SICK has launched The Monitoring Box, a system that enables plug-and-play condition monitoring and preventative maintenance of sensors, machines, processes and plants.
The SICK Monitoring Box can be adapted for individual operating requirements to provide live status feedback and historical analysis, supporting maintenance and optimised efficiency for all kinds of industrial operations from manufacturing and logistics to ports, transport systems or waste management facilities.
Enabled by pre-configured Apps on a wide range of SICK sensors, the Monitoring Box provides data monitoring through a browser-based dashboard for desktop or mobile devices. Device data is processed via IoT gateways to enable local data storage on customer premises or via a secure connection to the SICK cloud.
“The SICK Monitoring Box is so simple and adaptable that the opportunities for condition monitoring are limited only by your imagination”, says Neil Sandhu, SICK UK Product Manager for measurement and systems. “Bolt on the SICK Monitoring Box and transparent information about the health of your machines is just a few short steps away. Depending on your requirements, information such as operating hours, wear, temperature, energy usage or level of contamination, turns into a valuable resource.
“As a result, your machines and systems become more available and efficient. Unplanned maintenance time is reduced and operating staff can be deployed more efficiently to respond to any issues that occur. You will extend the operating life of machines through a better understanding of historical trends and patterns”.
To get started, a SICK service employee installs and activates the gateway, devices are connected and data transmission begins. If preferred, customers can then choose to hand over their entire device monitoring to SICK service, not only of SICK sensors but also of third-party devices where appropriate.
The AssetBrowser allows customers to view incidents and graphical representations to identify historical patterns and trends whilst the Data Explorer and Event Log enable customers to review a record of alarms and notifications. Email alerts can be set up, e.g. to notify operators when values go under or over pre-determined limits, enabling a more speedy response to maintenance and servicing needs.
The Monitoring Box offers a system architecture, data security and password-protected access rights. SICK provides the corresponding IoT gateways for network-capable sensors and machines to ensure encrypted transmission of data, either to on-premises data storage, or off-premises on a secure server hosted by SICK in Germany.
You can find more information about SICK and The Monitoring Box on its website.
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