Wireless Condition Monitoring for Remote Sites: Cutting the Cost of Cable

Wireless condition monitoring exists because running communication cable across a remote
Australian site is expensive, slow and fragile. The trench is only part of the cost: survey, civil
work, reinstatement, lightning and surge exposure, and the inevitable repair when a vehicle or a
wall of dirt finds the run.

For the assets that sit beyond the reach of your existing network, the cabling line item is
often the reason monitoring never happens at all.

What wireless condition monitoring changes

Rugged wireless sensors remove the cable from the equation. They transmit long-range telemetry
through heat, dust and vibration, and connect into existing control systems so that data arrives
where decisions are made — without trenching and without a power run to the asset.

What to hold a wireless deployment to

• Deployment cost. Eliminating trenching typically cuts deployment cost by up
  to seventy per cent.
• Battery life. Five years and beyond on standard internal lithium cells is the
  bar, otherwise maintenance becomes the new cabling.
• Environmental rating. IP68 heavy-duty enclosures and wide-temperature
  components, because the asset is outdoors in summer and the enclosure is not climate
  controlled.
• Range. LoRaWAN or NB-IoT, selected for the actual site topology rather than
  by habit — up to ten kilometres line of sight where the site allows it.
• Data integrity. Local buffering, so a temporary network dropout does not
  leave a permanent hole in the record.

Choosing a radio without creating a second problem

Wireless choice has a maintenance consequence. LoRaWAN suits sites that already run, or are
willing to run, their own gateway infrastructure and want full control of the data path. NB-IoT
suits remote or off-grid assets where carrier coverage exists and the priority is zero
infrastructure. Many sites use both.

Ultra-low-power firmware is what makes either option viable — ten years of life on
standard cells is achievable when the radio duty cycle is designed rather than defaulted.

Where to apply wireless condition monitoring

S5 System’s wireless platforms cover rotating equipment
(RotaMon), wear detection
(WearMon), ground engaging tools
(GETsmart) and structural joints
(BoltWatch). Deployment patterns differ by industry
— see mining and resources,
agriculture and agtech and
infrastructure and utilities.

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Cross-published from the S5 System LinkedIn stream. Follow us on
LinkedIn for the original post.

Talk to S5 System about your site

S5 System designs and manufactures ultra-low-power industrial IoT sensors —
RotaMon (rotating equipment),
WearMon (wear detection),
GETsmart (ground engaging tools) and
BoltWatch (bolt tension) —
for mining, agriculture, infrastructure and utilities.

Discuss your IoT monitoring project —
book a call.