Ewon Netbiter and Argos: A tailor-made solution for PowerGen rental equipment companies

 

How do you keep track of machinery without visiting it every day? This was the question Express Engineering was asked a few years ago. Based in Dubai, the company specializes in the rental of power generators in the Middle East. These are often installed in locations that are both isolated and difficult to access. 


To remotely connect to its machines, and securely exchange data over the Internet, providing remote status, and performance monitoring, Express Engineering decided to use the Netbiter solution developed by Ewon® by HMS Networks. This collaboration has been going on for over 15 years, and the company is now using the latest EC310 communication gateway. 

Secure connection of vital isolated equipment

The equipment to be monitored includes the gensets and their fuel resources, but can also include other systems, such as the fire and intrusion alarm systems and air conditioning (AC) units.


It is therefore essential, even vital, to ensure that equipment is operating optimally, and to be able to intervene immediately if necessary.

 

Remote access monitoring is the best way to avoid disaster. If a parameter goes out of range, we can immediately stop the equipment running.

Anand Raghavan, Product Manager at Express Engineering.

Up to 50 simultaneously monitored parameters

"50 parameters can be monitored simultaneously, including fuel level, cooling water, and energy consumption," explains Anand Raghavan, Project Manager at Express Engineering.

"We install the Ewon Netbiter and program it according to the client’s data structure requirements. Because of the limitations of cable-free communications, a site is limited in size and is likely to involve no more than three generators." This is a perfect application for an Ewon Netbiter.

 

A global solution to meet the specific needs of the industrial market

Ewon Netbiter works with Argos cloud platform: the gateway links to the equipment, acquires the data, and communicates it to the remote server, where it is collected and stored. 


Secure access is provided via a customized online dashboard. The data can then be used for optimizing the purchase of consumables and initiating condition monitoring and preventive maintenance regimes.

 

A futureproof solution

 

Anand Raghavan wants to extend what can be achieved with remote monitoring and inspection and is also preparing for changes in the generators themselves. This will be no problem for the Netbiter where changes can be made in the Argos cloud and then pushed out to the remote sites as needed. 


"By the end of the decade, we expect the availability of diesel to be difficult, so we expect to be moving to other energy resources. I expect us to have transitioned from diesel to natural gas, and we are already signing contracts with suppliers, and we will soon have a prototype gas engine."
This change of era will pose no problem. Netbiter can be easily reconfigured to monitor the pressure of the gas level in the tanks rather than the diesel level.

More about Express Engineering

Based on the Dubai Investment Park and established over 30 years ago, Express Engineering specialises in diesel generators and air compressors, and is an agent for market-leading brands in the UAE and Qatar. 


With certification to ISO 9001 and fully supported by factory trained engineers and technicians, Express Engineering specializes in sales, rental, maintenance, service, and repair of diesel generators ranging from 5 to 2500kVA. 

By the end of the decade, we expect to see a transition from diesel to natural gas. All we need to do is change the KPIs monitored by our Netbiter gateways.

Anand Raghavan, Product Manager at Express Engineering

 

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