Barbara the Industrial Edge Platform for advanced management and prediction of faults in electrical panels

I+CCM: a collaborative initiative to boost Industry 4.0

I+CCM is a collaborative industrial research project, promoted by the Energy Cluster of the Basque Country and Innovasturias, in which four SMEs are participating: Equipel, a company specialising in engineering and customised manufacturing of medium-high voltage switchgear and low voltage panels;  Soar Ingeniería, specialising in virtual prototyping, design, calculation and simulation of components; EIA21, an engineering that offers solutions for industrial installations and Barbara, a technology company that provides the infrastructure for the deployment and management of Edge Apps.

I+CCM aims to contribute to this new Industry 4.0 through a solution that ultimately offers a service adapted to the specific parameters of use of each facility, providing multiple benefits to the end user, such as:

.- minimising the unavailability of electrical assets due to possible breakdowns.

.- improving performance and efficiency by adapting electrical assets to the required use.

.- increasing their useful life and avoiding their premature replacement.

.- optimising the energy consumption of facilities, amongst others...

The digital transformation of industry based on data, is one of the main lines of intervention within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), as part of the Spain 2030 Industrial Policy.

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Predictive Maintenance based on AI models at the Edge

To date, the maintenance and management of CCMs are mainly carried out in a reactive manner. It is limited to correcting failures or breakdowns, assuming the consequent loss of production capacity during the repair or replacement period. Prevention is limited to the execution of routine maintenance tasks, such as visual inspections and retightening of connections.

These activities involve the use of resources and manpower whose effectiveness in preventing failures and breakdowns (as they do not take into account the specific conditions in which the equipment operates), is not guaranteed.

The solution developed consists of an active tool capable of analysing, with AI and Deep Learning techniques, the operating data of the equipment in real-time to anticipate possible incidents, generate alarms to prevent breakdowns, propose actions on the system, etc.

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To do this, work is carried out in three phases of the information flow:

1. Data collection,consisting of electrical parameters of the equipment itself, auxiliary data such as internal temperature of switchboards, temperature of dynamic equipment equipped with bearings or surface temperature of static equipment, thermal readings with infrared or CCTV cameras (smoke opacity, thermal, distances,speeds), vibrations of dynamic equipment, electrical quality parameters, etc.

2. The processing ofthese data on a platform developed under the fog concept (edge+cloud).

3. Access to the data, through an interface that allows the user and the system to access these dataat any time.

The aim is to deploy an interoperable, open and non-proprietary IIoT management tool for electrical equipment, which constitutes a versatile solution applicable to various industrial environments.

This new concept of electrical switchboard requires the development and integration of various digitally advanced components and subsystems, which the I+CCM project can address thanks to the combined knowledge and experience of the companies collaborating in it:

1. Intelligent CCM with IIoT- enabled interaction capabilities.

2. IIoT data logger as a data concentrator set, capable of communicating with multiple communication protocols.

3. IIoT platform with the algorithm for data processing with AI, Deep Learning and Machine Learning techniques.

4. Interface programme (API) for panel-operator interaction, deployable on multiple devices: mobiles, industrial tablets, etc.

Expected results

With this solution it will be possible to deliver a service adapted to the specific parameters of use of each installation, improving the efficiency and productivity of industrial processes thanks to the following aspects:

1. Improved performance and efficiency in usage parameters, adapting the electrical assets to the required use.

2. Control of the electrical consumption of the equipment. This makes it possible to improve efficiency and, in the event of assessing the reduction in consumption of the installation, to know which equipment to focus on.

3. Optimisation of energy consumption thanks to direct measurement and monitoring in real-time combined with predictive algorithms developed for this purpose.

4. Minimise the non-availability of assets due to possible failures based on the preventive management service both, operational and maintenance.

Barbara, the Cybersecure Industrial Edge Platform for AI deploymets

With the explosion of connected devices and the needfor real time data processing, it is no longer practical to send all data to a centralized data center. An Edge Platform is necessary to orchestrate this infrastructure as it provides the ability to manage and control the edge devices,applications, and data, while also providing security, scalability and flexibility. 

Barbara Industrial Edge Platform is a powerful tool that can help organizations simplify and accelerate their Edge App deployments at the Edge.

1. Real-time data processing: Barbara allows for real-time data processing at the edge, which can lead to improved operational efficiency and cost savings. By processing data at the edge, organizations can reduce the amount of data that needs to be transmitted to the cloud, resulting in faster response times and reduced latency.

2. Improved scalability: Barbara provides the ability to scale up or down depending on the needs of the organization, which can be beneficial for industrial processes that have varying levels of demand.

3. Enhanced security: Barbara offers robust security features to ensure that data is protected at all times. This is especially important for industrial processes that deal with sensitive information.

4. Flexibility: Barbara is a flexible platform that can be customized to meet the specific needs of an organization. This allows organizations to tailor the platform to their specific use case, which can lead to improved efficiency and cost savings.

5. Remote management: Barbara allows for remote management and control of edge devices, applications and data, enabling organizations to manage their infrastructure from a centralized location.

6. Integration: Barbara can integrate with existing systems and platforms, allowing organizations to leverage their existing investments and improve efficiency.

If interested in knowing more about how we can help you, please do contact us‍

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