IoT Security is a Major Factor

Connecting devices and collecting data to improve efficiency and optimize processes has become table stakes in today's competitive landscape.

by Isabell Berry

Each data access point can increase the security risk and is a huge concern for your IT department. Rightly so, data infractions are not generally good for business. It is essential that organizations vet the security measures that vendors put into place before implementing any systems software or hardware into their premises. 

Evaluating and categorizing the risk of different data sources should always be an integral part of planning. Some obvious examples of high risk data include patient records in a healthcare facility or client info moving through financial institutions. Many organizations segment and isolate those types of information to instantly detect and avoid leaks as well as breaches, but many other types of data can offer vulnerabilities that can be exploited. One of the greatest threats to IoT security is the lack of encryption on regular transmissions. There is a huge amount of data that is being produced, skipping the encryption because of the nature and scope of that data could be a costly mistake. 

IoT data may be lower risk but these systems have the capacity to be a conduit to access other data if they are nor secured. These are 3 other measures that we have seen to ensure IoT implementations maintain security: 

1. Use a stand-alone network that doesn't integrate with other systems at your organization

2. Ensure that all devices are properly identified and catalogued so rogue devices cannot be added without authorization

3. Have access levels assigned to let users be defined as admin vs read only and implement password safety protocols 

Pulse's steam trap monitoring solution has incorporated these security measures and more, at every layer:

• The application layer is protected with an SSL encryption certificate plus user access, user access also can be configured for level and location

• The cloud layer has heavy 3rd party encryption and can only be accessed by Pulse Admin team

• The communication layer is a standalone network that has no access to other organization data. Properties that are supported in LoRaWAN security include mutual authentication, integrity protection and confidentiality. LoRaWAN is one of the few IoT networks implementing end-to-end encryption utilizing AES appkey identifiers.  

• The hardware layer transmits all data with strong encryption and certificates on both ends, employing a unique AES key for each block cipher.

Pulse takes security very seriously, the Pulse solution employs state-of-the-art security protocols. One more reason why Pulse is the trusted steam trap monitoring solution in so many industry-leading organizations throughout North America.   

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CASE STUDY: Hospital Cancels Surgeries

Challenge:

A hospital processes 25,000 medical devices every day. The processing is done by 120 employees and is a key component in reducing the amount of refuse produced by the hospital. It is essential that these instruments are completely free of any contaminates and germs. Steam is considered to be an excellent way to accomplish that but suddenly they noticed staining on some of the trays. 150 operations were cancelled while the cause was investigated.

The process of elimination led to a speedy solution being found.

Solution:

Their PulseView Dashboard quickly ruled out the steam traps and crews could focus on other aspects of the steam system. They were then able to continue to narrow down the cause of the staining, fix it quickly and resume operating procedures.

“They also found failed traps on non-monitored traps and will be adding Pulse onto those as well”

Benefits:

• Time is of the essence when people’s health and well-being are at stake

• The cost of having Pulse monitors on all their traps is extremely insignificant when weighed against the money lost when operations are cancelled

• Patient experience is an important goal for the hospital, they did not want to disappoint patients who may have been waiting for some time for procedures already

• Steam trap monitoring helps maintain steam system health in addition to helping save money and reduce emissions which is an area that hospitals are currently struggling with

• Steam is used to sterilize instruments but also to heat and humidify the hospital itself, it is integral to the functioning of many aspects of the hospital

Download Case Study PDF

Read more on how Pulse helps hospitals make their steam system more efficient, safer and more reliable

Top 10 Concerns for Manufacturing

Manufacturing is going through one of the biggest set of changes since the Industrial Revolution. It can be difficult for organizations to know what to do first.

by Isabell Berry

Manufacturing is experiencing a diverse set of challenges – from supply chain shortages to the push for automation, the manufacturing landscape is looking very different from what it looked like as little as 3 years ago. COVID notably exacerbated some of the issues, but it also exposed some of the gaps and weaknesses that had been allowed to proliferate in a sector that is historically reluctant to embrace change. The reality is, if companies in North America want to be competitive in a global market, they need to have a focus on modernization and be willing to invest in technology and infrastructure. They need to put aside their inherent distrust of AI and allot time and money into projects and training.

We have spent a great deal of time reading and talking to a variety of people about what this top 10 list should consist of, from executives to plant managers, consultants and engineers. Without further ado here is the list we came up with:

Top 10 Concerns of Manufacturing Companies in 2023

1. Workforce availability

2. Controlling Costs (esp. energy and taxes)

3. Capital availability

4. Project management/deployment

5. Automation and cyber security

6. Increasing production levels

7. Fluctuating economic and supply chain conditions

8. Worker and product safety

9. Competition and globalization

10. Sustainability

And this doesn’t just apply to manufacturing, these concerns are also valid for other businesses that have a brick and mortar presence. We are happy to see that sustainability made the list, we predict that it will continue to move up as we get closer and closer to legislative deadlines.

Workforce challenges is an interesting one, whether it started or continued with COVID, the reality is that everyone is struggling to find enough people to work, and work life balance is no longer just a perk. Automation helped, it has reduced teams slightly and made work more interesting and safe for the rest. Now the next phase of automation is having its’ time. AI, machine learning and data analytics are the icing on the automation cake.

Controlling costs is not new, but energy costs have never been as big a concern, and now there are new taxes and fines which are narrowing margins to a very difficult degree.

Capital availability has diminished as well, many investors and financial institutions are taking an extremely conservative position due to the current economic climate. Domestically interest rates and debt has decreased consumer spending significantly. Globally we see political unrest and economic crises cultivating unprecedented volatility.

Project Management and deployment is really a sub set of workforce shortages and training issues. With more and more demands on time projects are reluctantly being scheduled with very little room for error or unexpected delays. Then that project ends up pushing the next one and so on.

67% of companies currently use automation for repeatable and/or dangerous tasks. We were a tiny bit shocked at that number, we actually thought it would be much higher than that. Demand is causing production expectations to exceed capacity everywhere. Combine that with fluctuating supply chain conditions and you have a steam cooker of stress waiting to blow (pardon the steam pun).

Worker and product safety sometimes takes a back seat when there are so many competing demands to deliver on. The financial reality is that workplace accidents cost a lot. They cost money in workers compensation as they recover, they cost productivity as someone else has to fill in for the injured worker and often is slower at doing that job, organizational insurance costs go up, and it impacts morale and retention rates.

Competition is always a factor of concern, but now it impacts even more. If you can’t keep up to and exceed your competition in speed of delivery, reliability, quality, customer service and price you can quickly find yourself falling further and further behind as news travels quickly and a reputation can be lost in a matter of light speed. Investing in sustainability measures makes organizations more competitive here and around the world.

And then when you are finally feeling like you have things in hand, you get thrown the goal of sustainability. Make more, make it for less money, but make it faster and better, plus using less energy and made out of recycled, ethically sourced, biodegradable products. Sure.

Let me quickly synopsize how we can help with each of these concerns:

1. Workforce - Pulse’s steam trap monitors don’t need to be checked, data is sent automatically to the gateway and the dashboard and alerts sent to users via email. And as an extra note, their accuracy better even than manual testing as the AI engine can analyze each trap based on its unique data profile which varies depending on many factors.

2. Controlling costs – our solution can save tens or even hundreds of thousands in energy costs, carbon taxes and fines

3. Capital – our solution is the most cost effective one on the market today, we even have a pilot program that can be implemented for less than 4k

4. Deployment – our solution can be installed in a matter of hours by inhouse staff or our expert installers

5. Automation – our solution can be integrated with other analytics or stand alone

6. Production – the pulse solution decreases down time significantly

7. Fluctuating supply chain – our products are made right here in NA so you don't need to be concerned about global shortages

8. Safety – not only will pulse monitors protect workers from dangerous closed failure situations, but by eliminating annual inspection necessity you don’t risk worker who need to access traps which may be in hazardous locations

9. Competition and Globalization – investing in sustainability measures makes organizations more competitive here and around the world. Plus having fully functioning steam traps saves you downtime and reduces costs which will enable you to be more competitive

10. Sustainability – repairing failed steam traps quickly allows companies to significantly reduce their energy consumption and emissions

That was fun, We look forward to the next top ten list!

To see how Pulse can save you money click here for a demo