Broken Signals (Part 1): Why connected apps don’t work in industrial environments

Given the criticality of operations, it is sobering to reflect that the success or failure of these mobile apps is tied directly to something over which you have less control than you might think: network connectivity.

Smartphones and other data devices allow users to continue working between Wi-Fi and cellular dataconnections. We read and send e-mails on the train, download and edit presentations and spreadsheets in the airport lounge and collaborate with office-bound colleagues while on remote sites. We’re often unaware of the occasional connection blackspots we pass through, as the connection usually returns as quickly as it disappeared (unless you are on the Edinburgh to London train!). In industrial settings, that connection may not come back for hours.

The Reality of Operations Environments

The most mobile of your operations users are rarely in a comfortable office setting with flawless network infrastructure. They operate in harsh environments, often in very remote locations. From loud and dirty industrial yards to sun scorched deserts, some unavoidable aspects of radio communications mean that a connection can never be taken for granted:

1. You need a cell tower or access point in range.

If you’re operating in a desert or up a mountain, it’s unlikely you’ll have frequent visibility of a cell tower. With no trace of a signal, no amount of boosting technology can help and the best you might hope for is a docking station at base at the end of the day.

2. “Ye cannae change the laws of physics Captain!”

Many industrial environments are built with metal surfaces and are buzzing with machinery, generators and overhead electrical cabling. In industrial yards there are often large metal objects (e.g. shipping containers, cranes, lorries) that will dynamically alter wireless performance. Users may even work inside caged sections or metal containers which act like a Faraday Cage. Basic laws of physics make these environments very unfriendly for radio communications.

3. Radio communications may be prohibited.

Access to a mobile data network can be blocked for safety reasons, for example ATEX (ATmospheres EXplosives)environments on Petrochemical sites. Radio may be prohibited simply to prevent interference with sensitive equipment, such as in hospitals.

If this all seems a bit dramatic, consider the commonplace example of a domestic service engineer. During a visit to a remote farmhouse, they may as well be in an isolated desert as far as cell coverage goes. Working on a boiler in a domestic basement is unlikely to lead to a strong connection. Service engineers find themselves in some very strange environments and I wouldn’t like to predict what other kinds of interference they might find there.

In the next part of this blog, I will outline some design principles developers should use for disconnected industrial apps.

For a case study on how Balfour Beatty replaced paper with mobile apps, barcodes and RFID tags, download by clicking here…