Digitalization in industry, smart buildings, data centers and energy networks offers companies enormous potential to use collected data to increase operational efficiency. According to a Gartner study, more than 20 billion devices worldwide will be connected via the IoT by 2020.

Schneider Electric's Ecostruxure architecture enables the three layers of networked components, edge control and the software layer to seamlessly exchange data collected in real time. At the top level of Ecostruxure - Apps, Analytics and Services - the Advisors provide plant operators with complete transparency across all connected devices while delivering the processed analyses, reports and trends required to increase efficiency.

As a digital platform for process safety, the Process Safety Advisor combines data, analyses and findings from different locations and production landscapes in a single user interface. Operators can then create an exact, company-wide risk profile for their plant in real time. Thanks to clear data processing, problems and faults are easy to identify and corrective measures, for example with regard to safety, can be implemented precisely. With the help of an embedded Safety Instrumented Functions-Audit Trail - a test procedure for safety instrumentation - the entire process is then documented in accordance with the applicable safety regulations.

The Process Safety Advisor can also be used to identify and address risks in terms of sustainability, efficiency, reliability and profitability on the basis of data.

The Equipment Efficiency Advisor enables the analysis and measurement of small but persistent hidden losses in production environments. Developed by and for operators and maintenance personnel, it measures and analyzes operational performance, availability, quality and overall equipment efficiency (OEE) while performing a root cause analysis.

The Equipment Efficiency Advisor includes a lean manufacturing tool for performance management and provides real-time KPIs for machines and production lines - with the key figures displayed visually on an intuitive user interface. This allows the pure measurement data to be economically dimensioned and OEE improvements of five to ten percent to be achieved in just three to virtual weeks.

Ecostruxure Power Advisor combines expert advice with advanced algorithms and helps to identify gaps in the energy management system and problems with the power and voltage quality in larger distributions. On site or via the mobile device, system operators receive real-time information on device statuses and grid quality and, thanks to processed data and analyses, can rectify weak points and respond to faults precisely and efficiently.

The Power Advisor, which was given a major software update in November 2018, has been installed at more than 650 locations and connects around 130,000 assets under management (AUM). Around 10 to 20 new investments and over 5,000 new AUMs are added every month. as