The challenge in the industry during vacation periods, holidays

Factories face several operational challenges when the majority of their technicians are on vacation:

• Reduced staffing to monitor equipment and respond to incidents.
• Increased risk of incidents: Without continuous on-site monitoring, more breakdowns can occur, leading to costly production downtime.
• Limited maintenance capacity as it becomes more difficult to plan interventions.

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) offers concrete solutions to overcome these challenges and keep operations running smoothly during the holidays. This is where industrial connectivity comes into play.

It is essential for machine builders to ensure the continuous performance of their equipment and machinery deployed around the world. At the same time, end users need to maintain productivity in their factories despite staff shortages. In the wake of the possibilities that converge under the terms "Industry 4.0" and "IIoT", companies, even with limited staff, are able to

• optimize machine management,
• monitor operations remotely,
• reduce the risk of failure
• and quickly identify causes.
  

Remote monitoring and automatic alerts

An industrial communication gateway installed on a machine enables remote performance monitoring. Ewon communication gateways provide a secure cloud-based connection to machines and systems. This means that you do not have to be on site to monitor the status of the systems. In the event of a fault or failure, automatic alerts are sent so that you can react quickly.

Predictive maintenance to avoid interruptions

In industry, prevention is just as important as cure. The data collected from your machines can help detect early signs of potential breakdowns. With limited maintenance capacity, planning interventions is becoming increasingly difficult, so it's crucial to identify problems early so teams can intervene before unplanned downtime disrupts production.

Automating processes to compensate for staff shortages

Vacations often coincide with production downturns and lower demand. By integrating automated systems, IIoT enables machine speed to be adjusted to actual demand, improving overall efficiency even with fewer staff on site.

Smarter energy management

Energy consumption has become a major issue for manufacturers. With the IIoT, companies can monitor and optimize the energy consumption of their machines by aligning operations with real-time production demands. This not only reduces the waste of resources, but also improves the company's environmental footprint.

Cybersecurity at the heart of the IIoT

Cybersecurity is a top priority for all players in the industry - and rightly so. To protect your systems, it is crucial to implement an industrial connectivity solution that meets the highest security standards. Ewon & Talk2m solutions are ISO 27001 certified and comply with IEC 62443 standards, keeping your infrastructure secure - even though low staffing levels during the vacation period could increase vulnerability to attacks.

The benefits of industrial connectivity for machine builders and end users during the vacation period

An industrial connectivity solution such as Ewon & Talk2m can provide significant added value for all stakeholders in the industrial sector during the vacation period.

For machine builders: it enables remote support, increases customer satisfaction and shortens response times, even with limited staff.

For machine users: it minimizes downtime, optimizes resources and helps to manage staff shortages more effectively, ensuring production continuity and reducing operating costs.

Conclusion:
Industrial connectivity takes your business to the next level

IIoT enables industrial companies to better manage vacation periods by ensuring that facilities remain operational even when staffing levels are reduced. Whether for monitoring, maintenance or performance optimization, Industry 4.0 technologies offer greater flexibility and responsiveness and reduce the risk of production downtime.

Investing in such a solution is a strategic move for both machine builders and end users, helping them to navigate these traditionally sensitive times with greater safety and efficiency.

Get to know Ewon Flexy:
Your gateway to smarter, safer and holiday-proof operations

Ewon Flexy is a versatile IIoT gateway that helps manufacturers and machine builders remotely and securely monitor, troubleshoot and optimize equipment.

With support for key industrial protocols, real-time data logging, alarm notifications and secure cloud connectivity, Ewon Flexy enables your team to keep machines running efficiently - even when your plant is running at reduced capacity.

Discover how Ewon simplifies industrial connectivity and gives you real-time visibility of your machines - start with a free demo.

It's a quick and easy way to see how Ewon supports remote monitoring, data access and machine visibility - all in one powerful solution.

Request your free demo now: Your contacts

What would the machine manufacturer be without the plant operator and vice versa?
The digitalization of systems and processes in particular reveals many overlapping interests on both sides. As a result, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) can lead to real leaps in efficiency.
In issues 4+5/2022, SPS-Magazin reported on how to get started with digitalization, which entry-level applications are suitable, which expansion stages are available, where further potential lies, and much more - with reference to the Ewon and Talk2M solution.
We would like to recommend this article for reading, as it shows in a very practical way what is already possible today without much additional effort.

Download (PDF)

The coronavirus pandemic, which began in 2020, has posed major challenges for the mechanical and plant engineering industry. In many cases, projects that had been started could not be completed due to travel restrictions and contact bans, for example.
Alternatives were therefore required in order to remain operational. If on-site work was not possible, attempts were made to carry it out remotely wherever possible. The pandemic has once again acted as a catalyst for the acceptance of such "remote work" (both on the part of the supplier and the customer). This also applies in particular to remote commissioning. Once the necessary technical requirements had been identified very quickly (see, for example, our Ewon & Talk2M solution) and fulfilled, many VDMA member companies were faced with numerous questions regarding the necessary contractual representation of remote commissioning. The drafting of contracts often "lags behind" the constantly changing business models and adapted processes. Working and formulation aids were (and as far as can be seen still are) not available. The legal issues that arise are indeed diverse and complex, as several disciplines have to be covered (e.g. data protection).
The VDMA actively supports companies in this respect and has developed a guideline that presents the legal contexts and, for the first time, offers a practical working aid in the form of an attached sample contract (together with an English translation). The sample contract can either be "attached" to an existing main contract that still provides for an analogous "on-site commissioning", but it is also suitable for negotiating and contractually mastering "remote commissioning" in new contracts from the outset. With these guidelines, the VDMA is providing a further building block for the implementation of Industry 4.0 and closing a gap at the legal level.

Guide to remote commissioning
VDMA 2021
44 pages
ISBN 978-3-8163-0749-5
Price: €34.00, for VDMA members €27.20

Contents

Section 1:
Technical, legal and organizational framework conditions for remote commissioning
1 Introduction to the topic
2. technical design of remote commissioning
3 Legal pitfalls of remote commissioning
4 Organizational requirements

Section 2:
Contract design
1. sample contract (German)
2. sample contract (English)

To order from VDMA-Verlag

Whether remote maintenance of machines, analysis and evaluation of machine data or the development of new business models. The interaction between the "Cloud of Things (CoT)" of Deutsche Telekom IoT and the IIoT gateways/VPN routers of the "Ewon" brand represents an optimal solution in many cases.

With CoT, Deutsche Telekom offers comprehensive applications in the areas of data analytics, predictive maintenance, condition monitoring and machine learning.
The IIoT gateway Ewon Flexy is an important building block here, as it collects data from machines and systems via all interfaces and protocols (e.g. Modbus, Profibus, MPI, Ethernet, serial...) and makes it available to the CoT.

More information

In order to support the optimal connection of our Ewon remote maintenance solutions via mobile radio worldwide, there are specially adapted device variants for each region (e.g. with regard to frequency bands, approvals). New in the range for Ewon Flexy routers: the "Mobile radio LTE APAC" expansion card for the Asia Pacific, Africa and China regions!

Mobile radio expansion cards

With Ewon Cosy+, HMS Networks introduces a new generation of remote maintenance routers that takes IIoT cybersecurity to a new level. Thanks to the security mechanisms integrated into the hardware, users can securely access industrial devices from anywhere and carry out commissioning, troubleshooting and programming online.

The new Cosy+ router scores with state-of-the-art hardware security, improved performance and convenience, setting a new standard in the industry.

For example, Cosy+ offers automatic updates of signed firmware via the Talk2M platform. This ensures that the routers always meet the latest security standards and the user no longer has to worry about maintenance and cyber security.

Improved encryption algorithms are used for data communication, providing excellent protection against cyber attacks.
With Talk2M, the Ewon solution offers users a globally available, centralized remote maintenance platform for secure router and access management, including a service level agreement (SLA).

Thanks to an exclusive partnership with Nviso, HMS Networks can offer a remote maintenance solution with Ewon that has been tested to the highest standards and meets the latest security requirements.

More info Cosy+To the products

Today we are introducing the new standard for industrial remote access: the Ewon Cosy+ router series

The "+" stands for the plus in cyber security through security by design of hardware and software:
+ Hardware Root of Trust, through security chip on the hardware
+ Use of signed firmware versions and secure boot
+ Latest OpenVPN and encryption technologies

The Ewon Cosy+ VPN router is initially available as a variant with an Internet connection via WAN/Ethernet. A WLAN and mobile version will follow at the end of 2021.

To the VPN router Ewon Cosy+

To the Ewon & Talk2M security concept

IIoT can improve competitiveness and open up new sales opportunities and revenue streams, as machine and plant manufacturers have been hearing from all sides in recent years.
However, complex ROI calculations, a lack of technical know-how, security concerns and integration difficulties act as critical barriers to the introduction of new digital solutions.

Our guide is designed to help you get started implementing IIoT projects, because with the Ewon & Talk2M solution, which offers a variety of data services, machine/plant builders can quickly create new IIoT applications that reduce support and service costs and enable new business models.

To the guide

Background information and details on one of the leading cloud infrastructures for industrial applications, Talk2M, can be found in this white paper.

What is VPN and tunneling?
What is Talk2M?
What is the step-by-step connection process?
What are the first steps in setting up?
What about the security architecture and availability of Talk2M?

These questions and more are examined in the current white paper "Best practices for industrial remote maintenance".

To the whitepaper

Remote maintenance via the Internet with Ewon and Talk2M!
A success story for 20 years!

Ewon revolutionized the industry in 2001.
The Ewon 4000 came onto the market: an innovative PLC remote access gateway based on Internet communication.

This enabled machine builders and factory operators to access their machines from wherever and whenever they wanted.

The product and service portfolio has, of course, developed steadily in the meantime and takes all cyber security aspects into account - both yesterday and today.
The focus today is on high-performance, high-availability solutions for IIoT applications; remote access is mandatory.

A big thank you to all our users, whose trust and loyalty have made something great possible. We look forward to the next few years together, which are sure to bring many more innovations.

More information on remote maintenance and telecontrol

Always up-to-date and important information on updates and cyber security topics ... promptly, at first hand!

Are you sure you want to stay up to date with the latest updates and information on cyber security for your Ewon & Talk2M remote solution ?

It's very easy:
Subscribe to the HMS information service for customers and sales partners, CDIS for short. CDIS stands for "Customer and Distributors Information Service".

You can choose which of your products (Cosy, Flexy, Netbiter) you would like to receive important information about first-hand.
You will then receive the information by e-mail or can view it via the web portal.

You can register to receive this insider information here:
https://www.ewon.biz/technical-support/pages/technical-publications

Stay informed!

Ewon DataMailbox is a secure, free cloud-based solution that enables machine builders and plant operators to easily access data from their globally distributed machines.

DataMailbox is part of Ewon Talk2M, a cloud platform for secure, industrial remote maintenance. DataMailbox is an online data buffer that can be used to easily retrieve machine data. The remote machines are connected to the Talk2M cloud via the Ewon Cosy and Flexy routers. An Ewon router is connected directly to a machine and sends the machine data to the Talk2M cloud via Ethernet or mobile radio. Application developers can retrieve historical data from multiple Ewon routers via a simple API call. DataMailbox thus enables simple and secure data collection from globally distributed machines for big data analysis, which allows conclusions to be drawn for predictive maintenance or other optimizations.

Fast and secure access to machine data

The data connection can be set up in just a few hours, regardless of how complex the IT environment is. If required, the solution can be scaled and users can add more machines with just a few clicks. DataMailbox can collect machine data from multiple locations. As a data buffer, DataMailbox automatically saves the machine data and thus ensures that no data is lost even if the Internet connection fails. This means that users have flawless historical data available for their data analysis.

Freemium service

DataMailbox is a "freemium service" within the Ewon Talk2M Cloud and is free of charge for customers. There is also a paid Pro version, which offers an SLA (Service Level Agreement) and the ability to process more data compared to the Freemium Service.

"In terms of increasing efficiency, we want to offer our customers a simple, secure and scalable solution that allows them to collect data from their machines in different locations without having to be on site. Travel is not only expensive, but especially in the current situation, it's also something you want to avoid," says Francis Vander Ghinst, General Manager of the Ewon Business Unit at HMS.

Partner network

To help customers get the most out of their data, Wachendorff has built up a partner network. Based on customer requirements, the partners provide support with efficient solutions for data analysis.

Due to the high demand in these difficult times, the inclusive data volume for the Talk2M remote maintenance portal for remote access was already increased from 1 GB to 3 GB (3 GB to 9 GB for Talk2M Pro) a few months earlier.

In addition, from October the integrated data storage of the DataMailbox will be increased from 500,000 data points to 5,000,000 data points (for Talk2M Pro from 3,000,000 to 10,000,000). This allows for easier, more detailed evaluation and operation of a smaller number of data collection devices at no additional cost.

When using Talk2M Free, the defined limits with a 3-month tolerance period are now consistently implemented.

To the Talk2M remote maintenance portal

eCatcher Mobile is an app for mobile devices with iOS and Android operating systems. HMS Networks introduces eCatcher Mobile KPIs, an update of this app that allows users to check the status and performance of their machines equipped with an Ewon router live from any location.

Machine builders are increasingly trying to differentiate themselves from other providers by offering their customers added value. The ability to quickly check machine status and performance is becoming increasingly important in the context of digitalization. However, implementing a secure and reliable solution that provides cloud-based dashboards, alarms and reports from machines at different production sites around the world is a major challenge. This is because such an undertaking is often technically too complex, time-consuming and costly.

Live KPIs for Ewon Flexy users

With eCatcher Mobile KPIs, users of Ewon Flexy products are provided with machine key performance indicators (KPIs) virtually free of charge. The app is a new end-to-end encrypted solution from HMS Networks that displays live machine KPIs directly on users' mobile devices. The solution is based on the proven eCatcher software, which establishes secure remote connections to machines equipped with Ewon devices via the ^Talk2M® cloud service. HMS Networks has now updated the mobile version for iOS and Android - eCatcher Mobile - to enable the display of live metrics for machines equipped with Ewon Flexy. Ewon users will find their way around the app immediately, as this function is already available in the free browser-based web portal M2Web.

Any machine connected to a Flexy can be monitored live

Users can set up to 6 KPIs by selecting the desired machine variables from a list in the Flexy connected to the machine. All metrics can be set to trigger alarms. After a few configuration clicks, the user receives a live view of the selected KPIs. This enables immediate monitoring of machine status and performance - from any location, with minimal time and cost. Users can see active KPI alarms and their urgency. Alarms are easy to identify and are displayed with an intuitive color scheme depending on alarm status and urgency. If a machine reports a critical alarm, the user can immediately establish a remote VPN connection to the machine via Talk2M, enabling rapid intervention.

"eCatcher Mobile KPIs is the ideal mobile tool for machine builders to remotely monitor their globally distributed machines. The live KPIs from eCatcher Mobile provide users with a new tool to avoid production downtime and improve operational efficiency. With this, HMS Networks offers an easy-to-implement remote monitoring solution that enables machine builders to start their digitalization journey," says Emeline Brouillard, Ewon Product Manager at HMS.

Practical tool for machine builders, but also end users

eCatcher Mobile KPIs is not only an easy way for machine builders to monitor machine KPIs, but also a practical tool for anyone working in the plant where the machine is located. With eCatcher Mobile KPIs, the machine builder can provide the end user or his system integrator with a user-friendly monitoring tool for the machines in a plant.

The traditional Carl Jung winery has always been a pioneer when it comes to improving product quality and developing new production processes.
Industrial data management and digitalization are playing an increasingly important role here - as is cooperation with real automation professionals in these areas.
Carl Jung relies on corosys as a system integrator. Under the SmartMachine label, forecasting models on the technical condition of the systems, e.g. for predictive maintenance, but also for detailed and reliable statements on process progress and product quality, are possible.
corosys uses VPN routers and IIoT communication gateways from the Ewon Flexy series as important components in the overall technical concept. Important key performance indicators are visualized on site using the KPI dashboard from VISUALYS.

To the application report

To the Ewon Flexy routers

To VISUALYS (KPI dashboard)

... through additional data volume

We have noticed that customers are using the advantage of remote access more than ever, especially in these difficult times, in order to be able to carry out their service efficiently. To support our customers, Talk2M is increasing the included data traffic for remote access, with no time limit:

- Talk2M Free from 2 GB to 3 GB
- Talk2M Pro from 6 GB to 9 GB

This additional data volume has been available to you since May 1, 2020.

To the Talk2M remote maintenance portal

... ensure even higher availability & performance

In order to extend our customers' reach to machines, three additional VPN servers were installed in South America as well as in Singapore and South East Asia. The central server system has also been reinforced with a new distributed architecture to offer even greater performance, scalability and, above all, improved reliability.

To the Talk2M remote maintenance portal