Oct 23, 2015

In the industrial automation sector, it's crucial to have an accurate view of all assets within a specific area for several reasons. The industrial automation market is huge – a report published by MarketsandMarkets in September 2015 predicted that it would beworth $202.42 billion by 2020, growing at a compound annual rate of 6.73 starting in 2015. All of that market worth demonstrates a distinct need to protect equipment and make sure employees can do their jobs correctly and safety – and that's where video surveillance comes in.

Let's unpack these reasons wireless video is an important tool for companies within the industrial automation industry:

1. Promote safety

It can be a difficult job making sure that the worksite is compliant with safety regulations concerning safety simply because of the transitive nature of the automation industry. By keeping an eye in the sky on the worksite, wireless video surveillance solutions can provide the proper kind of insight needed to keep employees safe on the job.

In addition, OSHA involvement can be reduced, because remote surveillance plays a vital role in reducing danger to workers. If a situation were to occur where a worker was conducting unsafe practices, real-time video would allow managers to catch possible infractions before they become dangerous.

2. Ensure asset security

Another reason video surveillance is a good idea is that it can enhance security, and that's a necessary thing in an industry where the machinery and products are so valuable. Oil and gas work sites, for instance, are often spread over large areas. Having a camera system in place can bring the field to the office, so to speak, and make a difference when it comes to keeping expensive equipment more secure.

"Industrial wireless is exceptionally well suited for providing a remote monitoring link to cameras located in an isolated area," DigiTimes reported. "Long range industrial wireless is also suitable for linking buildings together in rural areas where installing physical cables such as fiber optics is not cost effective."

Deploying the video: Mesh networks provide strength, resilience

For the industrial automation sector, it's crucial for companies to have video surveillance systems set up to watch work sites and make sure employees and assets are safe. Part of implementing a successful wireless solution is making sure the networks that transmit video data from the cameras to a central command point are strong enough to handle it.

Mesh networks are a good alternative to traditional ring architectures for a number of reasons. For one, it's incredibly difficult to take a mesh network offline, because it is capable of self-healing. Each node in the network is connected to all the other nodes, creating a web instead of a ring that's dependent on the previous links. In other words, when one mesh node goes offline, the network can reroute traffic through different nodes until the first gets repaired. In this way, mesh solutions guarantee that video streaming won't be suddenly cut due to only one point being out of order.

Contact the mesh networking experts at Firetide for more information about our solutions.