The industrial internet of things (IIoT) will have an important role in defining the future of cities. In the transport sector, IIoT will be used to understand how transport networks dovetail with passengers in real time, with the global passenger information system market expected to reach $63bn by 2030.
How does it work in the real world? WeMaintain is responsible for the maintenance of all lifts and escalators on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), part of the London rail division of Transport for London (TfL). Since it opened in 1987, it has been extended almost constantly, and now reaches as far north as Stratford, through the City of London financial district, and east to London City Airport and Woolwich Arsenal. Much of the service is automated, and in the 2019/20 financial year there were 116.8 million passenger journeys.
For the DLR operators as for many similar systems around the world, the aim is to create a frictionless passenger experience from the moment someone enters the station, to the moment they leave one at their final destination. This makes it essential that disruption of any kind, often in the form of broken or faulty critical equipment, is kept to a minimum. But how?
IoT, specifically in lifts and escalators and theoretically across all the network, can sweep up real-time data regarding passenger footfall, train occupancy, and the wear and tear of turnstiles, signage, escalators and lifts.
The more data, and the more precise the data, the clearer the picture painted by the IoT, and the more confident operators and engineers can be in predicting a problem and making a timely intervention. Much of our work rests on using our IoT to build up a rich picture of exactly what is happening on the DLR and dispatching engineers proactively to address a fault before that fault becomes a costly breakdown.
The aim of the game is minimising downtime, and even a saving of a few hours has a notable financial impact—while saving everyone the ire of grumpy Londoners wondering why a lift won’t work.
This also has ramifications for CapEx planning. For safety and efficiency reasons, the conventional approach to critical equipment is to replace it every few years.
But this is costly, both financially and environmentally, and came about because it was impossible to know in any real detail what was happening inside the machinery of an escalator, lift or other piece of critical equipment.
IoT, then, is driving an overdue shift from a replacement model to a maintenance model, anticipating the breakdown of parts of a given unit and repairing it so it remains reliable. If an upgrade is needed, CapEx spending can be much more targeted thanks to IoT; only what needs to be replaced is replaced.
IoT can be hugely consequential for roads, bridges, airports and other parts of the built environment. By recording footfall or motion, IoT can be used to turn street-lamps on and off, to turn traffic lights green or red, or to allow boat traffic to pass through drawbridges. In airports, it can help to control the flow of pedestrian traffic,. And within buildings IoT is the primary means by which owners and managers can understand their space in depth, making better commercial decisions, improving the occupant experience, and managing the maintenance of critical equipment.
As IoT technology advances, the quality and volume of data will improve. New applications will be discovered. And IoT itself will likely proliferate across cities, heralding the dawn of the truly ‘smart’ city. But for now, across industrial systems, it remains an absolutely essential means to maximising efficiency, sustainability and experience while reducing costs.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Tom Harmsworth
Quelle/Source: New Civil Engineer, 04.06.2021
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