October 2020

www.smartmachinesandfactories.com September/October 2020 | 17 | | FEATURES | engineers, while still generating data for use in operations- wide or enterprise-level management tools. He explains that you can choose to start simply, just by using a smartphone App to create a virtual representation – a digital twin in the simplest sense – of each of your devices: “Simply tag the 2D code label and begin to collect data on your entire installed sensor inventory. The App, called the SICK Installed Base Manager, automatically detects and logs the serial number and age of the device, assigns it to the machine and plant, and provides an option to add photos and the exact GPS location. You can add non-SICK devices, too. Authorised employees can interrogate and update the Installed Base and add new devices at any time.” Asset management Having created a Digital Twin of your real device, you have the beginnings of an asset management system that can then be viewed and managed in the cloud. Sandhu, explains that the SICK Asset Hub is the company’s foundation asset management service that is vendor- independent and modular and enables any type of asset to be mapped: “Data can be evaluated so that maintenance happens at the right time, software and firmware are up to date, and that inventories are well planned and optimised. Additional data and documents can be easily stored and retrieved for any asset. You can navigate via a tree structure of your functional locations to view a broad range of asset- related information and documents along the life cycle.” He adds that using the Live Connect module you can pair your real device with its virtual representation to achieve secure, live data transmission between the sensor and the cloud. You can manage the routing and forwarding of data to other applications or third-party dashboards: “Using Live Connect, a secure, standardised and easy-to-use live data connection is achieved from each sensor into the Asset Hub, via an edge gateway device. Not only can the sensor status be visual in the cloud, but live process data can be integrated into monitoring applications.” No data goes to waste There was a time when sensors were little more than simple switches taking their place in PLC-driven processes. Many still do this job very well, but we have an opportunity not only to harness additional information from the sensor that previously might have gone to waste, but to exploit it in cloud-level systems and processes. Whether you want a simple asset tracking system, or a virtual representation of your whole factory, sensor data is becoming a valuable raw material, that can help ensure the availability and productivity of critical machine components. Why not “Keep it real” and start a step by step journey towards digital twinning today? The SICK Monitoring Box is a module focused on continuous status monitoring for sensors and machines. It enables the early detection of status changes with configurable alarms that can even be set up on mobile devices. Implemented either at a customer’s premises or in the SICK cloud, any significant changes to the device status can be visualised so that operators can take timely action. There’s also a logbook to clearly record, visualise and document events.