How Myers Emergency Power Systems Securely Extended IIoT Cloud Data to Customers with FieldServer
Improving Peace of Mind in an Emergency Power Situation
Nobody wants to be in the dark – literally or figuratively. It’s chaotic, stressful, and in mission-critical industries, it also is potentially life threatening.
Which is why Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based Myers Emergency Power Systems has a long history of engineering the highest quality and most reliable backup power solutions in the industry. These backup power solutions, which include emergency lighting and uninterrupted power supply systems, provide emergency power to illuminate the path of egress during critical outages. Myers EPS inverters are relied upon by distribution centers, educational institutions, data centers, healthcare facilities, and commercial buildings nationwide.
“Our commitment to our customers is to ‘light the way when they need it most.’ We provide centralized inverter cabinets to give them the backup power they need for their emergency lighting and systems with maximum flexibility,” explains Rami Nasr, Myers EPS Senior Electrical Engineer. “Because we’re always looking for new ways to give our customers peace of mind, we knew we wanted to give our customers more and save them money by providing remote access to the data from their inverters and proactively pushing notifications in the rare situations where an inverter needs attention.”
Making the Connection
So, Myers EPS set out in search of an IIoT Cloud data solution to enable faster, more streamlined communication between the emergency lighting inverter system and the people who need to know when something is amiss.
They wanted a solution that could bring together all disparate devices and push the device data ultra-fast (under 50 data points per minute or DPPM) to a user-friendly dashboard before triggering alerts that immediately notify customers of critical issues. The Cloud-based system also needed to allow for quick detection and resolution of issues anytime, anywhere, and on any connected device, including computers, tablets, and mobile phones.
Myers EPS had looked at several IIoT Cloud providers over the years before selecting Losant, with special appreciation for its easy-to-use graphical interface, which summarizes the health of a fleet of inverters.
To make the most of the Losant IoT Cloud platform, however, Myers EPS needed one more component to integrate with the Cloud-based solution. They needed something that could provide secure remote connectivity while also giving them the ability to configure, update, and support connected devices.
They needed the MSA Grid FieldServer Manager.
Creating a Secure Information Loop
The MSA Grid FieldServer Manager was integral to Myers EPS’ ability to create a secure IIoT loop to ensure that the Myers EPS solution performs when the next power outage occurs.
The three-part solution, known as Myers EPS IoT Inverter Connect, leverages a combination of technologies, applications, and systems to enable devices to generate valuable power-related information, such as voltage levels and charge states. It also connects these devices – no matter where they’re located – giving Myers EPS customers:
• Concise, at-a-glance assessment of their inverters
• Critical email and SMS notifications
• Details about every inverter device
Specifically, the FieldServer Manager simplified the third-party integration with the Losant IoT Cloud platform by using RESTful APIs to pull the data into the system.
Here are just a few examples of the data-rich dashboards that Myers EPS customers see, thanks to the Losant IoT Cloud platform:
- GPS location display with specific information about the inverter in each location
- Maximum, minimum, and average numbers for such key data points as voltages
- Device list showing what’s being monitored with click-through capabilities to see device details
“We’re using the FieldServer Manager for remote configuration and proxy server web access to our systems,” says Rami, “and are very happy that FieldServer was able to deliver. With the help of the Losant IoT Cloud environment and the FieldServer Manager, we’re offering a secure, scalable, and future-ready solution that improves building safety and assures our customers that our systems have their back when they need it most.”
