ABB Industrial IoT applications | Internet of Things, Services and People

Industrial IoT applications

How ABB creates value from the Industrial Internet of Things

Data collection and data analysis enabled by the industrial Internet of Things may increase knowledge and allow predictions, but unless someone acts on these, there will be no effect on the operational performance and direct value to customers across various industries. Only when the knowledge is turned into actions and issues are resolved will there be a benefit from analyzing more data.

Providing remote access to data and analytics to service experts will close the loop of continued improvement. Online availability of support from a device or process expert is essential for a quick resolution of unwanted situations. Coupling remote access with new technologies allows earlier detection, better diagnostics, and therefore facilitates faster service – resulting in better planning and an increase in efficiency.

ABB Ability platform

ABB's integrated Industrial Internet platform and cloud infrastructure

ABB's connected offerings enabling fast and efficient resolution of issues

ABB advanced services based on data analysis
Analyzing usage data across customers to propose operational improvements

Dashboards for customer self-service
Web portal dashboards to present asset status, operational reports and other measured data

Integration of 3rd party service providers
Partners that can offer services based on measured data, e.g. sub-suppliers, OEMs, channel partners

IIoT use cases

Connected systems

Internet connected assets

Ad-hoc mobile connected devices

Simulation and Safety support

Integrating monitoring data from all sources in the plant including electrical and control systems provide thorough information for continued improvements by decision makers. Remote operation and services reduce personnel exposure in hazardous / remote areas and fix issues faster.

Data concentrator (DCS, Historian, SCADA) available on-site
Transferring data from system data concentrator
Tunneling monitoring data from devices through system connector to the cloud
Standards required in case of non-ABB systems

Connected oil and gas production

Goliat FPSO, ENI Norge AS

Onshore Operation Center supports remote operation and services for oil production in the Arctic Circle

Customer situation

World’s largest FPSO vessel ever built needs to meet the high standards linked to on-site safety and a healthy working environment adapted to the climatic conditions in the Barents Sea

ABB solutions

Technicians can manage and monitor the Goliat on the platform itself, and also from onshore operation centre. Besides usual data links, the platform is able to connect with vessels within a range of 10 km.
WiMon system monitors the condition of rotating equipment on board - an example of a reasonable size wireless mesh network (conventionally, this would mean having an operator with a handheld tester reporting to the control room the vibration measurements)
ABB services for IT, security and network infrastructure, information management, condition monitoring, operational performance monitoring and flow assurance solutions

Benefits

Optimized production efficiency and decreased energy consumption through integrated automation, electrification and telecom solutions

ABB advanced services

Customer decision support

About ABB Ability in Oil and Gas

Connected renewables

PV solar plant monitoring & operation

Customer’s situation:

Minimum resource requirements for operating and maintaining a photovoltaic solar power plant

ABB solution:

A remote monitoring solution provides secure and efficient access to an increasing amount of data, collected from multiple remote plants
Automated analysis tools and applications transform the data stream into useful actionable information
Web portal provides easy access to dashboards and reports to users

Benefits:

Service experts have better access to data and can easily connect to a remote site, resulting in reduced response time and cost. This enables customers to improve their O&M strategies, increase performance and availability of their assets

ABB advanced services

About ABB Ability for Utilities

Connected vessels

FPSO Yùum K’ak’Náab, BW Offshore

ABB Remote Diagnostic Services support vessel's onboard personnel and solve a problem within 5 hours

Customer’s situation:

Drive tripped due to component failure.
Reduced cargo transfer capacity lead to delays in production.
Onboard personnel not able to determine root cause of fault.

ABB solution:

Remote connection was requested.
Viewed historical data from time of fault.
Based on alarm and events participating crew was instructed to perform physical tests on specific parts related to the fault.
In cooperation the faulty part was detected and replaced with onboard spare part.
ABB remotely monitored initial start-up after part replacement.

ABB’s integrated operations centers study data from multiple ships to provide fleet-wide energy efficiencies

Customer’s situation:

Customer sets high demands in the environmental friendly solutions it deploys onboard the vessels:

to improve the environmental footprint of its fleet
to minimize the overall energy costs for the entire fleet

ABB solution:

Equip entire fleet with:

SEEMP-compliant energy monitoring and
EMMA management system and decision-support tool to minimize the overall energy costs for individual vessels and entire fleets
All data generated onboard transferred to a cloud-based application for vessel benchmarking.
Provides management onshore with full visibility of energy consumption across the entire fleet.

Extensive ABB analytical services, including simulations, helps customer on future business case analysis

Vessel Remote Diagnostic Services

Customer decision support

About ABB Integrated Operation Center for Marine

Connected mines

Garpenberg - most profitable mine in Boliden

Extracting new value through integrated mining

Customer’s situation:

ABB receives an automatically generated e-mail indicating a problem with a gearless mill drive
Data analysis shows that the device will probably fail within 8 days

ABB solution:

Based on the data analysis, the customer was advised to immediately interrupt production for <30 min to clean dust filters to survive operation until next planned outage
At next planned outage, resolution of the problem by replacing components that were organized in time by the service organization
We collect data in real time from 400 electric motors, 280 variable speed drives, and two massive 1,200-meter hoists. Engineers now have the ability to make predictive maintenance decisions, before something goes wrong.

Benefits:

Reduced energy usage, increased resource productivity, reduced downtime, reduced need for on-site expertise, more efficient water usage, reduced noise

ABB advanced services

Customer decision support

About ABB Ability for Mining

Connected paper mills

Pulp mill in Indinesia

Remote-enabled services use data to predict and control operations for peak productivity and quality

Customer situation

A greenfield pulp mill needs to optimize equipment and process performance

ABB solution:

Advanced Process Control (APC) packages use data already gathered and available in a pulp mill's automation system to predict and control operations.
ABB Loop Performance Monitoring Service, powered by remote-enabled ServicePort, helps the mill identify and control loop performance issues.

Benefits

ABB advanced services provide the mill with tools needed to achieve peak productivity and quality

ABB advanced services

Customer decision support

About ABB Ability for Manufacturing

Connected data centers

Telx data center service provider

Business analytics capitalizing on the ability to connect with, monitor and automate all types of third-party equipment

Customer situation

A major provider of data center colocation services across America (20 data centers in 13 strategic U.S. markets) needs maximum visibility into its own operations, ability to identify issues before they become problems, to optimize energy consumption and cooling

ABB solution

ABB Decathlon for Data Centers connects with, monitors and automates equipment provided by all types of third-party suppliers so that operators can manage all of their cooling equipment from a single location within the data center. No other system provider can do this.
ABB system calculates the energy in the cooling liquid for the center and reports a monthly history of energy usage so Telx managers can compare energy reports to utility charges, a crucial analysis in a region where electricity is very expensive.
Datacenter owner can look at all his customers across 20 sites nationwide and compare customer revenue and the amount of power each customer uses from a centralized location.

Benefits

Business analytics help determine the true costs of delivering data center services and understand data centers' profitability through a consolidated system.

Cloud data center management

Data center business analytics

Data center solution partnerships

Even the most reliable, well-built and durable products eventually need maintenance. What if there were a way to operate devices that avoided catastrophic downtime entirely, and could predict any issues before they turned into larger maintenance problems?

Connecting intelligent device
Communication device to connect on-site individual devices to the cloud (wireless or wired internet connection)
Data concentrator capabilities for limited number of devices
On-demand or time-based transfer of collected data

Connected robots

Remote Service changes the way to interact with robots for increased uptime and less worry

Customer's situation:

One of the robots was generating Collision Supervision alarms

ABB solution:

Thanks to Remote Service, ABB experts quickly found that the robot was configured with the settings for a floor mounted robot, instead of those of a suspended robot.
In another case the load settings were set higher than the maximum robot payload, causing overloads which could ultimately result in damage to gears and motors.
By reprogramming the trajectories that caused the overload, this problem could be fixed.

Benefits:

Via quick phone guidance ABB saved the customer hours of production, the time to travel, trouble shooting and problem correction.

ABB advanced services

Connected low voltage network

Bangkok’s new EmQuartier mall

Smart LV circuit breakers control and connectivity for remote management

Customer situation:

Building operators need smarter solutions that make energy management easier and that help reduce total operating costs of low-voltage power grids ensuring more timely interventions.

ABB response:

Emax 2 circuit breakers’ built-in sensors and connectivity, configured with Ekip View supervision software enable remote monitoring, management and control of the low-voltage network at the shopping mall.
With each node in the electrical distribution network connected, everything from energy consumption to trend analysis and testing can be managed remotely.

Benefits:

ABB’s complete low-voltage solution improved the project’s delivery time by 35% and reduced engineering costs by around 60%, due to its integrated SCADA functionality.

ABB advanced services

Customer decision support

Solution partnerships

Connected drives

SSAB steel mill

Innovative remote services for drives maintenance planning

Customer situation:

If there is a malfunction in the coke elevator, the whole process stops since nothing can be lifted. Thus, the coke elevators, and the motors and drives that make them move, have critical importance

ABB response:

ABB suggested a novel pilot that involved setting up the Remote Service system which would allow ABB’s drive experts to look at the drive data from a distance and, when necessary, analyze possible problems in the drive application
Thanks to drive alarms spotted via the Remote Support portal, the SSAB team discovered the possible eleva-tor problem at an early stage. Upon examination, it was confirmed that certain drive components needed to be replaced. The work was done in a quick and systematic way, thus avoiding any production disturbances.

Benefits:

Fast fault notification, rapid response and analysis by ABB specialists and, most importantly, an opportunity to reduce unplanned downtime and the major costs associated with breakdowns.

Advanced services

Solution partnerships

Connected machines

Remote condition monitoring service for motors and generators

Customer's situation:

Motors and generators which play a critical role in the plant, such as the kiln motor in a cement works or ID fan motor at a power plant
Motors and generators that are difficult to access, such as those used in offshore, mining or wind power applications

ABB response:

ABB installs a custom Data Analysis Unit on or close to the motor or generator to continuously monitor key parameters related to the condition of the cage rotor, bearings of motors and generators, and it can also address temperature issues
Customers can access operating data and trend graphs via the internet.
An alarm is triggered if a measured parameter exceeds set limits, giving the plant operator an early warning that maintenance is needed.

ABB advanced services

Isolated installations will suffer from reduced functionality if they are not able to participate in the data and service ecosystem. Technologies now available allow the devices lacking the sensors to be connected and information to be processed in new ways that can have a significant impact on service offerings.

Connecting device lacking sensors
Low-end sensing solution for rough health indication
Local wireless to data collector (modem) wireless solution to collect sensor data and transfer to the cloud
Smartphone to collect data through built-in sensors or Bluetooth connection, upload by local user

Adding new capabilities to existing equipment

New smart sensor for remote condition monitoring of low voltage motors

Customer situation:

The motor is the most common piece of electrical equipment in any industry, 70% of total energy in an installation being used by these devices
Keeping the motors maintained is a crucial job, knowing precisely when a motor needs to be serviced helps to reduce energy consumption

ABB response:

ABB has developed a compact sensor that is attached to the frame of low voltage induction motors. No wiring is needed.
Using on-board algorithms, based on ABB’s decades of motor expertise, the smart sensor relays information about the motor’s health, via a smartphone and over the internet, to a secure server.

Benefits:

Make huge numbers of motors into smart devices, enabling them to benefit from intelligent services
Reduce motor downtime by up to 70%, extend lifetime by 30% and lower energy use by up to 10%

ABB advanced services

Drive data in your pocket

Using smartphones to set and adjust frequency converters and monitor equipment they control

Challenge:

The cost of commissioning and maintaining drives

ABB response:

Service engineers and installers easily connect to a drive via wireless Bluetooth connection.
Using a user-friendly smartphone interface, the installer can more quickly and efficiently commission and tune a drive’s performance, allowing quick resolution of any initial issues without being forced to take the drive offline

Benefits:

ABB apps make it convenient for customers to access rich new data from their drives that’s targeted to help improve their operations and make better decisions without overwhelming them with unnecessary complexity.

ABB advanced services

Customer decision support

Simulation

Virtual commissioning: 4D simulated factories created in digital space

Customer situation

Commissioning issues and delays during physical building of the factory

ABB solution

ABB is able to simulate an exact replica of the factory in the virtual realm, including automated motion over time, so that all technical issues can be solved in advance. It integrates all automation assets (robots, PLCs, motors, drives) and lets you run the factory digitally before you run the actual factory - without shutting down the factory floor

Benefits

Reduced shop-floor commissioning time by up to 25 percent, earlier production starts, reduced maintenance costs, increased productivity, reduced opportunity costs

Moving people away from hazards

Boliden's Garpenberg mine in Sweden

ABB remote-control rock breaking system boosts mining safety and productivity

Customer situation

Mines are high-risk environments, certain areas can take a considerable amount of time to reach.

ABB solution

Remote control stations for remote rock breakers and real-time video system integrated into mine automation system 800xA
A 3D simulator, to aid in training and to verify the rock breaker’s remote control system.
The crews can continue rock breaking a kilometre or more below ground without pausing for shift changes or waiting until blasting has been completed

Benefits

The mine can significantly boost productivity while simultaneously reducing the potential for accidents

Corpus Christi, Texas

Automated wireless meter reading for water and gas enhance municipal worker safety

Customer situation:

The city had experienced meter reader injuries, workers’ compensation claims and staff turnover.

ABB solution:

Automated meter reading through wireless network eliminated the need for workers to undertake dangerous tasks such as scaling fences with locked gates and confronting unpredictable animals
Remotely monitoring and controlling devices such as switches in electrical utility substations and pumps in water-utility lift stations reduces or even eliminates the need for workers to travel to remote facilities. Less driving and less time spent at remote sites translates into less chance of accidents.
When dispatch is required, wireless access for field workers using laptops, tablets and handheld devices enables on-site access to schematics and manuals, supporting safe, successful repair efforts.
Transit worker safety enhanced by combining in-vehicle video monitoring with an automated vehicle location (AVL) system. A vehicle operator hitting a panic button can alert a supervisor that an incident has occurred, enabling the supervisor to remotely assess the situation and dispatch assistance to the correct location

Connected field personnel

How industry can benefit from wearable computing solutions combined with augmented reality

Challenge:

High cost of a full-scale wearable computing solution consisting of a head-mounted-display (HMD)-based augmentedreality (AR) and hand-gesture-based interaction

ABB solution

Wearable computing combines mobile computing and sensor technology to produce invisible sensing devices that provide accurate information about the complex environment in which
they operate
Mobile apps and the advanced mobile technologies have now enabled the development of more affordable applications that provide field personnel with timely, accurate and detailed information on the move.
Using off-the-shelf components, new support tools for field service tasks have been developed by ABB that instantly provide important environmental, health and process information.

About ABB safety solutions

Learn more

How to implement Internet of Things in industrial environment based on ABB Ability System 800xA

Get the most from the IoT with industrial productivity software

Safety and cyber security

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