INDUSTRIAL IOT DURING COVID
ABSTRACT
In these difficult times due to COVID-19, many industries have been hit hard, some on the verge to be closed down, some even did. Industrial IOT may be the tool to cope with these difficult times and put things back in order.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Because of the pandemic it has become mandatory to maintain social distancing. This resulted in a lack of manpower in various industries. Without manpower, it is nearly impossible for many industries to function. So, is there anyway, to help overcome this crisis?
BACKGROUND
The flare-up of the COVID-19 has been solid to such an extent that it has stopped all activities across various industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, retail, transportation, etc. As Covid-19 scare shuts the world down for business, corporate honchos are worried about the well-being of their employees and their business. Accordingly, nations have either closed down several operations until further notice or are running businesses at 25% limit.
IT organizations are vigorously subject to the workforce and not having them full house due to the lockdown causes a downturn in businesses. Due to this lag, there is a risk of dealing with extended timelines for project deliveries and maintaining one’s reputation when it comes to quality. Automotive industries have also been hit hard in a similar manner. As the employees need to be physically present to work on various parts. Such work cannot be done from home. Likewise, many other industries have also been impacted due to this pandemic. The employees of companies that require their employees to be present physically at the company are at extreme risk of exposure. Anywhere from their home to workplace, in the workplace and the way back, there is a risk of infection. Many employees are leaving their jobs due to this reason just to protect themselves some more. Because of less work, many companies have fired their employees or in many cases reduced their salaries or outright withheld their salaries. This has also caused a fear among the employees in various firms that they may be the next in the list.
SOLUTION
Industries have implemented remote working to cope up with this problem. Employees can work from their homes. But this again created new problems. Working from home is found to be not so efficient in the embedded industries. In software industries like web application development, software development, etc., work from home can still be used as a good alternative. But in hi-tech industries that need the developers and testers need to access the device physically for which they are developing, work from home is not a good alternative. Remotely working severely limits the productivity of employees in such industries. Such industries require some human support, where the employees need to be physically present to work on the devices. So, what can be done to minimize this crisis. The answer lies in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT). Many tasks can be automated to perform without the presence of humans physically in the field. Over the last few years, IOT has gradually become one of the most important technologies in the 21st century. We can connect everyday objects like TV, AC, thermostat, cars, etc, to the internet via embedded devices, that made seamless communication between people and objects possible. As per a survey released by the International Trade Union Congress, 65% of nations are promoting working from home. Consenting to the same, practically all associations have halted all business-related travel, and roughly 80% of associations have given work from home to their employees over the globe. To oversee employees working from home, organizations are depending heavily on remote monitoring of the employees, which is increasing the demand for IoT arrangements. This helps bring transparency, provide real-time tracking, improve security, and guarantee meeting government regulations.
USE CASES OF IOT SOLUTIONS:
- Using IOT, we can increase the productivity of employees working from home. Employees can work remotely from their homes. By connecting the various devices to the internet, the developers can access those devices remotely and work as if they are physically present in their workplace and working on the device. This way industries can try to overcome the crisis they are in; they can improve their productivity while also following government regulations and also taking care of the health of their employees.
- IOT can also be used to automate many tasks that may reduce human burden, like automating heat tracing, leak detection, etc. Such tasks can be sensed and the data can be accessed remotely and then specific actions can be taken depending on the situation. Thus, no need for the worker to be physically present on the location.
- A remote monitoring system can also be setup to monitor devices that need to be constantly monitored using IOT. So that the workers can monitor the devices remotely from their home for any kind of faults. If any fault occurs, they can contact relevant personnel so that that person can remotely work on it. By means of smart plugs, the devices can also be switched off remotely in case of any emergency or if such use case arises where turning off the device is required.
- There are many more use cases in which IOT can improve the working efficiency of the industry in today’s troubled times. By means of IOT, industries can simulate as if the employees are working physically in the company and not remotely.
But IOT is not the ultimate solution of the crisis. It can help to reach the efficiency to almost same as when employees work physically in the company but cannot make it 100% efficient. The reason behind this being that even if we automate many processes or try to do many things remotely, many problems still require manpower to be present physically to solve it. But IOT is still the best alternative present to us in these difficult times to maintain the working of various industries.
We at Encoding Enhancers also understands the need of IOT for various processes in the industry. We believe that even though the IOT is not the ultimate solution for the problems faced by industries but it is the best alternative that provides that best working efficiency.
We work with several companies to design, develop & deliver IoT products for commercial, industrial and home use. We have done several projects in domains like Leak Detection, Heat Tracing etc. We provide IOT solutions for various industries to help them cope with the difficult times.
We have developed products using several development boards from NXP, TI, ESP32, Arduino, etc. That includes low level peripheral driver development and firmware development for our products. We are experienced in developing memory, power and speed optimized applications.
We also faced many challenges in these tough times but we used our expertise in IOT to overcome our difficulties as much as possible. Using various IOT means like smart plugs, remote monitoring, remote accessing of devices, remote working, we are able to fight against the challenges created due to the pandemic.
Likewise, we also know that the company can only function properly if the health and well-being of the employees is maintained. We know that it is inevitable that some employees have to come to the office at least for some time, for that we have our whole office sanitized. Sanitizer dispensers are available at the entrance so that the employees can sanitize themselves at their arrival and departure. This way we try our best that the employees work in the best condition in the office with having any worry for infection.
CONCLUSION
Every industry has been impacted harshly in this pandemic. This has severely affected the productivity of various industries that caused to many of these industries to even shut down. To cope up with such troubled times IOT is a powerful tool that can pull the development of various industries back on track. Though not all-powerful, it is still the best alternative to automate various processes and remotely perform various processes in the company. Thus, IOT should be promoted among the industries.