4 examples on how industrial Ethernet video can help

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

By Control Engineering Staff December 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

:-Avoid a common industrial Ethernet video mistake;-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 https://manufacturing.stanford.edu/online www.controleng.com/cetv www.happycam.com www.youtube.com/results?search_query=manufacturing

— Mark T. Hoske , editor in chief Control Engineering System Integration eNewsletter( Register here and scroll down to select your choice of eNewsletters free .)