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Plant & Facilities Engineering

The Plant & Facilities Engineering Blog is the place for conversation and discussion about mechanical and electrical systems, automation and instrumentation, maintenance and management, and products & services as they relate to plant and facilities operation. Here, you'll find everything from application ideas, to news and industry trends, to hot topics and cutting edge innovations. This blog is inspired by the Plant & Facilities Engineering newsletter from GlobalSpec, which you can subscribe to here.

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Trust Your Plant to Wireless?

Posted October 11, 2008 8:14 AM

Wireless industrial communications could save plants millions in cabling costs, while potentially improving uptime in moving applications, such as robot control cables that undergo constant flex and wear. We know that consumer wireless networks are susceptible to electromagnetic interference and low speeds, but industrial applications rarely require the high bandwidth of consumer networks. So, are you ready to turn you plant operations over to wireless? Are backups needed?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Plant & Facilities Engineering, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Plant & Facilities Engineering today.


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Commentator

Join Date: May 2008
Location: Olympia, WA
Posts: 77
Good Answers: 2
#1

Re: Trust Your Plant to Wireless?

10/12/2008 10:28 AM

Greetings.

You have said it yourself wireless is susceptible to outside frequencies.

It is also susceptible to outside monitoring.

It is easily susceptible to an outside source blasting your wireless with frequencies that will leave your plant totally down and without computer control.

You will be leaving your plant easily open to espionage and being held hostage by outside sources.

Wired telecommunications will solve most if not all of that.

KIS

Keep It simple.

Wire your plant.

Don't give access for your plant computer operations to outside of your plant. In other words have an internal system to run the plant. And have a system that has access to the internet outside your building. Don't mix the two.

I have been involved with computer espionage and it sometimes comes from within and sometimes from without and sometimes both combined. Two systems makes it easier to find.

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