Oilfield automation systems, including things like tank level monitoring and remote pump control, require an internet connection to send data. Unless the devices are connected to a completely air-gapped SCADA system, they’ll connect to the internet at some point. Note: Most modern SCADA systems now use cloud-based data historians like those offered by AWS. Even if … Read more
SCADA vs. IoT. It’s a years-old debate, but it most often occurs between industry analysts, IoT vendors, and desk jockeys. Our goal in this blog is to provide an engineer’s perspective on the important differences between SCADA and IoT. Ask any engineer what their top 3 goals are for the year, and they’ll probably tell … Read more
In our industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) data problem series, we’ve arrived at the tricky issue of misidentified data in remote monitoring systems. Misidentified data is high-quality, complete, and on time. However, the identity of the asset it represents in the remote monitoring system has been mislabeled. As a result, the misidentified data is highly … Read more
In the industrial space, data silos are everywhere. Many industrial companies today still rely on cumbersome data management systems that render operations data inaccessible to those who need it most. In other words, the data is “siloed”. Siloed data is a major problem for organizations that are trying to take advantage of digital transformation. Before … Read more
Another data issue in our series of Industrial IoT data problems is that of Latent Data. High latency is limiting productivity for industrial companies across the globe. Simply put, latent data is data that doesn’t show up quickly enough to have value. Or, at the very least, its value is diminished. Even if sensors and … Read more
Continuing with our data problem blog series, we tackle the topic of incomplete data, another challenge many businesses face when considering digital technologies like SCADA systems to improve their business processes. Incomplete data is distinct from the problem of missing data. Missing data is information that companies don’t collect because it’s either unavailable or too … Read more
Bad data collected by a remote monitoring system can wreak havoc on industrial organizations. When prevalent in business processes and analysis, bad data creates a fundamental disconnect between what is actually happening in the field and what decision-makers think is happening in the field. Put simply, bad data misrepresents reality. It “lies” about the current … Read more
One of the biggest data challenges facing industrial companies trying to learn how to monitor remote assets is the problem of missing data. What do we mean by missing data? Basically, it’s valuable information about our people or assets that just isn’t being collected because the perception is that doing so would cost too much … Read more
Compliance managers, site superintendents, and engineering technicians are often responsible for connecting their assets to a monitoring system to ensure compliance with federal and state laws. People who are considering new systems, or need to replace or upgrade their existing ones, should keep in mind the most important factors as they evaluate their options. How … Read more