By Zeus Kerravala, Network World |
Zeus Kerravala is the founder and principal analyst with ZK Research, and provides a mix of tactical advice to help his clients in the current business climate.
10 enterprise Internet of Things deployments with actual results
A look at some real-world IoT deployments that have actually delivered on the technology's massive promise.
Much of the media focus on IoT has been on connected devices like smart appliances, wearable devices, and other novelties. However, at Cisco's Internet of Things World Forum in Chicago last month, a number of complex deployments that have transformed cities or businesses were highlighted. Here are 10 of the more interesting deployments.
BC Hydro, British Columbia, Canada
Smart Meter and Clean Energy Program
Companies Involved: Cisco, Itron, Cap Gemini, Accenture
BC Hydro invested $900 million for smart meters and smart grid across the service area to improve meter efficiency and grid stability. The deployment replaced about 1.8 million meters across seven Canadian provinces.
The solution enables over-the-air firmware updates and remote motoring, and reduced theft by 75%, translating to savings of $330 million in meter reading and $224 million saved in self-service tools.
Coca-Cola, Atlanta, Georgia
Supply Chain and Logistics Improvements to Streamline Order Processing
Companies Involved: Cisco, SAP, Datria
This deployment revitalized the distribution process through a VoIP-based "picking" system for 3,000 employees in more than 100 facilities that handle more than 7.5 million orders per year. Coca-Cola replaced much of its manual, keyboard-driven operations with voice recognition, including inventory, shipping, and service support. The net result was a $2 million savings in capital costs, a 10% improvement in worker productivity, and outbound order accuracy of 99.8%, far above the historical number of 90%.
Rio Operations Center, Rio de Janerio, Brazil
Smart City Implementation
Companies involved: Cisco, IBM, Samsung
Rio de Janerio has officially become one of the world's "smart cities." The city's goal was to improve the safety of residents and visitors, speed up emergency response, implement better traffic control, and improve collaboration between agencies. With the help of its technology partners, Rio centralized its operations center by integrating a number of technologies with one another. The solution collects data from sensors and devices across the city and analyzes it to make better decisions. The result has been a response time improvement of 20%, improved quality of life for the 6.3 million residents, and better security for global events, such as the World Cup and the Olympics.
Banco de Cordoba, Cordoba, Argentina
Video Collaboration and Protection Project
Companies Involved: Groupo Galmes, Cisco
The Argentinian bank had a number of goals in mind when it implemented its video solution. The bank wanted to be able to train over 3,000 employees in an area that covered over 63,000 square miles with 243 branch locations. Banco de Cordoba also wanted to use video to distribute market and sales messages to customers and, lastly, to protect employees and bank visitors 24 hours a day.
The bank deployed more than 2,600 IP video cameras, a new network, digital signs, and a cybersecurity system that can be managed from a central location. Banco de Cordoba realized a quick ROI by removing the need to send trainers into the field. Electronic transactions have since jumped by a factor of eight, removing much of the burden from the branch staff. The solution is also used to monitor and secure each location 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Lukoil, Timan-Pechora basin, Russia's Arctic
Process Automation of Oil Facility
Companies involved: Emerson Process Management
The Timan-Pechora basin in Russia is home to the Varandey oil terminal. The location has the distinction of being the world's northernmost continuously operating oil station. Because of this, the terminal experiences some harsh conditions, such as temperatures as low as -47 degrees Fahrenheit, sea ice build-ups over five feet, and waves that reach 16 feet in height.
The owner of the facility, Lukoil, wanted to increase the production of oil and exports to Western Europe and North America, but needed to enable consistent and safe year-round operations. To solve the challenge, Lukoil turned to Emerson PlantWeb architecture and DeltaV Digital Automation System to protect the facility, improve safety, and increase the coverage of automation.
The result has included analysis of data from 700 instruments to detect, diagnose, and measure onshore, offshore, and underwater pipeline systems. The facility now moves more than 12 million metric tons of crude oil annually.
Dom Perignon and the Savoy Hotel, London, UK
Press for DP application for fast ordering of Dom Perignon
Companies involved: EVRYTHNG, OpenPicus, Centreline
The London-based Hotel Savoy was looking to create a unique, high-end experience for customers to order Dom Perignon champagne. To build this new experience, the Savoy turned to IoT-focused software company EVRYTHNG to build a custom application. EVRYTHNG built an application that interacts with a custom smart "bottle" that was designed by CentreLine and contains a Flyport embedded device from OpenPicus to communicate over the cellular network. From the room, the guest can simply push a button that sends an order over the network. The order data is converted to a voice-recorded message, which alerts the Savoy's butler to which suite has placed the order. The order, along with other data, is then captured on the EVRYTHNG IoT platform for further analysis. This platform can transform service delivery and modernize many luxury brands, leading to increased sales and better insights into customers' purchasing behavior.
Kenya Pipeline Company, Kenya
Pipeline Automation
Companies involved: Schneider Electric
The Kenya Pipeline Company is wholly owned by the government of Kenya. The agency owns a pipeline network that consists of three lines, with a total length of 900 KM (550 miles) and a total capacity of 525,000 cubic meters. The company needed to modernize the environment to meet a number of challenges, including technology and policy changes, the lack of a centralized control system, and the theft of oil.
Schneider Electric outfitted the pipeline with its SCADA suite that includes a number of solutions to optimize pipeline decisions – from transmission to operations to invoicing. The SCADA platform's automatic leak detection eliminated oil theft, improved safety with energy shutdown capabilities, and increased the overall uptime of the operation.
SK Solutions, Dubai
Anti-Collision Systems for Industrial Assets
Companies Involved: SAP, SK Solutions
The Dubai-based SK Solutions has focused on construction site safety for years. Built on SAP HANA, SK Solutions captures information from sensors installed on machinery throughout the customer's site. The information is collected and analyzed in real time for contextual details about every activity at the location. This includes information about the machinery's weight, position, movement, and inertia, along with wind speed and temperature. Using this data, SK solutions has built a suite of software including SK Navigator operating system, applications, agents, and middleware that provides actionable data on dashboards and mobile devices. SK Solutions claims its customers have seen some significant benefits, including increased worker safety, faster construction times, and reduced downtime by as much as 30%.
Yellow River Conservancy Commission, Zhengzhou, China
Early Warning Flood System
Companies Involved: AGT
The Yellow River Conservancy Commission (YRCC) is responsible for the management of the water infrastructure for the Yellow River near Zhengzhou. YRCC built an application called the Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) based on AGT's IoT platform. The application collects and analyzes data collected from sensors that monitor infrastructure stability. The real-time dashboard can show the condition of the water infrastructure and issue alerts on any kind of unusual activity. With the system, water authorities have managed to maintain infrastructure efficiency, predict water flooding, and help minimize the damage caused by flooding.
Rio Tinto Mine, Western Australia
Mine of the Future
Companies involved: Rio Tinto, Cisco
The Rio Tinto coal mine is a futuristic mine that aims to change the mining industry forever. The mine uses autonomous equipment and technology that aims to holistically overhaul mining processes to reduce environmental impact and improve worker safety by finding more efficient methods of extracting minerals.
The mine of the future includes a centralized operations center for remotely monitoring operations, autonomous truck haulage, train operations, and drilling. The company currently has 54 autonomous trucks across three mines in western Australia. The program has enabled Rio Tinto to extract a higher-purity mineral from smaller amounts of ore, as well as reduce waste generated in the process. The next step for Rio Tinto is to complete its AutoHaul initiative, the first ever autonomous heavy-haul, long-distance railway system. AutoHaul brings many benefits to the safety of the employees and the community through the removal of hazards and risky work conditions.
Zeus Kerravala is the founder and principal analyst with ZK Research.