Banner Engineering Now Offering Industrial Cloud Data Services

Banner Engineering is well-known around the world for their automation components. Their product line includes simple sensors, vision systems, and safety devices. Now, in addition to their products, Banner is offering their new Cloud Data Services (CDS) software, a web-based platform for collecting and storing data, along with user monitoring, audit trails, and event and scheduled alerts. 

The new CDS software pairs well with wireless and Snap Signal products from Banner. Image used courtesy of Banner Engineering

Cloud Data Management Services 

The automation world is pushing hard to store and view data in a cloud-based system, but this often requires top-notch security and capital investment from the IT and OT departments. Banner hopes to alleviate this cost with their CDS software.

The CDS offered by Banner is designed to work with their wireless and Snap Signal products. Some of the wireless components are tank-level monitoring sensors, temperature and humidity monitoring, and vibration monitoring. These types of sensors are typically installed in remote locations and connect to a wireless network so that their values can be transmitted without costly cable installations.

The Snap Signal product family is a collection of products that facilitate connecting various industrial networks and sensors to an IIoT data collection system. The CDS software offered by Banner is designed with these components in mind, allowing quick and easy integration of data points into a web-based environment. 

Banner’s CDS software goes beyond being a dashboard. Image used courtesy of Banner Engineering

More Than Just a Dashboard

Some data viewing software is merely just a dashboard—there are no tools that can store or export data and no alerts or status monitoring. A dashboard is a great way to take a live snapshot of your system to determine if the system is running efficiently or not. By adding export tools, managers and engineers can process the data on their own time.

The CDS platform not only includes storing and exporting tools, but also the ability to monitor users and create audit trails. The CDS platform also has the ability to schedule events and notifications through email or SMS. Setting up SMS or email alerts to the right people when equipment is down reduces downtime and increases production. 

By using their CDS, Banner hopes to reduce costs associated with IIoT solutions. Image used courtesy of Banner Engineering

Packaged IIoT Solution?

IIoT is a broad term that is used quite often today in reference to collecting data, manipulating devices from a remote location, and digitally simulating processes using a digital twin. Collecting and displaying data is only one portion of the IIoT definition, but it is usually where most factories start. Adding an IIoT solution to any factory can be costly and involve many departments, but Banner hopes to reduce these costs and department involvement with their CDS software.