News & Knowledge

We’re your source for automation news. Keep up with the latest industry updates and E Tech employee spotlights, as well as tips and guidance from our manufacturing experts.

Keeping a Distribution Warehouse’s IT/OT Networks Current and Out of Obsolescence

A material handling company wanted their network integrated and optimized. Our automation engineers documented and assessed the client’s IT/OT Infrastructure to help identify critical components near obsolescence or end of life.

The Project: Present the Best Project Design for an IT/OT Overhaul

A large material handling client saw an opportunity for IT/OT convergence, a need to identify vulnerabilities, potential obsolescence, and wanted to push for network optimization. Because we have a good working relationship with this client, we were immediately one of the integrators considered to do the work and the request for a bid was sent over.

The Challenge: Impress the Client, Win the Multi-Facility Bid

E Tech Group, along with another vendor were given the opportunity to perform an initial assessment and based on the results would determine who was awarded this project. If awarded, E Tech Group engineers would be responsible for walking all 32 of their facilities to assess their IT and OT networks while compiling a list of requested data presented in their proposal.

The Solution: End-To-End IT/OT Analysis & Boots on the Ground

To begin, their IT provided our team documentation around program files for PLCs, HMIs, Drives and we were granted Visios to view network topology. We then requested and were given some network access using different protocols to show where their PLCs, HMIs and Drives were connected on their IT network so they could see deeper into their topology rather than just where their IT switches were.

Once this information was gathered, compiled and returned, it was time to walk the site. We began by utilizing an app that was reworked to help us gather and consolidate the data required for the assessment. Our engineers went panel by panel collecting the requested data and pictures.

From there, it was all entered into the app and allowed us to produce a spreadsheet helping facilitate the build of the first asset database. It then took us a couple of weeks to organize everything into usable data that would allow them to identify the lifecycle of all at risk items that might soon fall into obsolescence and would require optimization or need to be replaced.

The Results: An IT/OT Revamp Across Dozens of Facilities

Utilizing the report provided by our team, the customer liked the work we had and done and decided to have us alone move forward in walking their remaining facilities to compile the same kind of assessment.

Learn more about IT/OT assessments: the process, the benefits and how E Tech Group can be your partner through it all!

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Begin Your Journey to Industry 4.0

Download our Beginner’s Guide to IT/OT Assessments to gain an understanding of what an IT/OT Assessment is, its benefits, and how to get started today.

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| July 22, 2022

IIoT Grows Up, Users Ramp Up

At its root, IIoT is about getting data from sensors, instruments and other production devices to the Internet for analysis and consumption by wider circles of users—and getting analytics results back to the line. This data can be used to monitor, control and optimize automated processes, and has gained rapid traction in a variety of sectors, including: There are countless applications and benefits associated with the adoption of IIot, but the novelty has proved an obstacle in implementing these networks. What the Automation Experts are Saying About IIoT Luckily, these tasks are getting easier as users get more familiar with implementing IIoT in their processes and plant, according to Alan Maxwell, VP of the Process Industries Division at E Tech Group, an automation system integrator based in West Chester Township, Ohio and certified member of the Control System Integrators Association. “It’s getting easier for us to connect sensors and acquire signals using software like Kepware that’s part of PTC and Wonderware System Platform that’s part of Aveva, and network via OPC UA and MQTT Sparkplug protocols via Skkynet’s DataHub,” says Maxwell. “This lets them integrate third-party IoT solutions like Oden Technologies’ software for specific industries to help run analytics in cloud-based applications and improve production lines.” Stephen Veldhuis, CTO at E Tech Group, adds: “Five years ago, IIoT was a lot newer, and everyone was doing it differently. So, we evaluated the viability of IIoT and found wireless sensors and edge computing could reduce constructability time and labor, but little standardization of protocols and limited device life due to power consumption resulted in few viable cases for implementation. However, IIoT continued to evolve, mature and add new capabilities. Now, we find more workable use cases, driving adoption.” Customizing a Control System in Chicago For instance, Maxwell reports that E Tech Group’s Advanced Software … Continued

| July 20, 2022

What is the IT/OT Assessment Process?

In today’s increasingly interconnected world, it is more important than ever to ensure that your IT and OT systems are secure and reliable. The results of an IT/OT assessment can help you identify and prioritize any security risks that need to be addressed. The assessment can also help you develop a plan to improve the security of your IT and OT systems, and identify areas for operational improvement, such as bottlenecks and inefficiencies. How does an IT/OT Assessment work? What is the process? How does E Tech Group manage the process? And how do we break it down into an easy 1, 2, 3 process? Step 1: One-to-two-day site visit photographing and documenting all panels and line OT assets – regardless of manufacturer – and running a facility IT network scan. Step 2: Collect, analyze, and grade all IT and OT Assets for security vulnerability & obsolescence. Information presented back in an interactive Asset workbook and comprehensive written report. Step 3: Client meetings with management and operations to review the data and discuss remediation plans. An IT/OT Assessment can prove an invaluable tool for a company facing operational difficulties, security breaches, or reliability in their automated processes. By understanding what’s right in your IT and OT systems – and what’s not – you gain the tools necessary for us to create a secure, custom automation system for your current and future needs. Learn more about IT/OT Assessments: the process, the benefits and how E Tech Group can be your partner through it all!

| May 19, 2022

Questions answered: What is just enough industrial data analysis?

Director of Business Development, Laurie Cavanaugh presented a webcast for Control Engineering on Data Analysis with Matt Ruth of Avanceon. Below are a few participant questions and answers from the webcast. Who is typically the driving force to engage on analytics in a manufacturing plant? A top-down approach to data analytics is typically driven by corporate and involves corporate IT and the use of accessible data in the form of financials and some operational data that has been consolidated (transactional data) based on enterprise resource planning (ERP) and business intelligence software. A bottom-up approach is typically driven by manufacturing departments or sites and starts with granular detail (time-series data) using historian databases and extraction tools offered by automation and controls manufacturers. Where true value and insight can be experienced is in the convergence of these two analytics’ efforts to connect the corporate financial and operational data with the more granular process execution data to provide a more thorough and holistic view of key factors that drive organizational decisions from top to bottom. What do you see as the future of analytics in manufacturing? The future is now. User expectations and demand for contextualized and intelligent information, driven by the tools used outside of the workplace, are countering old excuses or reasons for the failure to deliver fact-based analytics, directed decision making, and immediate access to critical information. Technical tools and platforms are not lacking. What is lagging is the complete understanding and response to the non-technical bottlenecks and barriers. Greater awareness of how analytics applies to processes and proper context for critical decision factors produce the value that addresses those non-technical barriers. Do you realistically see the wall between information technology (IT) and OT disappearing? The IT/OT wall or divergence must be overcome for the sake of shared responsibility: the … Continued