If you build machines for manufacturers or are in charge of operations at a manufacturing organization, saving time is an important way to stay ahead of the competition.

One of the best parts of the Belden Industrial Ethernet Infrastructure Design Seminar, held last week in Chicago, was the lively presentation given by two of Belden and Tripwire’s top experts on industrial cybersecurity:

The Belden Design Seminar is happening this week and a highlight of the first day was Jeff Lund’s session on “What’s Trending with the Industrial Internet of Things." Jeff’s background is strong in the area of embedded networking products and he brought this expertise forward with straight talk on what industrial engineers and technicians need to know about the IIoT.

Industrial wireless is being used to improve availability and reduce costs in a wide variety of applications. For example, a large coal preparation facility uses a tablet application for mobile ICS system monitoring and troubleshooting.

What will industrial production and automation systems look like 10, 20 and 50 years from now? What do I need to understand about the communications requirements of the factory of the future to guide my planning today? Part of the vision of the Smart Factory of the Future / Industrial Internet of Things is that all relevant data will be available in real-time, leading to faster and smarter decisions. This in turn will lead to the design of more flexible and efficient processes.