Wireless sensor network helps safeguard hardware warranties

Environmental monitoring system from Adaptive Wireless Solutions helps ensure equipment does not fail outside terms of warranty. Operating expensive IT computer equipment for extended periods of time at high ambient temperatures greatly reduces reliability, longevity of components and will likely cause unplanned downtime. Hardware manufacturers will deem warranty coverage to be void if their products are operated in a high-temperature environment. Most IT equipment specifies maximum ambient inlet air temperature and humidity levels to ensure normal levels of cooling can be achieved for safe and reliable operation.

Common phrases in warranty terms include - This warranty does not cover: 1. failure or damage resulting from misuse (including but not limited to unsuitable physical or operating environment). If equipment fails the burden falls on the user to prove that such warranty conditions were complied with. This is impossible without adequate sensing and logging in place.

By employing a wireless sensor network from Adaptive Wireless Solutions customers can ensure that their equipment is operating at all times within safe limits of temperature and humidity. Data collected by the sensors is fed back to the OnCall data logging and analysis application which can be configured to raise alarms when limits are exceeded as well as logging the temperature and humidity data for further analysis. Alternatively, data from the wireless system can easily be interfaced with existing infrastructure monitoring and control systems if required.

Wireless sensor network helps data centres keep their cool

New approach to sensing allows data centres to manage cooling and keep computers running The power demands of newer high density computing equipment and the need to keep them cool are growing exponentially. This is causing major problems in terms of power supply capacity and environmental concerns. There is growing awareness of the need to improve monitoring in data centres to help identify hot spots where cooling is most critical. By directing air flow more effectively better use can be made of the existing cooling capacity. One key difficulty has been the lack of enough flexible temperature monitoring points in the facility to check performance in detail and raise alerts when hot spots arise. Traditional wired approaches can be too expensive and inflexible.

To solve this problem Adaptive Wireless Solutions uses a wireless sensor mesh network which is easy and quick to install with minimal disruption and allows monitoring points to be moved around and added without having to re-commission the whole network. Data collected by the sensors is fed back to the OnCall data analysis application which can be configured to raise alarms when limits are exceeded as well as logging the temperature data for further analysis. Alternatively, data from the wireless system can easily be interfaced with existing infrastructure monitoring systems if required.

In a recent data centre installation for an oil company in the Middle East the sensing network quickly highlighted a potential overheating situation which enabled advance remedial action to be taken avoiding the cost of equipment repair and the impact on computing availability.

Wireless sensor network solves difficult problem in provincial NHS Hospital pharmacy compliance monitoring system

Adaptive Wireless Solutions have supplied a wireless sensor network system to Facility Monitoring Systems Ltd as part of a pharmacy monitoring compliance solution for a Central England NHS hospital.

The wireless validated monitoring system was installed by Facility Monitoring Systems Ltd for the pharmacy operations of an NHS provincial hospital. The wireless system monitors ambient temperature and refrigerator temperatures in production, packing and storage areas. The wireless system is deployed in two physically dispersed areas.

The Pharmacy had a problem in that an important storage building was in a remote location over 350m away on the other side of the hospital site. In addition the main hospital buildings rise up on a hill in between the two locations making any ‘line of sight’ wireless solution impossible to implement. Due to cost and ongoing hospital improvement works a wired system was not an option. In this application a multi-hop wireless solution was the only viable solution.

By mounting mesh repeater nodes in weatherproof housings on the apex of two intervening buildings the remote store temperature data is relayed back to the main Pharmacy system. The class-leading FMS software provides fully compliant and easy-to-manage system and alarm status information. As the demand for monitoring of critical facilities continues to increase, the use of wireless sensor networks is growing due to their ease of installation, flexibility and ability to solve challenging problems allowing customers to quickly and more economically comply with legislation and regulatory requirements.

The application specifically takes advantage of some of the key benefits of wireless mesh networks – speed of installation, flexibility in use to accommodate difficult local conditions, lower installed cost and easy expansion to accommodate future needs. In this case it was the only practical way to get the job done.

Facility Monitoring Systems finds that interest in wireless monitoring solutions in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector is increasing all the time with 20% of enquiries currently either specifying wireless or requesting it as an option. Adaptive Wireless Solutions is supplying an increasing number of systems to the Life Sciences and Healthcare sector.

Large Data Centre in the Gulf takes advantage of wireless sensor network flexibility for critical monitoring

7 January 2008 - Adaptive Wireless Solutions has project-managed and supervised the installation and commissioning of a large Sensicast wireless mesh sensor network in a very large data centre for a Gulf States oil company. The Sensicast wireless system was installed in three dispersed facilities to meet the oil company objective for detailed temperature and humidity monitoring of a mission-critical data centre. The highly specified main data centre is on four floors covering a total of over 7,500 sq metres and is supported by business continuity and disaster recovery facilities which were also monitored as part of the project. The wireless system monitors both background and detailed rack-level ambient temperature and humidity sensing points. Replacing a highly labour intensive system of manually managed data loggers which yielded only partial historical data in certain areas, the wireless system immediately revealed the value of continuous real time monitoring and the flexible deployment of the wireless sensors. With over 200 wireless devices installed in the first phase the monitoring density is already paying off. Within a few days of implementation, during the commissioning stage, the system revealed a localised CRAC unit performance problem causing worryingly high temperatures in one aisle. Maintenance intervention was possible before the situation became critical. With their objective of unmanned operation and very few staff routinely in the aisles such situations would not necessarily be otherwise detected in time. Labour time savings on the monitoring activity now mean that staff can concentrate on improvement actions rather than data gathering. The wireless system was installed, commissioned and all staff training provided in only 12 working days with no disruption to normal operations. The extensive system is deployed in six wireless ‘sub-nets’ and each separate wireless system is connected to the class-leading OnCall monitoring and alerting software using the data centre wired Ethernet infrastructure. As expected, running the 2.4 GHz wireless monitoring system in the same areas as a WiFi data network showed no measurable negative effect on either system. The customer is delighted with the system and has already begun discussions to extend the system during 2008 into other areas. As well as increasing the total number of sensors in use by 50% plans are to monitor chilled water system temperatures and flow rates, sub-floor air flow and pressure, and electrical energy consumption.

As the demand for monitoring of critical facilities continues to increase, the use of wireless sensor networks is growing due to their ease of installation, flexibility and integration with existing infrastructure allowing customers to quickly and more economically comply with operational and regulatory requirements. The application specifically takes advantage of some of the key benefits of wireless mesh networks – speed of installation, flexibility in use to accommodate changing requirements in place, lower installed cost due to the battery-powered sensors, easy expansion to accommodate future needs and risk-free coexistence with existing IT equipment. Adaptive Wireless Solutions is supplying an increasing number of systems to the data centre market.

Wireless sensor network plays key role in London Hospital pharmacy compliance monitoring system

7 January 2008 - Adaptive Wireless Solutions have supplied a wireless sensor network system to Facility Monitoring Systems Ltd as part of a multi-area pharmacy clean room, stores and packing area compliance monitoring solution for a major London NHS hospital. The wireless system was installed in three phases as part of a validated monitoring system by Facility Monitoring Systems Ltd for the pharmacy operations of a major London NHS teaching hospital. The wireless system monitors ambient temperature and humidity and refrigerator temperatures in manufacturing clean room, packing and storage areas. The wireless system is deployed in three physically dispersed areas and each remote wireless system is connected to the class-leading FMS monitoring software using the existing hospital wired Ethernet network. As the demand for monitoring of critical facilities continues to increase, the use of wireless sensor networks is growing due to their ease of installation, flexibility and integration with existing infrastructure allowing customers to quickly and more economically comply with legislation and regulatory requirements. The application specifically takes advantage of some of the key benefits of wireless mesh networks – speed of installation, flexibility in use to accommodate changing requirements in place, lower installed cost due to the battery-powered sensors, easy expansion to accommodate future needs and risk-free coexistence with existing IT and hospital equipment. Facility Monitoring Systems finds that interest in wireless monitoring solutions in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector is increasing all the time with 20% of enquiries currently either specifying wireless or requesting it as an option. Adaptive Wireless Solutions is supplying an increasing number of systems to the Life Sciences and Healthcare sector. ### About Adaptive Wireless Solutions Ltd Adaptive Wireless Solutions Ltd serves the EMEA market for wide to local area wireless sensing networks for use in industrial and commercial applications with a focus on Life Sciences, Healthcare, Data Centres and Energy Monitoring. About Facility Monitoring Systems Ltd Facility Monitoring Systems Ltd is a premier supplier of complete installed and fully supported validated monitoring systems for industrial and commercial clients with a significant track record in Life Sciences and Healthcare applications for government and blue chip companies.

Keeping Data Centres Online

Rooms filled with dozens of servers are often the centre of a battle between IT equipment emitting heat and air conditioners trying to keep temperatures down. To the chagrin of many IT technicians, overworked HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems sometimes simply cannot handle the load, and they have to turn to electric fans as their saving grace or risk equipment damage. Computing equipment suppliers are also increasingly unlikely to honour warranty claims unless the customer can demonstrate operation within the specified parameters. But with a new wireless sensor networking solution from Sensicast Systems Inc., www.sensicast.com, available in the UK from Adaptive Wireless Solutions Ltd., www.adaptive-wireless.co.uk, IT technicians may never have to worry about overheated data centres ever again. The SensiNet Data Center Monitoring solution uses a network of smart wireless sensors to monitor a number of key conditions that have the potential to cause equipment downtime, including temperature, humidity, moisture, airflow, power and chilled water system status. Sensors can be placed on equipment racks, attached to the surface of machinery to measure IT equipment "skin" temperature or probes placed deep within racks themselves to get measurements close to the heart of the problem Wireless sensors can cut installation time by up to 90% and the mesh technology employed means set up and configuration can be accomplished quickly without the need to conduct a site survey.

Also because the sensor nodes are wireless they can be moved around easily to enable differing points to be monitored in an effort to identify trouble spots. This also makes it simple to temporarily monitor new equipment in detail to ensure the installation remains within equipment manufacturers specifications, avoiding problems with equipment failures and warranty claims. All data collected from the sensors is sent directly to in-house or Internet-based software applications to help technicians make time-critical decisions. The system identifies locations that are prone to environmental problems and sends alerts to technicians before the issues causes downtime or damage to equipment. Completing the solution with the class-leading OnCall® data centre monitoring application, available from Adaptive Wireless Solutions Ltd, provides even more advantage for data-centre managers. With powerful exception monitoring, escalation, alerting and messaging and the capability to seamlessly integrate data from SensiNet wireless devices with data from SNMP devices into a complete management system, OnCall® is unrivaled. Companies can track and analyze data centre energy use, crucial data when it comes to implementing energy saving initiatives. What's more, facility managers can link the sensor system with building control automation software to streamline energy management.

Food Processing Industry Resource Efficiency Presentation

10 April 2007 - Nick Baker was an invited speaker at a recent meeting of a resource efficiency club for food processing companies in the north-west of England. Held at the ABB offices in Daresbury, the club is one of several such regional clubs run by the Food Processing Faraday Partnership. It seeks to provide the members with information on topics of agreed interest and business value. Wireless Sensor Networks were agreed to be of great interest at the prior meeting. In the presentation Mr. Baker reviewed the rationale for monitoring, helped delegates understand why the new mesh-type wireless sensor networks are of high value compared with other prior wireless options and presented case studies and application examples including energy monitoring. The presentation was very well received and led to two companies present asking for on-site discussions in the days following the meeting. The presentation may be found in the Application Notes section of this website or click here.

Sensicast releases new SensiNet Services Gateway

28 February 2007 - Sensicast Systems, Inc. released the first production version of their new SensiNet wireless mesh Services Gateway. In comparison with the existing SensiNet Software Gateway this new device offers customers the full power of SensiNet wireless mesh networking without the need for a PC. The Services Gateway also offers a wider range of connectivity options to other systems and software applications including Modbus TCP, ODBC, OPC Server and a web services API. The device runs on an embedded platform and has sufficient processing and data storage resources to support standalone mesh network operation if required. With browser based applications for device configuration and data viewing the Services Gateway extends the potential applications for SensiNet wireless mesh sensor networks into many new areas such as remote facilities as well as making the wireless system faster and easier to install. Adaptive Wireless is the sole UK reseller for Sensicast Systems' products.

Nick Baker joins steering committee of Wireless Sensing Interest Group

27 February 2007 - The Sensors Knowledge Transfer Network of the DTi promotes new technology awareness, transfer into industry and development. Since wireless sensing is a topic of such wide interest to its members the Sensors KTN has formed a Wireless Special Interest Group (WiSIG) to manage that area of its activities. At the most recent meeting of the WiSIG at NPL, attended by well over 30 delegates, the first meeting of the steering committee was held. Nick Baker of Adaptive Wireless Solutions Limited is one of four steering committee members from industry, others coming from academic research groups, NPL and the Sensors KTN. The WiSIG will act as a focal point for all aspects of wireless technology related to sensing for UK industry. If you have input to what the WiSIG should deliver please e-mail sc@wisig.org or contact Nick at Adaptive Wireless.

Facility Monitoring Systems Ltd places order for second phase of hospital pharmacy wireless monitoring project

9 February 2007 - AWSL received an order from FMS Ltd for a 13-point wireless temperature monitoring system for the pharmacy stores and packing area of a major London hospital. FMS completed handover of the first phase in January which also included wireless devices supplied by Adaptive. This second wireless phase will monitor ambient and refrigerator temperatures and will be integrated with the first phase monitoring system, located in a separate area of the hospital. Connectivity between the two areas will be over the hospital Ethernet network and all data will be managed from the central FMS monitoring software. The system is fully compliant with FDA CFR 21 part 11 and MHRA requirements.

Presentation on Wireless Mesh at EU Tissue and Cells Directive Seminar

10 January 2007 - Nick Baker of Adaptive Wireless was an invited speaker at a seminar dealing with Monitoring Requirements and the EU Tissue and Cells Directive. The seminar was hosted by Facility Monitoring Systems Ltd. Focused on the requirements and methods of providing monitoring systems to Assisted Conception and Embryology laboratories, the seminar covered many aspects of appropriate monitoring systems to support and improve compliance reporting and processing outcomes in these labs. Attended by delegates from end-user laboratories, validation companies and NHS trusts the seminar provided a holistic view of the benefits of monitoring systems for compliance and performance improvement and described the value of wireless mesh sensing in meeting these goals.

Order received for Challenging Application at Composting Plant

20 December 2006 - With recycling and efficient management of compostable waste high on the UK agenda the technology being used to meet these challenges is evolving quickly. One innovative company is processing the waste through large rotating drums to achieve the desired results. To ensure proper sterilisation of the finished compost the temperature of the drum contents in the final stage must be monitored continuously and an auditable data set maintained. Many methods had been tried but were unreliable and performed poorly. Following a very successful site trial using SensiNet industrial mesh networking devices the company has ordered a 6-point system to cover the both the rotating sterilising drums and the plant ambient conditions. With faultless data capture performance and reliability, IP66 housings and easy integration into the plant Wonderware monitoring system, the system to be provided by Adaptive Wireless Solutions Ltd exactly meets this company's challenging requirements.

Major National Electricity Infrastructure company orders wireless system

19 December 2006 - Following a very successful short-term on-site performance evaluation at an extensive substation site the largest electricity distribution company in the UK has ordered a wireless mesh monitoring system for an extended site trial. The company has been using some wireless monitoring devices over the last year or so but those products are no longer available. It is hoped, following the anticipated successful conclusion of the one-year trial, that the SensiNet wireless mesh monitoring system will be deployed widely throughout the company's sites. During the trial a number of monitoring applications will be explored focused on remote equipment condition monitoring and asset maintenance and management.

Major National Electricity Generation company orders wireless system

8 December 2006 - Following a very successful short-term on-site performance evaluation at one of their large coal-fired power station sites, a large electricity generation company in the UK has ordered from Adaptive Wireless Solutions Ltd two complete SensiNet wireless mesh monitoring systems for extended site trials. The company has been investigating wireless products for some time but, due to the difficult operating environment with high EMI and very large amounts of metal in equipment and building structures, had not found a solution. Wireless performance on site is known by most of their engineers to be challenging due to the patchy performance of their walkie-talkies. However, during the site evaluation all were impressed with the range and reliability achieved by the SensiNet devices, even when placed next to 500MW alternators and exciters.

Presentation to Seminar on Energy Efficiency in Ovens for the Food Industry

30 November 2006 - Nick Baker of Adaptive Wireless Solutions Limited was an invited speaker at a one-day seminar on Energy Efficiency in Ovens. Hosted by the Food Processing Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) Ovens Special Interest Group, the seminar was well attended by delegates from food company operational management, oven manufacturers and installers and energy management services suppliers. Brainstorming sessions during the day indicated the critical importance of having enough data about oven performance to be able to make the right operational improvement decisions and the increasing concerns about spiralling energy costs. Since many ovens have long life and are not often replaced, many of those in use today have very limited monitoring equipment installed. Wireless mesh sensor networks offer a quick, relatively easy and much less expensive means of retrofitting the desired monitoring. With unparalleled industrial reliability and performance, and IP66 housings, SensiNet wireless monitoring solutions from Adaptive Wireless are a critical tool for the food industry to get to grips with maximising energy efficiency in ovens.

Evaluation system supplied to large oil company

20 October 2007 - In our role as EMEA agents for Sensicast Systems, Inc. Adaptive Wireless Solutions Ltd recently supported the delivery of a substantial SensiNet wireless mesh monitoring system to a large Scandinavian oil company research lab. Part of a wide-ranging multi-year programme to define next generation oil business infrastructure, the evaluation of SensiNet devices in the research facility is being managed by ABB, to whom the devices were supplied.

Presentation on Wireless Mesh Sensor Networks Reliability and Standards

5 October 2007 - Nick Baker was an invited speaker at the quarterly meeting of the Intelligent Sensing Programme of the Sensors Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) meeting at IET headquarters, London. These quarterly meetings offer members of the Sensors KTN and other interested attendees the opportunity to hear about a wide range of topics related to sensing technology. Many companies and organisations considering using wireless sensing have concerns about its reliability, especially for industrial use, and the evolution of protocol standards. Nick's presentation focused on these critical perceived barriers to adoption of wireless mesh sensing technology and demonstrated that there are solutions available in the market now that may be used with confidence. Adaptive Wireless Solutions Limited is EMEA agent and sole UK representative for Sensicast Systems' SensiNet industrial wireless mesh monitoring systems, the most reliable such system for industrial applications. To request a copy of the presentation send an e-mail to info@adaptive-wireless.co.uk or complete the Contact Us form.