AT&T provides global connectivity for Howden’s IIoT solution

US telecoms giant AT&T will provide global connectivity for Howden Uptime, an IIoT solution which remotely monitors heavy machinery.

Howden Group manufactures rotating equipment such as fans, compressors, steam turbines, and heaters. The company is headquartered near Glasgow, UK but produces equipment used globally across industries including power generation, petrochemical, waste, water, cement, mining, and more.

Earlier this year, Howden Uptime was announced to allow the company to monitor the performance of its business-critical equipment.

“The technology stack that we built behind Howden Uptime is a cloud solution that uses one of the most advanced industrial IoT platforms,” says David Simpson, CIO of Howden Group.

Howden turned to AT&T’s satellite connectivity to transmit data from customers’ equipment and deliver performance optimisation. The company says the use of AT&T’s satellite services virtually eliminates any coverage gaps.

“The connectivity piece with AT&T allowed us to come up with a highly secure cloud solution. It helps our customers operate efficiently and avoid unplanned outages,” Simpson continues.

Monitoring industrial equipment to check it’s functioning correctly is vital for safety while also helping to ensure any costly downtime is kept to a minimum.

The sensors and communication module for Howden Uptime can be installed without modifications to existing plant infrastructure. Data is then continuously sent back to Howden’s experts for analysis.

John Vladimir Slamecka, AT&T president of the EMEA region, commented:

“By connecting Howden’s machinery to the cloud via our network, they can get near real-time information on how the equipment is performing and send engineers to make proactive repairs when they see a component is not working as it should.”

Data from the sensors is combined with physics data on how the equipment typically operates and responds to the environment to help predict when something isn’t quite right. An alert is then sent automatically.

Howden’s customers can access all current manuals, drawings, and reports via a portal to help fix any issues. Where required, Howden can quickly dispatch local engineers to be on-site for assistance.

(IoT News: https://iottechnews.com/news/2020/sep/28/att-global-connectivity-howden-iiot-solution/ )