The mining and metals industries are faced with balancing profitability and production efficiency while managing sustainability and minimizing environmental impact. No small job. And this must be done while attempting to operate amidst fluctuating demand for extracted commodities. They have to achieve production efficiency to remain nimble in a volatile business environment. That’s where IIoT comes in. Like many industries, mining and metals professionals realize that analyzing the large volume of collected data is the best path to increased efficiency, and improved uptime.
Much of the initial IIoT discourse focused on cloud computing, which meant that large quantities of raw data would be dispatched to cloud-based data lakes, analyzed and used in optimization algorithms to drive real-time decision making. Naturally, mining operations are often distributed throughout many remote locations with limited infrastructure, and this presents some connectivity challenges. When factoring in cloud architecture, data costs and latency, a pure cloud computing solution is often not the best answer to realize the full potential of digital transformation in mining.
The answer in mining, as in so many industries, is edge computing, which is enabled by improved IT computing methods which are merging with OT platforms, resulting in capable edge-located IT/OT controllers. Data available at the operational edge is now easily accessible and able to be processed and transmitted, paving the way for analytics and optimization deployments. In this white paper entitled, “Edge Computing Unearths New Value for Mining and Metals Applications,” Emerson experts discuss how edge controllers are a modern automation platform for enabling digital transformation and effectively applying IIoT concepts. Because mining operations are most often remotely located, any useful technologies must be suitable for these conditions and provide extensive communication options. Edge controllers are built for this OT environment, and have the latest and most secure IT computing and networking features. Edge controllers are especially compelling for this service because they can gather and store data locally, process and analyze it, directly inform operational logic of optimal settings, and relay the most essential information to higher level systems.
Have you put edge computing to work in your mining application?
Check out this white paper to learn more.
And find out more about Emerson's industrial automation & controls solutions for the mining & metals industries here.