4 examples on how industrial Ethernet video can help

-- Control Engineering, 12/3/2007

Industrial Ethernet video capabilities can help manufacturing in at least four ways.

-Knowledge preservation: Your engineer Ed who always fixed a particular machine retired; Ralph looked over his shoulder the last time he did it, with a video camera, asking questions as he went. Now, with this small library of critical documentation, Ralph, or his new co-worker Sally, can do the required maintenance (or startup or changeover) with help from video streaming through the plant-floor network where and when it’s needed. 

-Expert optimization: Since your most recent merger, subject matter experts are in four locations. Because your downtime is three days a year, it makes sense to have another engineer “virtually” there, via a streaming video feed, to help things along.

-Faster repairs: In-plant engineering personnel are fewer, so the last major machine purchase included a service contract with up-time incentives built in, including a provision for as-needed video monitoring. This allows the machine builder to guide the hand of manufacturing operations during an outage, restoring productivity in less than 30 minutes, instead of 4 hours or 4 days.

-Troubleshooting: Around 2 a.m., almost every third week of the month, the same line gets gummed up, and no one can figure out why. A time-stamped video camera is clamped on, later revealing that a certain security guard stops nearby, puts a toe in a door for a breath of fresh air, which lowers line process temperature just enough to cost the plant nearly $1 million a year in wasted product and downtime.

Here's more information about industrial Ethernet video, including:
-Avoid a common industrial Ethernet video mistake; new product: video encoder
-Ethernet-based video vs. analog-based video
-Industrial Ethernet video: Protocol requirements, application
-Wireless video monitoring application device, hazardous environment capability
-Streaming video server: High definition inputs, 1U package
-Ethernet video: Middleware upgrade

Examples of video over Ethernet
http://manufacturing.stanford.edu/online
www.controleng.com/cetv
www.happycam.com
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=manufacturing

—Mark T. Hoske, editor in chief
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