Smart Discrete Sensor Adoption and Usage Trends: The Front Line of the IIoT

Sensors are at the front line of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In the process industries, intelligent field devices are now the norm, even if end users don’t always use the diagnostic information provided by these devices. In the discrete industries, smart sensors with self-diagnostic and digital network capabilities are addressing key end user requirements for reduced maintenance, increased overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), and the need to digitally capture the knowledge of a rapidly shrinking skilled workforce. The information provided by these sensors must get to the right people, at the right time, and in the right context to be effective. This is where the distinction between smart sensors and a smart sensing strategy come into play. In the case of smart sensing, network technologies can be of equal or greater importance than the smart sensor itself.

ARC recently conducted a survey on the adoption and usage of smart sensors in the discrete industries. We asked end users about the types of smart discrete sensors they found valuable, desired levels of functionality and diagnostics, and tasks and procedures associated with smart sensors. Our respondents tell us a story of accelerating smart sensor adoption and an increasing number of smart sensors as a percentage of total sensors on an average machine. Within ten years, respondents tell us that a little under 50 percent of all sensors on an average machine will be smart sensors. Today, these sensors are primarily valued for their ability to indicate relevant information about either the functioning of the sensor or drift in the target variable.

Many challenges still exist for those end users who wish to adopt a greater number of smart discrete sensors. With the accelerated decline in the qualified workforce, end users struggle to preserve the knowledge associated with sensors. The next generation of workers will need to have easier access to information about their sensors and machines, and will have responsibility over a larger number of assets. The promise of driving increased performance from machines with intelligent sensors and the IIoT is making smart sensors a necessity.

Table of Contents

• Executive Overview

• Survey Scope and Demographics

• What Sensors Are Wanted and Where?

• Smart Sensor Functions and Procedures

• Technology and Human Issues

• Conclusions and Recommendations

   

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Keywords: Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Smart Discrete Sensor, Process Industries, Intelligent Field Devices, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), ARC Advisory Group.