Adaptive Instruments Corp., suggested to Plant Engineering that there are three primary areas of security concerns: blocking, which involves interfering or preventing data transmission; spoofing, which involves someone intentionally sending incorrect data in place of correct data; and hacking, which obviously involves illegal entry into other secure systems.

Reliability and battery life concerns follow security. In addition to recommendations for reducing or eliminating these risks, Plant Engineering proffers a great amount of detail into the overall, rapidly increasing trend of industrial wireless technology.

Despite the impossibility of drowning out the loud buzz of industrial wireless technology, the validity and obvious benefits can no longer be ignored. Widespread industrial adoption is expected to follow soon.

Sources

Wireless Technology in Manufacturing to Grow 26 percent Annually, Says ARC Advisory Group
ARC Advisory Group, Aug. 21, 2006

Wireless: New tools, strategies change how plants are monitored
by Jack Smith
Plant Engineering, July 1, 2006

A Brave New World: State of the Profession 2006
by Austin Weber
ASSEMBLY magazine, Aug. 1, 2006