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Meat Processing
In this example we are going to use M4 Meats; a small meat processing plant. M4 requires a small low cost system that will monitor temperatures in their chillers, provide alarm and dialout functionality and plot the data on a graph.
M4 only have 8 chillers and as this is a new system for them, have no wiring in place. All the chillers are within 200 metres of a central point and the customer has a PC available to run the software in their QA office.
AAW Recommends
As there is no current system in place and the site is relatively small we would recommend a radio system; no cabling required so customer can install, low cost and fast setup radios are ideal for most applications. Due to the size of the company, M4 has no need for a multi-user web based system such as the WebREACT so we would recommend the free RIOTstation software as a better alternative.
The system essentially comes in three parts:
1. The RIOT
The 'RIOT' or 'Remote Input Output Transceiver' is the building block of most of our systems. The RIOT can have 16 analogue inputs for connection to temperature sensors, all 16 inputs can also be used in 4 to 20mA mode for connection to other input sources; resistance templates can be set up and applied to any or all of the inputs allowing interface with almost any source. Other wired options include a 16 input expansion board giving the RIOT 32 analogue or 4 to 20mA inputs, an MDM interface for connecting to existing Woodley or Danfoss MDM systems. The RIOT has 3 digital outputs which can be connected to switchable external devices such as an alarm, siren, flashing light or text messaging unit.
An optional radio interface can be added making the RIOT act as a wireless hub for it's 'IT' radio units, a single RIOT can handle up to 300 radio units, if more are required multiple RIOTS can be used on the same system.
'IT' Radio Units
'IT' Units (Information Transceivers) are wireless devices usually acting as temperature sensors, in normal operation they record and send data back to the RIOT unit where is it stored; IT's also have their own onboard storage which lasts up to 7 days so if for any reason communication is interrupted no data is lost and the backlog will be sent as soon as communication resumes.
IT's come in many different forms with a raft of options but in this example we are going to assume standard non-display IT's fitted with glanded air temperature probes.
RIOTstation Software
With every RIOT system sold we include our free RIOTstation software. With this software you can connect to a RIOT unit over any network with a fixed IP available; the software allows data backup, alarming, graphing and configuration of the system and is very easy to install and configure.
The System has the following benefits
- Easy hardware install and configuration
- Low cost / high return on investment
- Traceability and UKAS certification
- Low running cost (IT batteries last for over 2 years
The Software has the following features
- All point names displayed along with current status and temperature
- Alarms flash in orange and sound a siren both on the PC and RIOT unit
- All alarms are logged along with any acknowledgement or change of state
- Shift patterns can be set up to restrict alarm times
- Different actions can be specified for each shift pattern
- Additional services can be added to the system such as text messaging or telephone dialout on alarm
- Graphs are available showing any number of points across multiple days, weeks or months
- Simple password protected configuration of alarm limits, alarm delays, point names and probe types