MARCH 2018

Inside:
 ERP embraces IIoT p3
 Time-sensitive networking p7
 Analog meters under attack p10

Supplement to Periodicals Publication

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MARCH 2018

COVER DESIGN by Michael Smith, CFE Media.

EDITORIAL

2 Artificial intelligence resets

the industrial enterprise
Transactional, GIS, and turbine data,
resident in a single database

FEATURES

3 Enterprise resources
planning looks to embrace 7
the Internet of Things
‘Servitization’ of product lines is
one sought-for goal ‘ With control at the edge, ERP becomes the
potential aggregation point for all data,

’
bypassing traditional control systems.
7 Time-sensitive networking
solves challenges in measurement
and control
Entire structures are being outfitted;
sensors measure strain, pressure,
load, and torque

10 Are analog meters to blame?

Cybersecurity concerns influence nuclear
industry automation

10

‘ Companies can build on the power of accumulated data. Manufacturers do have

’
deep troves of simple data that convert to use cases.

www.controleng.com/IIoT IIoT For Engineers MARCH 2018 | 1

 PRODUCTIVITY AND BEST PRACTICES: EDITOR’S COLUMN
Kevin Parker
Senior Contributing Editor

Artificial intelligence resets

the industrial enterprise
Transactional, GIS, and turbine data resident in a single database

A
utomation can improve a process. Productivity have deep troves of simple data which can be converted
can gain from examination of workflows and lead- to use cases, where they can go deep.”
ing indicators. And analytics deliver insight as to Asked to compare the potential impact of today’s
how things are going. But, it isn’t till you step over into the emerging technologies with those of the 1980s, when
cognitive, with things like machine learning and semantics, PLCs, DCSs, SCADA, CAD, and ERP were all introduced,
that the realm of artificial intelligence (AI) is entered. Kavanaugh said, “The introduction of new technolo-
For the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), predictive gies of the 1980s brought significant change, but it was
maintenance of machinery and equipment is the first basically the automation of rows and columns, applied
application demonstrating wide commercial acceptance. to the plant floor and out in the field. Today, incorporat-
“This can be done with classic regression and predictive ing experience, a multi-attribute perspective of what
analytics. With artificial intelligence, however, you go be- actually happens, is a bigger part. We’re talking about
yond the structured deterministic to the things that are inherently cognitive, in
fuzzier stochastic,” said Jeff Kavanaugh, other words fuzzy. While the earlier

‘
vice president, senior partner, Infosys. transformation was from full analog to
“With machine learning based on input People have more computerized operations, the current
such as audio signatures, the computer one is more pervasive, more connect-
learns as a human would, by first pay-
than they think, but ed, more intelligent—and ultimately—
ing attention to how a machine sounds more profound.”
when it’s healthy and then understand-
less than they hope

’
ing anomalies.” AI as enterprising
(data that is).
Infosys recently conducted a global Many readers of CFE Media engineer-
survey on the adoption of intelligent ing titles are looking for AI on plant
automation. The survey’s central point, floors. As a feature article in this issue
that AI technology is going mainstream, is a good one. by veteran technology journalist Sidney Hill Jr. suggests,
At the same time, for example, while AI adoption rates it’s in the enterprise as well. In fact, with control at the
are shown to vary by region, more analysis is needed to edge, ERP becomes the potential aggregation point for all
determine root cause. data, bypassing traditional automation control systems.
The impact could be profound.
Sample set asymmetry For example, as an in-memory database ERP system,
A question often asked is whether companies have the SAP’s HANA was ahead of its time. Its latest advance is
data needed to enable machine learning, and whether the introduction of a geographic information systems
the data is in a form suitable for such use. “People have (GIS) capability, but not just as an application feature.
more data than they think, but less than they hope,” Integration extends the capabilities into a standalone
said Kavanaugh. “While there are a lot of data stores product. One database runs the business applications
that don’t lend themselves to machine learning, there and the GIS. In a case example, one company already
are instances where great amounts of data simply aren’t combines transactional data from SAP ERP central com-
needed. At other times, companies can build on the ponent with geospatial data and other data taken from
power of accumulated data. Industrial manufacturers do turbines. IIoT

2 | MARCH 2018 IIoT For Engineers www.controleng.com/IIoT

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 IIoT IN THE ENTERPRISE
Enterprise resources
planning looks to embrace
the Internet of Things
‘Servitization’ of product lines one sought-for goal
By Sidney Hill Jr.
I
t’s easy to see why man-
ufacturers like the concept
of the Industrial Internet of
Things (IIoT). It represents something
most of them have been seeking for
decades—an end-to-end information
network that provides real-time vis-
ibility into all their operations.
That possibility is the likely reason
manufacturers are expected to have
spent the biggest share of the $800 bil-
lion that International Data Corp. (IDC),
an industry analyst firm, expected com-
panies to invest in Internet of Things
(IoT) technology throughout 2017.
That figure, which includes all
industries and all forms of technol-
ogy spending—hardware, software,
services, and connectivity—represents
a near 17% increase over 2016. IDC
expects that trend to continue with
overall IoT spending exceeding $1.4
trillion by 2021.
Manufacturers will lead the way,
with estimated spending of $183 bil-
lion in 2017 alone, according to IDC.
Most of the money manufacturers
spent on IIoT in 2017 was earmarked
for projects designed to improve pro-
duction operations. That points to one
piece of good news and one piece of
bad news about the state of IIoT in
the manufacturing sector.
www.controleng.com/IIoT
The good news is IIoT technology
can have a major positive impact on
production operations. There are,
in fact, already many instances of
manufacturers revamping business
processes in ways that reduce costs, or
‘
Only a small percentage
of companies that have
deployed IoT technologies
have yet to figure out how
to move IoT data to their
’
ERP systems.
boost revenues, using IIoT technology.
Some have leveraged the technology
to create entire new business models
and generate new revenue streams.
The bad news is IIoT technology
is not mature enough to help most
manufacturers take the final step of
creating networks that can convert
production-related data into informa-
tion that can be viewed and analyzed
in enterprise resources planning (ERP)
and other enterprise systems. Such
networks, which would allow manu-
facturers to anticipate and respond to
potential problems before they cause
business disruptions, are the true
promise of IIoT. Manufacturers are
getting a glimpse of this promise as
they incorporate this technology into
their operations.
Service as a business model
One example is STILL, which makes
and sells warehouse material han-
dling products primarily in Europe
and Latin America. STILL recently
equipped forklifts with sensors that
receive and respond to instructions
on when and where to move mate-
rial around a warehouse. Because
those instructions are delivered by a
web-based warehouse management
system, STILL believes it will be able
to change the way it bills customers
for using its forklifts.
Instead of selling a customer a set
of forklifts and walking away, STILL
envisions offering a forklift service
such that invoices are based on the
amount of material moved over a
billing cycle. The combination of IIoT-
enabled sensors and the web-based
warehouse management system lets
STILL track volume remotely and issue
correct invoices.
Kaeser Compressors has harnessed
IIoT technology in a similar fashion to
launch a new business called Sigma
Air Utility. Under this model, Kaeser
installs compressors in a customer’s fa-
cility and uses its web-based network
IIoT For Engineers MARCH 2018 | 3
 IIoT IN THE ENTERPRISE

to track how much air the facility business models,” said David Parrish, A recent survey commissioned by
uses. It then bills the customer only SAP’s senior global marketing director IFS, another ERP software provider,
for the air used; just as electric or for the automotive and industrial sec- supports the notion that only a select
gas utilities bill customers for con- tors. “They also are exceptions. Most few manufacturers are very far along
suming energy. of the companies we work with are the IIoT maturity curve. The survey
These business models have inspired just starting that journey.” collected responses from 200 manu-
the industry buzzword “servitization,” Parrish and other industry experts facturing professionals with authority
which refers to using a company’s noted that forces are aligning to to make IIoT technology purchasing
product as the basis for a business make it easier for manufacturers decisions in their respective compa-
built around a recurring, service-based to leverage IIoT technology in their nies. The responses to one question in
revenue stream. These models are individual businesses. particular spoke to manufacturers’ IIoT
popular among manufacturers be- maturity level.
cause profit margins on services have The IIoT maturity curve The multiple-choice question asked
proven to be higher—sometimes as “A lot of companies have been how IIoT data was consumed across
much as 20%—than on products. thinking about IIoT for a while,” Par- the enterprise and offered the follow-
These models also bring manufac- rish said. “But a few things have hap- ing list of possible responses:
turers closer to the true end-to-end pened over the last few years to stir
networks that IIoT promises because more action. Sensor prices have come • Equipment-mounted diagnostic
they require connecting IIoT-enabled down. The ability to use technology tool used by plant floor techni-
devices with at least one or more to analyze large volumes of sensor cians
enterprise-level application. For in- data—the whole Big Data thing—is • Computerized maintenance man-
stance, STILL and Kaeser monitor the becoming more real. The result is agement system (CMMS) used by
equipment deployed in their service- everyone is doing something. How maintenance staff
based businesses through modules of much they’re doing now is largely • Supervisory control and data ac-
an ERP suite. dependent on the sophistication quisition (SCADA) system used by
“Companies like STILL and Kaeser of the IT group or how driven the plant floor management
are well along the maturity curve operations people are about staying • Process automation system used
in showing how IIoT can transform innovative.” by plant floor management
• Manufacturing execution software
used by plant floor management
Enterprise resources planning (ERP)
• Enterprise asset management
in the modern era software used by plant managers
• Asset performance management
ERP IS A SUITE of applications for the integrated management of software used by plant managers
core business processes, from manufacturing to distribution, finance, and senior executives
and human resources, using a common process and data model. • ERP software used by senior
Aberdeen Group positions ERP as follows: executives.
 ERP is the single most implemented enterprise application. ERP
lays the foundations for standard business processes. Only 16% percent of respondents
said IIoT data is available to senior
 ERP is a living system that is maintained, extended, and evolved management through an ERP system.
after initial implementation. This confirms that even companies
 Best-in-class manufacturers are much more likely to have a multi- that have deployed IIoT technology
ERP or federated strategy than average or laggard organizations. still struggle to take that final step
 As the information technology infrastructure found in manufac- toward building an end-to-end infor-
turing enterprises evolves, ERP is likewise changing, with cloud mation network. That doesn’t mean
modalities having the biggest impact. manufacturers aren’t getting a return
on their IoT investments.

4 | MARCH 2018 IIoT For Engineers www.controleng.com/IIoT


A logical progression
Rick Veague, IFS’ chief technology
officer (CTO) for North America, said
automating production processes
and creating condition-based equip-
ment maintenance programs were the
most common ways in which survey
participants said they use IIoT technol-
ogy. Lower operating costs typically
are the biggest benefit from using IIoT
technology in this fashion.
Veague said it’s logical for manu-
facturers to choose these types
of projects for their initial forays
into the IIoT realm. Veague noted
manufacturers have been attaching
sensors to plant floor machines and
equipment for decades. It’s not dif-
ficult to connect those sensors with
software applications—like industrial
automation and maintenance man-
agement systems—that also operate
on the factory floor. While the cost
savings from this approach are real,
and sometimes substantial, Veague
believes manufacturers can reap even
greater value by extending their IIoT
footprint beyond the factory floor.
“Right now, the primary value
industrial companies are seeking from
IIoT seems to be cost avoidance,”
Veague said. “The greater potential
for IIoT in these settings, however,
is business growth. To realize that
benefit, companies must not only
think creatively about IIoT. They must
be able to use IIoT data in the context
of their business, which means tighter
integration with applications like ERP.”
Veague also said manufacturers are
not necessarily at fault for not pushing
more IIoT data to their ERP systems.
Until recently, ERP systems simply were
not able to consume such data, and the
responses to another question in the IFS
survey indicates that remains a prob-
lem for many manufacturers. Roughly
49% of the respondents said their ERP
www.controleng.com/IIoT
system performed “somewhat well” at
consuming IoT data, with another 6%
saying their systems performed that task
extremely well.
The vendor perspective
“It’s interesting that not even the
most advanced companies were likely
to say their enterprise software did a
very good job of helping consume IIoT
data,” Veague said. “This indicates
the level of maturity of enterprise
software. There obviously is room for
growth here. . .the ability of ERP and
other software applications to support
IIoT still is not robust enough.”
The ERP vendor community is
aware of this fact, and almost every
vendor in the industry has an IIoT
strategy. Some ERP vendors are fur-
ther along than others when it comes
to IIoT-enabling their platforms, but
there is one thing all seem to agree
on: a truly IIoT-enabled ERP system
must be cloud-based.
That’s why even the industry gi-
ants such as SAP and Oracle, with
their huge customer bases that are
still running on-premise versions of
their software, are now touting the
virtues of software in the cloud. In
fact, both Oracle and SAP have been
working somewhat quietly over the
past several years to build a portfolio
of products that can support end-to-
end, IIoT-enabled business networks.
For instance, SAP has purchased
companies like Ariba, Concur, and
Success Factors, which gives the
company instant access to cloud-
based systems for procurement,
time, and expense reporting and
human resources management. SAP
is also developing a cloud-based
version of its Manufacturing Inte-
gration and Intelligence product.
That’s where IoT data taken from
the shop floor would stop first
Quick article synopsis
PROBLEM: Manufacturing com-
panies are constantly looking for
better ways of integrating data
from all their operations. They are
particularly interested in moving
shop-floor data to the enterprise
systems, in hopes of helping man-
agers and executives make better,
more strategic business decisions.
SOLUTION: A properly built IIoT in-
frastructure can facilitate the flow
and aggregation of data across the
enterprise to give users a constant,
real-time view of all processes. Such
a network can help a manufactur-
ing company in many ways, from
reducing costs, helping to spawn
new lines of business, and even in
recruiting top-level talent.
ACTION TO TAKE: Talk with suppli-
ers of both process automation and
ERP solutions to determine their
strategies for facilitating the use of
IoT across an enterprise. Examine
which parts of your business can
benefit from use of IoT first, de-
velop pilot programs in conjunction
with an enterprise-wide vision.
before being presented to higher-
level ERP applications.
“Manufacturing Integration and
Intelligence is now the lifeblood of
our manufacturing solutions,” Parrish
said. “It’s being designed for the cloud
and for data integration and transfer
from a communications standpoint.”
Terri Hiskey, vice president of
product marketing for Epicor, said
manufacturers seeking to build an
IIoT infrastructure need a cloud-based
ERP system because that’s the only
type of platform that can facilitate
the connections that are needed to
turn all the information coming from
various shop floor devices into useful
information.
“You need to look at the system’s
architecture,” she said. “It needs to
IIoT For Engineers MARCH 2018 | 5
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IIoT IN THE ENTERPRISE
be built on open standards with open application program-
ming interfaces. The newer, cloud-based systems are being
written in that fashion; the older, on-premise systems may
not have been.”
David Gustovich, vice president with Oracle’s NetSuite
Global Business Unit, said the ultimate purpose of feeding
IIoT data to an ERP system is giving users information that
can be viewed and analyzed to make better business deci-
sions. He agreed that building an infrastructure on open
standards is essential to making that happen, but he also
believes the focus should
‘
begin at the device level.
“When thinking about the Manufacturers
IIoT, you must consider how
you’re going to make your appear split almost
machines and devices talk a
common language that can evenly in their opin-
be brought into the struc- ions about how well
tured data environment of an
ERP system,” Gustovich said. their ERP systems
’
“Many companies will have
to invest in new program- consume IoT data.
mable logic controllers (PLCs),
control panels, and drivers
that are OPC-compliant. OPC becomes the standardized
communication protocol to amalgamate all these different
data tags from the different types of devices and equipment.
When you aggregate that data, it can be passed into the
cloud in a more efficient and secure manner.”
Hiskey said mastering the art of aggregating and pre-
senting IIoT data through an ERP interface will provide
manufacturers multiple competitive advantages going
forward. “It important to think about how IIoT can impact
the user experience,” she said. “We’ve all being spoiled by
the Amazon experience—the 1-click, easy-to-use interface.
That’s bleeding into the business-to-business arena. As
more millennials come into the workforce, especially in the
old-line industries, you’ll need those types of interfaces to
fill your jobs.
“It’s on us as software developers to think about the expe-
rience we’re offering to both the employees of manufactur-
ing companies and their customers,” she said. “The manner
in which we connect IIoT technologies with ERP software
will determine the quality of that experience.” IIoT
Sidney Hill Jr. is a graduate from the Medill School of
Journalism at Northwestern University. He has been writing
about the convergence of business and technology for
more than 20 years.
6 | MARCH 2018 IIoT For Engineers
 NETWORKING AND CONTROL

Time-sensitive
networking solves challenges in
measurement and control
Entire structures are being IIoT-outfitted; sensors measure strain, pressure, load, and torque

By Brandon Treece data collected today is analyzed. IIoT control parameters and better adapt
helps illuminate the possibilities for to their surroundings.

O
f the 50 billion devices it
is said will be connected by
2020, experts estimate that
the industrial sector will account for
nearly half. This means that engi-
neers and scientists have a big voice
when it comes to implementing the
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
across factories, test laboratories,
power grids, refineries, and infra-
structure.
Engineers can expect to gain three
key benefits:
• Increased uptime with predictive
maintenance
• Boosted performance with
control at the edge
using analytics and machine learning
to predict the amount of remain-
ing serviceable life of an asset and
to schedule maintenance before a
costly failure.
The second benefit involves in-
creased and optimized performance.
Smart machines deployed on produc-
tion lines or in the field must be able
to adjust parameters, such as temper-
atures or throughput, depending on
information they receive from other
machines upstream. The best way to
boost performance for these systems
involves full autonomy on the part
of the machine or asset. In this case,
if machines can learn, either from
other machines or through their own
“experiences,” they can then tune
The final benefit of IIoT is improved
product design and production. This
is sometimes referred to as “IIoT
for R&D.” Real-world data, such as
usage data, is fed back into engi-
neering to improve the next product
generation. However, it’s not just
about acquiring the data but also ef-
fectively managing it to gain valuable
insights. The Jaguar Land Rover Co.,
for example, has hundreds of engi-
neers who collectively generate more
than 500 gigabytes of time-series-
data per day. Previously, the company
analyzed only 10% of its data, but
after implementing an IIoT solution,
it increased that coverage to 95%. It
can now address more design issues
in a lesser amount of time.

• Improved product design and

manufacturing through connect-
Time Synchronization Traffic Scheduling System Configuration
ed, real-world data

Today, the uptime of the most

critical assets often depends on
manual inspection by a few sub-
ject matter experts. Unfortunately,
these experts are becoming harder
to find, and manual monitoring is
not scalable across an entire fleet of Time-sensitive networking is the evolution of standard Ethernet to include time-based
assets. It’s estimated that only 5% of synchronization, traffic scheduling, and system configuration.

www.controleng.com/IIoT IIoT For Engineers MARCH 2018 | 7

 NETWORKING AND CONTROL
Realization forthcoming
To realize the benefits of IIoT,
design teams must depend on several
core technologies. Regardless of
whether it’s building an online moni-
toring system, smart manufacturing
machine, or testing a physical electro-
mechanical system, a key commonal-
ity is the need for intelligence at the
edge. The more sophisticated systems
get, the more decisions need to be
made in real time. For example, the
ability to acquire massive amounts
of high-resolution analog waveform
data for the structural test of a wind
turbine blade is important to un-
derstanding the characteristics of
its real-world behavior. At the same
time, that data needs to be pro-
cessed to provide input to the control
system that is actuating the blade to
ensure the test is conducted under
known conditions. So, it should be
no surprise that experts estimate that
at least 40% of all IIoT-created data
will be stored, processed, analyzed,
and acted on at the edge, according
to IDC.
To maximize performance and re-
duce unnecessary data transfers, you
must push decision making down to
edge nodes deployed at or near the
An important aspect of time-sensitive networking is the convergence of time-critical traffic and other Ethernet traffic.
8 | MARCH 2018 IIoT For Engineers
“things.” In implementing these sys-
tems, new challenges appear—es-
pecially as systems grow in physical
size and sensor count. Continuing
with our structural test example, to
get a full understanding of how a
wind turbine blade will perform, the
entire structure needs to be outfitted
with sensors to measure strain, pres-
sure, load, and torque. These sen-
sors all produce analog signals, and
to gain the most insight, high-speed,
high-resolution measurements must
be taken. For large-scale applica-
tions such as this, hundreds or even
thousands of sensors might need to
be distributed throughout the sys-
tem. While we acquire all this data,
it must be processed in real time in
order to provide the set points for
all the actuators that control the
system.
A few challenges arise when at-
tempting to develop such a system:
• Synchronizing the potentially
thousands of channels and nu-
merous measurement systems
• Synchronizing the control systems
such that all actuation happens at
the correct time
• Synchronizing the measurements
and control systems.
These challenges are further exag-
gerated as systems grow, and more
measurement and control capabilities
are added to an application. Syn-
chronizing measurement systems
with other measurement systems,
and control systems with other
control systems, is not a new chal-
lenge. Typically, this can be achieved
with signal-based methods, in which
physical cabling is used to route
a common time base or signal to
distributed nodes. Unfortunately, this
has limitations on distance and scal-
ability, as well as a risk of noise.
Another possibility
Another option is to leverage a
protocol built on top of a common
standard like Ethernet. Ethernet offers
openness and interoperability but has
no bounds for latency or guarantees
for bandwidth. To solve this challenge,
custom versions of Ethernet, often
referred to as hard real-time Ether-
net, have been developed. EtherCAT,
Profinet, and EtherNet/IP are prime
examples. These custom variants
of Ethernet provide hard real-time
www.controleng.com/IIoT
performance and best-in-class latency
and control. However, each variant
includes both hardware and software
modifications to network infra-
structure, which increases costs and
means different devices from different
vendors cannot function on the same
network.
A new technology to solve this
synchronization challenge is coming
to market now, called time-sensitive
networking (TSN). TSN is an evolution
of standard Ethernet that provides
openness and interoperability but
adds the bounded latency and
guaranteed bandwidth provided by
hard real-time Ethernet. Specifically,
TSN delivers three key components:
time-based synchronization, traffic
scheduling, and system configura-
tion. The synchronization capabilities
are based on the IEEE 1588 preci-
sion time protocol profile, providing
a sub-microsecond level of network
synchronization. In addition, traffic
scheduling and system configuration
power deterministic data commu-
nication, so users can schedule and
prioritize time-critical data (such as
control signals) across the network.
An important aspect of TSN is the
convergence of time-critical traffic and
other Ethernet traffic. Because TSN
is a feature of the Ethernet standard,
the new capabilities of time synchro-
nization and deterministic communi-
cation run over the same network as
other network communication. This
means a single port on the measure-
ment or control system can perform
deterministic communication while
also updating remote user interface
terminals and supporting file transfer.
TSN is a key enhancement for
many industrial applications, such
as process and machine control,
in which low communication la-
tency and minimal jitter are critical to
www.controleng.com/IIoT
meeting closed-loop control require-
ments. Time-based synchronization
over Ethernet also minimizes cabling
traditionally found in monitoring ap-
plications and physical system testing
(like the structural example) leading
to a simpler, cost-effective solution
without sacrificing reliability.
‘
TSN is an evolution of
standard Ethernet for
openness and interoper-
ability but adds bound-
ed latency and guaran-
’
teed bandwidth.
The introduction of TSN is a huge
step forward in solving the whole
system synchronization challenge.
Another concern engineers develop-
ing these systems have is reducing
the overall system complexity while
maintaining or improving reliability. In
our structural test example, the ap-
plication can be developed to leverage
TSN-based measurement and control
systems, but there is still the challenge
of programming the two in their
respective environments and dealing
with their respective data collection
mechanisms.
Removing the challenge
Programmable logic controllers
(PLCs) are used in IEC 61131-3 lan-
guages and operate on single-point
data. This type of data is ideal for
control applications, but not suited
for gaining insight—waveform data
is needed for this. Similarly, measure-
ment systems work in waveform data
to deliver the needed insight but are
not ideal for sending single-point
control signals or reacting to them
deterministically.
There has been a slow convergence
of measurement and control systems
over the past several years. New
capabilities have been added to each,
such that more measurement sys-
tems can do some control, and vice
versa. This continued convergence
of measurement and control systems
will have a major impact on IIoT ap-
plications in the future. Measurement
and control systems will become
synonymous, eliminating the need to
deploy both systems. Measurement
and control will be able to be done
using a single software toolchain to
acquire, process, log, and react to
incoming data.
Having separate measurement
and control systems makes systems
more complex since two independent
systems must be created, often using
disparate software tools. Then those
systems must be integrated together,
which results in additional cabling and
related considerations.
Instead, a fully consolidated
measurement and control platform
should be considered. Such a platform
would need to offer the measurement
breadth, accuracy, channel scalability,
and I/O synchronization needs of a
measurement system as well as the
customizability of a control system.
By leveraging such a platform, test
engineers, maintenance managers,
and machine designers alike will have
the necessary tools at their disposal
to fully realize the benefits of the IIoT,
while reducing the cost and complex-
ity of their deployment. IIoT
Brandon Treece is a senior product
marketing manager, National Instru-
ments, Austin, Texas.
IIoT For Engineers MARCH 2018 | 9
 THE ANALOG AND THE DIGITAL
Are analog meters to blame?
Cybersecurity concerns influence nuclear industry automation
By Otto P. Fest
M
ore than 120 years ago,
Sir Edward Weston in-
vented the analog panel
meter (APM). The meter’s simplicity,
along with its low manufacturing
cost, is unfortunately offset by its
unreliability, inaccuracy, and fragility.
Moreover, its readings are subject to
misinterpretation.
Unfortunately, the me-
ter’s propensities toward
stuck needles, inaccuracies,
and erroneous readings
have, upon occasion, been
the cause of tragedy.
This inherent inaccuracy
caused the military and
nuclear power industry to
adopt a precautionary
~5% to 10% safety factor
on all readings. Most APMs
have an accuracy of only
+/-5% (+/-2%, if you are
looking at them straight-on
from a distance of +/-10
in.), plus parallax, when
interpreting the meter. As a result
of this seemingly minor discrepancy,
a typical nuclear power plant could
lose more than $100,000 of saleable
power daily.
The industry cannot remain depen-
dent on late 19th-century metering
technology. That is why we at Otek
Corp. were intrigued when challenged
by a nuclear plant manager to develop
an electronic bar-digital meter identi-
cal to our New Technology Meter
(NTM), but without a microprocessor.
10 | MARCH 2018 IIoT For Engineers
As a signal powered meter, the NTM
is powered by the current loop (4 to
20 or 10 to 50 mA) or by the ac/dc
signal that it measures.
The resulting solid-state analog
meter (SSAM) has no microproces-
sor or control outputs. The SSAM is
for display only, while the NTM is for
display or control. Both series can be
powered externally and feature the
company’s signal-failure alarm that
sounds for about 30 seconds
after failure, eliminating the
dangerous “stuck needle”
syndrome.
A longtime industrial staple,
analog meters are being
replaced in production environ-
ments. All images courtesy:
OTEKCorp.com
Cybersecurity mandates
Nuclear power plant in-
strument-and-control (I&C)
rooms must comply with
Nuclear Regulatory Com-
mission (NRC) cybersecurity
regulations (including NEI08-09), if
they go digital. Doing so costs mil-
lions of dollars and implementation
can take years. Otherwise, if industry
managers keep their +/-5% analog
meters, they must operate at below
optimum efficiency, in an extreme
case losing 8% to 10% of their opti-
mum electric-power output.
At Otek, we asked ourselves,
“How in the world can we deliver
the needed performance without a
microprocessor?” Fortunately, more
than a decade previously, we had
experimented with a hardware-only
bar-graph digital meter. Within two
weeks, after a frantic search for a
2004 notebook and the prototype
breadboard, we had a multicolor
bar-digital meter solely powered by
the 4 to 20 mA (~5 to 60 mW) cur-
rent loop without a microprocessor.
Although we hadn’t replaced Sir
Weston’s invention, it met the plant
manager’s challenge and now is
being evaluated for Class 1E clas-
sification. However, further work
engendered a new breed of LED
electronic meter that measures, dis-
plays, controls, and transmits ac and
dc signals without a microprocessor,
and all with 0.1% digital accuracy,
versus 5% for analog meters.
The microprocessor-less and
powerless SSAM series can be used
as a basic bar graph (like the analog
meter), as a bar-digital (like obso-
lete digitals), or as a multi-function
meter that is field-configurable. If
the housing is the same, all that’s
needed is to change the scale plate
and pluggable modules and perform
any required calibrations.
Addressing a legacy
At a demonstration of power-
less technology at a nuclear-industry
corporate “lunch and learn” session,
another manager asked: “How should
the I&C manager decide whether to
digitize the I&C room?”
The points to consider are as
follows: Use of the current loop is
the simplest, most reliable means
www.controleng.com/IIoT
of transmitting analog signals.
Therefore, the options include: 1)
replace only the analog meters; 2)
add a data-acquisition system; or, 3)
add supervisory control with triple
redundancy. However, both 2) and
3) require cybersecurity compliance.
Option 1) does not have to comply
with cybersecurity requirements, as
there are no microcontrollers or serial
I/O to hack.
Specific to 1), analog-meter replace-
ment only, options include: a) change
all signals and wiring to 4 to 20 mA;
b) install the best 4 to 20 mA trans-
mitters; or, c) install the SSAM or
equivalent. With wire-per-wire and
panel-compatible drop-in ability, exist-
ing wiring and panels can be reused.
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A typical reactor produces about
$1 million daily of electric power, so
every 1% increase in productivity is
about $10,000 per day of profit or
about $3.65 million per year.
Industry snapshot
About 95% of U.S. nuclear power
plants were built and commissioned
before 1990. For a length of time, Because use of microprocessors presents
all operated safely and at about cybersecurity and regulatory challenges,
90% efficiency. A limited number of use of analog meters may persist for some
governmental regulations allowed applications and industries, including the
profitable operation with about nuclear power industry.
one-third of present personnel and
expenses. regulatory environment, as well
Today, the cumulative impact of as recent cybersecurity mandates,
the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown and means that most non-regulated
2011 Fukushima disaster on the plants operate at a loss. Regulated
 THE ANALOG AND THE DIGITAL
ones, guaranteed a profit via subsidies
and rate increases, have no incentive to
improve efficiency. The result is that six
U.S. nuclear power plants recently an-
nounced closures with more to come.
Following the Chernobyl disaster,
Otek developed its HiQ series, a breed
of electronic meters to replace old
analog meters and to prevent op-
erations errors. After the Fukushima
disaster, Otek introduced its NTM series
to replace obsolete analog meters and
prevent the stuck-needle syndrome.
Subsequently, the NRC released a
cybersecurity directive to protect plants
from terrorist attacks. The directive
requires the nuclear industry to spend
more than $20 million dollars per con-
trol room if they implement any critical
microprocessor-based digital assets.
Options galore
The nuclear industry has six identifi-
able options when it comes to digitiz-
ing I&C rooms:
1. Do nothing, keep the current
obsolete analog or digital instruments,
and lose roughly $10,000/day, or
$3.65 million/year, for every 1% loss
in efficiency in an approximately $1
million/day plant.
2. Go for broke with flat screens
and triple-redundancy supervisory-
control, achieving compliance with
cybersecurity regulations at an
estimated cost of more than $200
million, meaning a seven-year wait for
a return to profit.
3. Change to flat screens and a
data-acquisition system, which will
include cybersecurity compliance, as
well as a new I&C room, engineering
designs, wiring, training of operators,
and NRC approvals. Costs of about
$75 million will be incurred, as well
as the loss of 1% per day of income.
Return on investment (ROI) will take
more than three years.
12 | MARCH 2018 IIoT For Engineers
4. Replace obsolete meters with
the Otek NTM series, or equivalent,
which are SCADA/DAS/DCS class 1E-
compatible, instead of flat screens.
This means no new wiring, except
serial I/O, no power supply, and no
new building costs. This saves about
$140 million, but adds cybersecurity
compliance costs. ROI will take only
about 18 months—assuming a 10%
increase in efficiency or about $36.5
million/year.
5. Implement a data-acquisition
system with the Otek NTM series, or
equivalent. This is similar to option
3), but at a lower cost of about $35
million, and without associated pro-
ductivity loss or a new building. ROI
is about one year for a typical 5% to
8% increase in efficiency, including
cybersecurity compliance costs.
6. Replace analogs with SSAM, or
equivalent, and operate the plants
as usual (manually) until decommis-
sioned, but at higher efficiency and
profitability.
Brief summation
The need to digitize control rooms
for greater safety and profitability is
not only crucial for the nuclear in-
dustry, but also for the U.S. Navy, the
oil & gas industry, the electric power
industry, or any other industry using
analog meters. For a non-regulated
utility dealing with a reactor having a
limited operating life expectancy, or
in a very competitive market, a good
choice is to replace obsolete analog
and digital meters all at once or as
needed.
We feel we’ve done justice to the
long-lived analog meter. Yet all good
things come to an end, and it is near-
ing extinction.
Dr. Otto P. Fest is president and
founder of OTEKCorp.com.
www.controleng.com/IIoT
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