Byond is a company specialized in connected sensing and automation systems (IoT). It offers industrial IoT ecosystems for traceability and monitoring of products, assets, processes and people using technologies such as rfid and bluetooth. With seven years of existence, for two years working in a dedicated way to the industry, it has won important clients such as Gerdau, ArcelorMittal, Schulz, Tenaris, and recently Anglo American.

Site: Byond
Ciclo 01 – M-START
Mineradora madrinha: Anglo American

Challenge

The M-Start Program presented the challenge “Intelligent Access”. How to make effective the control and monitoring of people inside industrial plants carrying out critical activities and how to prevent improper access due to lack of credentials or authorizations? Therefore, how to make the operation safer, reduce the occurrence of accidents, delays and control failures?

Solution

Byond established a wireless data network (IoT) and installed checkpoints in places of interest, capable of identifying the presence or passing of smart badges. 60 BLE badges were distributed to employees and third parties.
An online software was also developed to manage access credentials, issued by the areas of interest (medical, training, operational area, etc.) and a monitoring system that receives the location information of the badges through the checkpoints and validates if the person has sufficient and updated (credential) authorizations for the activity or location in question.
Irregular accesses send alerts in real time to the occupational safety area through a monitoring dashboard, but can also send self-response responses to prevent access. (Ex .: locking the substation access door, preventing the connection of an overhead crane, etc.)

Results

The wireless data network proved to be reliable and efficient in the industrial environment and with few gateways it was possible to cover the 7 use cases defined for PoC. During the 30-day period (trial), the 60 badges used by employees and third parties in a real work situation were monitored and failures in the registration of tickets through the checkpoints were not identified. The solution remains installed and will begin the pilot phase of adoption, expanding coverage to new points of interest and approximately 2,000 employees and third parties.
The developed solution has as main advantages:
1. Simplicity and low cost of installing wireless sensors, allowing rapid scalability for complete adoption;
2. High equipment robustness, reliability and range of the wireless network and long battery life of BLE badges;
3. High evolution capacity due to the addition of sensors to the IoT network and the construction of new control software integrated with the Byond GO platform.

The team

Byond engineers have more than 10 years of practical experience with IoT technologies and online software development applied to the industrial and logistical environment. We are a multidisciplinary team and capable of making end-to-end deliveries, from the selection and supply of hardware, to the development of software and integration with legacy systems. We are focused on delivering value to customers, and we understand that technology is an enabler of digital transformation.