1

A REPORT

ON

IoT DEPLOYMENT IN THE CEMENT INDUSTRY

BY

NANDITA SURESH KAMATH – 2018B4A20868P

AT

ULTRA TECH CEMENT

(A Practice School I station)

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

(June, 2020)
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A REPORT

ON

IoT DEPLOYMENT INTHE CEMENT INDUSTRY

BY

NANDITA SURESH KAMATH – 2018B4A20868P (B.E CIVIL + MSC.

MATHEMATICS)

Prepared in partial fulfilment of the

Practice School Course No.

AT

ULTRA TECH CEMENT

(A Practice School I station)

AT

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

(June, 2020)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my deepest appreciation to all those who provided me the possibility to
complete this report.  

A special gratitude I give to our college Instructor, Sujith Sir, whose contribution in stimulating
suggestions and encouraging me to take on this new topic, helped me to coordinate my project
especially in writing this report.

Furthermore I would also like to acknowledge with much appreciation the crucial role of our
industry mentor, Mr. Kishore Mandavia, who gave the permission to go ahead with this topic and
provided me with extra knowledge, resources and the necessary materials to complete this
project.
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BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE, PILANI, RAJASTHAN

PRACTICE SCHOOL DIVISION I

Station – Ultra Tech Cement

Duration – 6 weeks

Date of Start – 18/05/2020

Date of Submission – 7/06/2020

Title of the project – IoT DEPLOYMENT IN THE CEMENT INDUSTRY

Name – NANDITA SURESH KAMATH – 2018B4A20868P

ID no. – 2018B4A20868P

Name of PS faculty – Sujith Sir

Signature of student: Signature of instructor:

Date: Date:
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

SL NO. TOPIC/SUB-TOPIC PAGE

NUMBER

1. INTRODUCTION 6

2. CONDITION MONITORING 8

3. APPLICATIONS OF CONDITION MONITORING 8

4. CONDITION MONITORING TECHNIQUES THAT CAN 10

BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE CEMENT INDUSTRY

5. BENEFITS OF CONDITION MONITORIN 15

6. DIGITISATION AT RAWAN CEMENT PLANT 17

7. SAP HANA CLOUD PLATFORM 20

8. SAP HANA CLOUD PLATFORM: CEMENT INDUSTRY 23

9. CONCLUSION 24

10. BIBLIOGRAPHY 25

INTRODUCTION
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The Internet of things is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital

machines provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without
requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

This technology was first developed in early 1982 for a modified Coke machine at Carnegie
Mellon University to invent the first Internet-connected appliance that could report the inventory
and quality of drinks served.

In 1994 Reza Raji explained the idea of IoT as ‘small packets of data to a large set of nodes, so
as to integrate and automate everything from home appliances to entire factories’. Using this
concept many companies proposed various solutions like Microsoft’s at Work, Novell’s Nest ot
Bill Joy’s Device to Device communication in 1999.

The thought of Internet of Things first became well known when Kevin Ashton first used the
term while working at Auto-ID labs on near field communication, barcode scanners, QR code
scanners and digital watermarking are the various devices.

The versatility of IoT has become very popular in recent years. There are many advantages to
having a device based on IoT. And its applications are available in the market in different areas
such as personal home automation system, transport, energy management, medical and health
care, large scale deployment and so on.

In the scope of this project, the use of Industrial IoT in cement factories has been explored.

The Industrial IoT is enabled by technologies such as cybersecurity, cloud computing, edge

computing, mobile technologies, machine-to-machine, 3D printing, advanced robotics, big
data, internet of things, RFID technology, and cognitive computing. Five of the most important
ones are;

1. Cyber-physical systems (CPS): the basic technology platform for IoT and IIoT that helps
connect physical machines. CPS integrates the dynamics of the physical process with those of
software and communication, providing abstractions and modeling, design, and analysis
techniques.
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2. Cloud computing: With cloud computing IT services and resources can be uploaded to
and retrieved from the Internet as opposed to direct connection to a server. Files can be kept on
cloud-based storage systems rather than on local storage devices.

3. Edge computing: A distributed computing paradigm which brings computer data

storage closer to the location where it is needed. In contrast to cloud computing, edge computing
refers to decentralized data processing at the edge of the network.

4. Data analytics: Big data analytics is the process of examining large and varied data sets,
or big data.

5. Artificial intelligence and machine learning: Artificial intelligence (AI) is a field within

computer science in which intelligent machines are created that work and react like
humans. Machine learning is a core part of AI, allowing software to more accurately predict
outcomes without explicitly being programmed.

IIoT systems are often conceived as a modular architecture of digital technology with 4 different
layers:

Content layer User interface devices (e.g. screens, tablets, smart glasses)

Service layer Applications, software to analyze data and transform it into information
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Network layer Communications protocols, wifi, cloud computing

Device layer Hardware: CPS, machines, sensors

CONTENT

CONDITION MONITORING:
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Condition monitoring is a relatively new approach to predictive equipment maintenance and

quality checking. To detect technical issues with a particular aspect of a machine’s functionality,
technicians need to have precise measuring devices and powerful means to store data. With a
powerful condition monitoring system, gathering and analysing massive amounts of information
has become much easier. IoT has addressed this need.

Condition monitoring is the process of controlling specific parameters of a machine to detect

possible technical issues before it leads to noticeable damage. By tracking the temperature or
vibration of machine details, it’s possible to detect a potential technology failure and repair it
immediately. The data is communicated via devices connected by the Internet of Things.

Typically, IoT monitoring is applied to the most fragile components of the machinery such as,
rotating parts, combustion equipment, engines, and pumps. These are typically the crucial and
dynamic elements of the construction that are expected to wear down faster. Often, these are also
the key parts of the machinery, on which the functionality of the hardware depends the most.
damaging them would have long-term consequences.

APPLICATIONS OF CONDITION MONITORING:

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The list of CM methods is extensive, due to the versatility of the industries in which it’s applied.
Various fields make use of different instruments and work with various settings, and these needs
require specific approaches. This method is useful in all fields that interact with machines and
technology. It’s often used in innovative fields where the cost of repair would be unreasonably
high due to the innovative nature of the machinery. In any industry, where dealing with damage
is more expensive than investing in predicting it, conditions monitoring is a must. Given below is
a brief understanding of how it's used in different industries:

1. Green energy - International organizations are actively investing in moving away from
fossil fuel energy production and focusing on developing sustainable and potentially cheaper
solutions. Solar, hydroelectric, and wind energy machinery are expensive, so replacing a broken
part is much cheaper than purchasing the entire piece of complex technology again. 

2. Food Production - Food products are sensitive to their storage conditions. the
maintenance cost comprises 20% of overall production expenses. Even little variations of
humidity temperature, hygiene, or vibration can increase the risk of food contamination or lead
to product waste. 

3. Oil Companies - Technical issues with oil and gas production and refining equipment
result in huge environmental and financial damage. This is why using IoT sensors for oil and
gas machinery and integrating predictive maintenance is a must in this industry. Engineers have
to check the reliability of generators, compressors, turbines, and motors and analyze their
performance with smart analytics. Smart condition monitoring solutions can predict these
challenges and offer ways of optimization. 
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4. Military - Repairing damaged military equipment is expensive and potentially dangerous.

If an armoured vehicle fails during the operation, the financial and human cost of this error can
be of a catastrophic extent. To prevent high-performance equipment from unexpected failures,
military engineers monitor the machinery and invest in automated technology that can analyse
the conditions of the machinery parts remotely during an operation.

5. Transport - Accidents, delays, and unfavourable weather conditions can inflict huge
damage on transportation and bring associated costs. Condition systems can track the variations
of the machine’s performance in unexpected circumstances and alert providers about possible
damages. Moreover, they can use weather forecasts and predictive analytics to foresee possible
surprises and assist the teams in preparing the vehicles

CONDITION MONITORING TECHNIQUES THAT CAN BE

IMPLEMENTED IN THE CEMENT INDUSTRY:
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When we look at the industrial growth of any country, one of the key factors that indicate the
growth is the cement production. Cement has stood tests of geography, climate and others in its
usage over decades. Its application can be seen everywhere, for example residential buildings,
government offices, roads, dams etc. The aggressive and harsh cement plant conditions need a
good support from field instruments in order to ensure the 24x7 working of the plant. The life of
the plant & it’s efficiency largely depend on the condition monitoring of the equipment, so that
early warning of deterioration, malfunctioning or damage can be sought and a corrective action
be taken. Given below are a list of techniques suitable for PREDICTIVE MAINTENACE AND
QUALITY ANALYSIS in this demanding industry.

1. Vibration monitoring and analysis:

This is a type of monitoring that’s usually applied to rotating machinery. Technicians place
electric transducers-sensors that can be connected to an IoT device and check a part’s velocity,
acceleration, or displacement by analysing electrical inputs and outputs.

Selecting the best accelerometer or vibration sensor for kiln drives, crushers, screens,

conveyor belts, raw mills, elevators, separators and blowers, depends Availability of the plant,
Cost of breakdown, Criticality of the machine/impact on the production process, Access to
machine, guarding, health and safety implications and other Environmental factors

After the vibration data is successfully collected, the software analyses the vibration velocity and
indicates the condition of the detail. Further, the team may perform frequency analysis and
compare the spectrum with the data from a well-functioning machine.

Ultimately, the software or team makes a comparative analysis and determines how much
vibration can detail or a machine undergo without being damaged. The vibration threshold is set.
If the levels of vibrations are higher than allowed, the equipment is either automatically shut
down or switched to a less intense working mode.
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In the cement industry, almost all the processes utilise machines with rotating parts like fans,
motors, blowers etc. that need attention, because overall efficiency of the cement making process
lies with efficient operations of these rotating machines. Hence, Vibration Monitoring is essential
for improving operational efficiency & uptime of machines.

2. Debris monitoring and analysis:

The debris monitoring is usually used in machinery that deals with oil, fluid and powdery
substances. There are several techniques for performing such an analysis. The oldest one requires
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the use of a magnetic plug for ferromagnetic debris detection. The magnet collects the debris
particle, and the team can collect them from the plug and examine them carefully.

The debris analysis can also be performed with electrical methods for particles that are charged.
Metallic particles indicate the number of particles in the fluid by attracting the debris to the
electrodes. The electrode is taken out and the collected debris is analysed. Debris can also be
analysed with filters and cartridges for particles of different size. As soon as the filter becomes
clogged with debris, the team receives an alert.

All these methods can be automated by using IoT sensors. Magnets, filters, and electrodes can be
connected to the IoT device and transmit data in real-time, alerting the team on when it’s time to
take the detectors out and proceed with the analysis.

In the cement industry this method is implemented on machines that heavily deal with cement
and its by-products. One such equipment is the clinker hammer crusher that is used to grind
clinker, the main product of cement kilns. The bearings used in the clinker crusher are spherical
roller bearings. These bearings are lubricated with a lithium complex thickened grease with a
synthetic base oil designed for high-temperature applications. A grease sample to analyse wear
debris is taken to assess the wear severity levels due to of high metal-to-metal contact and high
frictional temperature

3. Thermal imaging:

If the equipment emits heat and infrared radiation, its quantity and quality can be analysed to
provide information on the overall machine’s productivity. The IR conditions are examined
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normal conditions from a healthy machine. The, the machine is put in stressful conditions of high
temperature, trying to predict its behaviour in unexpected situations.

The method determines hot and cold spots in a machine. Areas that are too heated are likely to
go out of order faster and may indicate uneven heat distribution. The cold parts, on the other
hand, can be affected by water and may indicate a leakage.

In the cement factory, this machine is used to monitor narrow pipes and smaller parts of
machines that cannot withstand immense heat from the coal. Kiln operators and managers rely
on accurate temperature data from the kiln to detect hotspots and prevent catastrophic kiln
failures. Thermal camera-based kiln monitoring systems that are connected to IoT devices are an
increasingly popular tool which can help to reduce maintenance costs.

4. Acoustic emission (AE):

Acoustic emission is the phenomenon of radiation of acoustic or elastic waves in solids that
occurs when a material undergoes irreversible changes in its internal structure, for example as a
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result of crack formation or plastic deformation due to aging, temperature gradients or external
mechanical forces.

This method is used to analyse the moving parts of the equipment to see if there is any
unnecessary friction between the details and the material. If the moving surfaces enter
unnecessary contact, it will lead to lost energy and cause the details to wear out. Acoustic
emission directs the waves that appear from contact with a surface.

Acoustic emission is a technique of online machine monitoring that requires the machine to be in
the active state and transmits data to a server in real-time. It’s used for rotating and non-rotating
surfaces and detects the machine’s levels of activity. The most active areas are the most
vulnerable ones. The team detects these zones and knows what issues to prioritize.

In the cement industry, this method is used on huge machines like mills and grinders where huge
amounts of heavy raw materials are loaded, making a small fault difficult to detect.

BENEFITS OF CONDITION MONITORING:

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Condition monitoring allows avoiding potential equipment damage by analysing the most
vulnerable areas, allowing teams to tend to these issues in time. This has a huge impact on
productivity and end-product quality.

1. Decreasing maintenance expenses - Facing system and machine damage is expensive

because the productivity of the entire unit or factory can end up jeopardized. Detecting internal
machine issues on time can prevent this damage. Condition monitoring eradicates the approach
of fixing things as they break, and re-directs efforts to predictive maintenance based on smart
analytics and advanced technology. Teams can deal with damage on their terms, minimizing the
losses and planning the repair work.
2. Maximizing production output - Faulty machinery reduces the team’s productivity,
preventing employees from fulfilling their work tasks. This stalls the production progress and
requires the companies to pay for unproductive hours since workers can’t necessarily be held
responsible for these technical issues. IoT based condition monitoring helps to avoid these work
interruptions and increases production volumes.
3. Prolonging the lifespan of the equipment - It’s important to note that machines are rarely
broken fully, usually, there are a lot of well-functioning parts. It would be a waste to replace an
entire asset when in reality, only 2-3 details need to be serviced. Condition monitoring allows us
to fix broken machinery instead of replacing it. Business owners don’t have to buy an entirely
new machine, instead, they identify the problematic areas in the existing ones and tend to their
issues one by one.
4. Planning smart maintenance - Owners, engineers, and technicians can maximize their
productivity by synchronizing their maintenance schedules. Instead of working chaotically to
repair an urgently broken machine, they can detect the damage beforehand and allocate work in a
smart way that doesn’t prohibit the team from tending to other priorities.

5. Preserving safety - Industrial, transport, military, and other accidents harm not only
people who are directly related to the equipment, but also habitants of nearby territories. Also,
grave malfunctions usually lead to serious environmental disasters. One such incident can lead to
serious legal and financial consequences, or even stop the production altogether. Condition
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monitoring allows detecting potentially dangerous pieces of machinery before they cause a
catastrophe.

DIGITISATION AT RAWAN CEMENT PLANT:

The Rawan Cement Factory currently employs SAP ERP which is an enterprise resource
planning software that is used for maintenance planning and quality checks.
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Presently, they are using the SAP system for collecting data on the performance of the machines
and scheduling maintenance checks accordingly.

The maintenance strategy used for equipment inspection is operating the machinery under
different conditions. Once with tools and another time without tools. The machines are also
examined in a dead state with and without functional tools. 

In Sap, the Maintenance planning component is integrated with different components of other
modules and subcomponents in Plant Maintenance −

 Maintenance task lists

 Maintenance orders

 Maintenance notifications

 Work clearance management

These components of Maintenance Planning integrates with other modules such as Quality
Planning and Material Management making it easy to store and record data.

SAP HANA CLOUD PLATFORM

The SAP HANA Cloud Platform is an extension of the SAP ERP portal. It helps the user in
creating new applications and run and expand existing SAP applications.
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Most of the SAP cloud services use the HANA Cloud Platform to build customizations. Its key
functionalities include analytics, mobile services, transactions, collaboration, security,
integration and can also serve as a portal.

This software provides a platform to SAP Service Providers for building new applications and
run them. It can also be used to make changes on existing applications. The HANA cloud
platform that is hosted by SAP cloud services also enables application developers to customize
their applications to meet specific client needs.

SAP HANA cloud platform is both a platform and a service. As a service, it enables enterprises
to undertake application management work. The platform enables users to access data from the
SAP HANA database in real time. Besides this, the SAP cloud services can be customized to
offer solutions to unique client needs.

The SAP HANA Cloud platform offers two main levels of functionality; first as an application
service and second as a database service. As an application service, businesses can create new
applications and make them accessible to their employees or clients.

SAP HANA CLOUD PLATFORM AS AN APPLICATION:

Mobile services: It acts as a mobile platform in the cloud through which mobile applications that
are similar to the SAP mobile platform can be availed.
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Analytics: The HCP analytic feature enables users to analyse and present data visually. This
feature is easy to use and provides insight on the data available in the cloud platform.

Portal: The HCP portal enables for creating and taking live mobile friendly websites. The HCP
portal serves as an intranet that brings together in-house and cloud solutions in a centralized
environment for employees to access.

Collaboration: It enables sharing of information among users with the SAP functionality
feature. It can be set up for employees working on a specific project to facilitate communication,
cooperation and operational efficiency.

Security: It enables data security through functionalities such as creating user accounts,
integrating the entire system to ensure data protection while providing easy access to authorized
persons.

Integration: It allows for easy integration of on-premise systems and other cloud environments.

SAP HANA CLOUD PLATFORM AS A DATABASE SERVICE:

Transactions: It stores transactional data in real time and avails data when required .

Analytics: Provides real time analyses of large data. Although it has built in algorithms for
analysis, it also supports external algorithms. It allows for the option of analysing textual data
whether the data is structured in files or unstructured.

Streaming: Serves as a platform to analyse and process large data.

Spatial: It allows for data visualization and display of data containing geographical elements.
SAP HANA Cloud Platform is one of the best cloud services in the world today which can be
utilized by SAP service providers for offering better services.

SAP CLOUD PLATFORM – INTERNET OF THINGS:

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The Internet of Things service enables customers and partners to develop, customize, and operate
IoT business applications in the cloud.

SAP solutions for the Internet of Things IoT provide everything you need to generate data-driven
intelligence from connected things, people and devices - M2M Connectivity, cloud platform,
device management, big data management, Event Stream Processing, predictive analytics, and
apps to make IoT projects real, repeatable and scalable.

SAP connect your business with the new generation of Internet-enabled devices in the cloud,
transform your existing business processes and reimagine your business and customer
experience.

SAP HANA Cloud Platform is an in-memory IoT platform can help you quickly develop,
deploy, and manage your own real-time IoT and M2M applications. Use the platform to
automate processes at the core and connect to almost anything at the edge of your network.

USING SAP CLOUD PLATFORM IN A CEMENT FACTORY:

The SAP Cloud Platform can be used to record real time data from the machines that are
connected to sensors or detectors. The data collected can be used to schedule maintenance and
quality checks.

After a month long of research and study, the following observations have been made:
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1. The existing machines at Rawan Cement Factory are not monitored on a real time basis.
This may lead to frequent down time, maintenance needs and finally low productivity.

2. By investing in small sensors that record the performance of the vital parts of a machine,
like motors, pumps and so on, we can detect the errors as and when they occur and decide to
either stop the machinery and reduce the load.

3. By upgrading the existing SAP ERP portal to a SAP Cloud Platform, we can efficiently
collect the performance data of all the machines for future analysis and decision making.

4. The data collected can be used to schedule maintenance and quality checks in advance
and other pre-emptive measure can be taken to prevent further damage of the expensive
machinery.

5. This technology can help us keep the workers safe, as well as get a long life out of the
machinery and higher productivity for the factory.

CONCLUSION

Data collection by itself is relatively useless. Companies need to have intelligent systems and
technology backbones in place to capture the data and use it to make smart, insightful decisions.
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Those that do are seeing substantial return on investment in the form of equipment up-time,

reduced costs to ensure quality, optimized logistics, and much more. 

Although the cement industry tends to be slower in adopting new technologies, the revenue and
margin-impacting benefits experienced by other industries are too compelling to ignore. Some
cement executives are under the false impression that bringing their companies into the digital
world requires millions of dollars in upfront investment. In reality, the cost of embedded sensors
has dropped significantly and learning how to utilize data can be a gradual step-by-step process.

It is my recommendation to cement factories to further digitise their processes and upskill their
workers to use such technology to reap the benefits of efficiency, cost effectiveness and quality.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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1. https://blogs.sap.com/2015/11/24/what-iot-and-the-digital-world-means-for-the-cement-
industry-steps-you-can-take-now/

2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317724738_Secure_IoT_deployment_in_the_ce
ment_industry

3. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/sap_pm/sap_pm_maintenance_planning.htm#:~:text=Mai
ntenance%20planning%20in%20SAP%20PM,scope%20of%20work%20in%20advance.

4. https://www.flsmidth.com/en-gb/services/operational/gas-analysis-and-emissions-
monitoring?gclid=Cj0KCQjwoPL2BRDxARIsAEMm9y9Tt_m-
BIh8LwADC5i5tgFfy1j_NWQH4W_j_zxSPzmM9ikDJnraWFkaAp3HEALw_wcB

5. https://www.forbesmarshall.com/Knowledge/Process-Instrumentation-Ideas/Maintaining-
condition-of-rotating-machines-in-cement-industry/Keeping-an-eye-on-rotating-machines  

6. https://www.digiteum.com/condition-monitoring-and-internet-of-things