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March 2008 | |
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Looking for past editions of Wireless NETworks? View them now in the Resource Center » |
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Industrial Wireless is the Key to Improved Operations A Word from Apprion's CEO: Mike Bradley 
Traditional hard-wired control and information systems have been instrumental in improving industrial productivity over the past 15 years. But these hard-wired systems are
limited by the assets they monitor and control as well as the people who view this information. These legacy systems need to reach out and touch plant data they can't get at economically.
On the other hand, intelligent industrial wireless has the ability to touch every asset and every worker in the plant ... no matter where they are located and even if they are mobile. And these new wireless systems can touch the plant everywhere with high data reliability, Homeland Security-quality security protection, while costing up to 90% less to implement than with hard-wire. And the enhancements to ROI are dramatic with paybacks of six months or less. So Apprion believes that Industrial Wireless is the key to Improved Operations. We know we aren't alone in this belief. We are working with customers who are already seeing benefits from using wireless to improve operations – and are looking ahead to even broader deployments of wireless systems. Some estimating that there will be a three to one (3:1) ratio of wireless devices to existing sensors connected to existing control systems. One large integrated oil company has estimated that a medium-sized refinery will have 30,000 or more wireless devices installed within five years. The implications of these large numbers are significant. First and foremost, the wireless spectrum is not unlimited and requires pro-active management. That means coexistence and active management of a multitude of wireless devices coming from a variety of wireless vendors. It also means that the plant must build its applications around a framework that permits all these different vendors' devices to work seamlessly in support of a variety of legacy or managed applications. And this same framework must manage the wireless spectrum inside the plant ... what's out there, what's communicating, what's starting to go bad and what's not working. Finally, this same framework must be capable of enabling many different wireless applications such as condition monitoring, asset and worker tracking, powering handheld devices in the field, video, VOIP, and many others. And the framework needs to do it in such a way that as applications are added, they can all leverage the infrastructure that has already been deployed at the plant site. This leveraging of the common infrastructure means that it becomes progressively easier to economically justify and implement each new wireless managed application. This means the ROI for each new application installed in a plant gets better and better. Finally, there are a lot of safety systems and process step validation systems that can also work within this same wireless framework, further justifying this infrastructure approach with managed applications on top of the framework. The reason we are so excited at Apprion is that the Apprion ION system already meets these customer needs. We feel that wireless applications are at the take-off point and that every user will benefit enormously from wireless. Apprion can help you realize the operational value that wireless applications will provide – and our ION system will enable you to move forward with complete confidence that every wireless device at your plant – no matter who made it or what application it is enabling – will work securely and reliably. About Mike Bradley Mike has over 30 years of sales, marketing, development and executive management experience in industrial technology, software and electronics. Mike served as president of Wonderware from 2002 through 2007. Under his leadership, Wonderware consistently achieved more than four years of double-digit growth - expanding the installed base to over 100,000 plants and growing the network of distributors to more than 140 offices worldwide. Prior to joining Wonderware, Mike was CEO of Projexsys, an electronic business intelligence company serving industrial and financial markets. Before starting Projexsys, Mike spent 14 years as COO and CEO for Cimtek Commerce Inc. and Cimtek Inc., which were e-Commerce and marketing database companies serving the industrial and medical marketplaces. Early in his career, Mike was a sales and marketing manager for Texas Instruments for 10 years in the Industrial Systems Division.  |
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