In 2018, SiteWatch launched its 1st generation system for remote-monitoring of electricity use by manufacturers. Our system — including snap-on hardware, transmitter and the software platform — has worked well, expanding from 1 monitored factory in 2018 to 150+ today.
In the meantime, many manufacturers told us they also want to monitor other parameters within their facilities, so we developed our 2nd generation system called "SiteWatch 360" that can monitor almost all engineering variables — using the LoRa protocol — including all the common utilities (e.g., electricity, water, air, gas, steam) as well as any other variable such as temperature, pressure, flow, humidity, CO2, emissions, liquid levels, vibration, etc.
For non-electricity monitoring, we can capture signals from virtually any 3rd party sensor or meter that creates a signal. If there isn't one already in place, one has to be installed, but we can advise customers about the best types of sensors and meters, as well as the likely cost.
The system transmits all types of data via a "gateway" to our cloud, where it's analyzed, providing real-time graphs, charts, reports and alerts. These outputs can show total usage, peak use, run-time, average load, above average load etc., either for one machine or a production line at one location or multiple locations across the country — all on one dashboard.
The 1st diagram below shows our SiteWatch 360 system architecture, which starts with…
- A signal, generated by a clip-on external sensor or an inline meter, which is transmitted to a nearby gateway for further transmission to our cloud
- Transmission can be via Ethernet Cable, Wi-Fi or Cellular connection
- Data is encrypted and stored on AWS servers
The diagrams above and below show both our 1st generation hardware, in orange, for electricity alone and our second generation "LoRaWan" hardware, in green, that uses the global LoRa frequency, for transmitting much longer distances — typically 500-800 feet within a facility and 1 to several miles outdoors.
When the data arrives in our cloud, it is stored indefinitely for comparing a machine's or a production line's performance today vs. yesterday vs. a week, month or year ago.
We also designed SiteWatch 360 to be an "open" system, meaning that data can be imported from, and exported to, any other platform, whether a BMS, SCADA system or a specific application.