Chiz Chikwendu, CTO of Cumulus Digital Programs, joins Ryan Chacon on the IoT For All Podcast to debate bringing Bluetooth and digital instruments to industrial websites. They discuss IIoT adoption, Bluetooth vs Wi-Fi for the economic sector, the remaining challenges in digital instrument adoption, the necessity for the standard for communication, getting subject employees to make use of new instruments, and the way safety is dealt with for industrial options.
About Chiz Chikwendu
Chiz Chikwendu is the Chief Expertise Officer and Co-Founder at Cumulus Digital Programs, main a gifted product growth workforce. Previous to co-founding Cumulus, he was the Supervisor of the Electrical Engineering workforce at Shell TechWorks, Shell’s expertise heart in Cambridge, Massachusetts, centered on growing and deploying new applied sciences for Shell’s capital tasks and working services.
Earlier than becoming a member of Shell, Chiz held varied technical roles within the medical gadget and aerospace industries. Chiz earned his BS from Yale College and MS in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
All in favour of connecting with Chiz? Attain out on LinkedIn!
About Cumulus Digital Programs
Cumulus digitizes mission-critical development and upkeep actions to make sure that work is finished proper the primary time, each time. By integrating sensors, digital instruments, and different IoT units, their linked employee platform improves the productiveness and high quality of safety-critical workflows, resembling bolt tightening, welding, and stress testing.
So far, Cumulus has been used to handle over 7,000,0000 work completions throughout industries resembling power, development, manufacturing, semiconductors, information facilities, transportation, chemical substances, renewables, and extra. Along with enhancing security and sustainability, their expertise additionally has been confirmed to cut back prices for high quality management and information evaluate by over 60%. Cumulus is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with extra places of work in Houston, Texas and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and serves prospects throughout the globe.
Key Questions and Subjects from this Episode:
(00:10) Introduction to Chiz Chikwendu and Cumulus Digital Programs
(01:35) Industrial IoT adoption
(04:06) Bluetooth vs Wi-Fi for industrial
(06:48) What gaps stay in adopting digital instruments?
(09:08) The necessity for the standard for communication
(11:40) Challenges of getting subject employees to undertake new instruments
(15:14) How is safety dealt with?
(18:45) What are you most excited for within the IIoT house?
(21:30) Be taught extra and comply with up
Transcript:
– [Ryan] Welcome Chiz to the IoT For All Podcast. Thanks for being right here this week.
– [Chiz] Yeah, thanks for having me.
– [Ryan] Completely. Earlier than we get into the dialog, I’d adore it in the event you might give our viewers a bit of background, type of introduction about your self and possibly introduction to the corporate as nicely.
– [Chiz] Certain. My identify is Chiz Chikwendu, and I’m the CTO at Cumulus Digital Programs. What Cumulus truly does is we develop platform software program, which is consisted of an internet software and cellular software. And it helps employees principally acquire data that they should do work on web site in any kind of industrial setting.
So you may consider an oil facility like a refinery or chemical plant, or possibly even one other development facility like an information heart, issues like that. The applying principally collects data and aggregates the information, sends it to cloud hosted platform, which basically sanitizes the information, permits individuals to see it in actual time in dashboards which are configured for let’s simply say particular purposes and sorts of customers who eat the information.
So in a nutshell, that’s what Cumulus does. I’m certain we’ll get into that in a bit of bit. However did you need to hear extra about me or is that ok?
– [Ryan] Oh, that works, man. I recognize it. That’s a great type of context for our viewers. So let me, let’s dive into a number of the type of speaking factors we wished to cowl right this moment. Discuss to me about, so let’s discuss just a few industries, particularly I do know ones that you just all are concerned in, and let’s say industrial, development, these sorts of issues.
What has undertake, what has adoption been like relating to IoT options, Bluetooth applied sciences, different sorts of connectivity in that world? Simply as a place to begin for us.
– [Chiz] Simply to border that a bit of bit, our background is definitely in oil and fuel. So Cumulus bought began as a startup from Shell. So we bought spun out about 4 years in the past. And to that time, what the mission was tasked with doing was to determine the best way to clear up particular work high quality points however by making use of digitalization and new types of applied sciences to enhance the processes, efficiencies, et cetera.
While you come into an oil and fuel framework, it’s regulated, but it surely’s not the type of regulated business that the FAA is, and even possibly the FDA as a result of in these kind of environments, the regulated processes are recognized. If you wish to fly an airplane, you understand precisely what types of documentations and certifications you need to undergo to reveal the efficacy of your system.
However right here, we have been breaking new floor. And we have been discovering so to talk the consolation stage of not solely our prospects however the business with new sorts of expertise. So oil and fuel, we’re creating wealth, proper? Oil and fuel, they do fairly good when it comes to creating wealth. So the impetus for change is, doesn’t come actually from an financial standpoint as a result of you have got numerous revenue that you just’re already making, so it’s actually pushed by issues like efficiencies or the necessity to have efficiencies.
So to that finish once we have been introducing the brand new product to prospects in oil and fuel, there’s a little bit of a hesitation to herald IoT stuff as a result of what you’re doing is you’re suggesting new infrastructure and inherently you’re suggesting new methods of doing sure issues. And whenever you’re like developing towards the mantra, the place if it ain’t broke, don’t repair it, you meet resistance.
So sometimes you’d must discover a strategy to not essentially minimize via that resistance however assist individuals see the efficacy of what you’re bringing to them and the way it’s going to make their jobs higher. And on this case, it’s not a lot so about promoting the expertise, however promoting the advantages of what they get to have with the expertise.
– [Ryan] Out of your expertise on the type of expertise or the connectivity aspect in numerous these use instances you’re concerned in, is Bluetooth dominating? Is Wi-Fi? And if that’s the case, why one or the opposite? What sort of leads the way in which in most of those conditions?
– [Chiz] It’s laborious. It’s laborious to determine any certainly one of them, actually, as a result of in the event you’re in a web site like that, industrial web site, whether or not it’s development or simply an oil refinery, take into consideration going out to web site. There’s actually not numerous connectivity, Wi-Fi based mostly and even Bluetooth, none.
It simply doesn’t exist. And never solely that, as a result of there’s a priority about issues like intrinsic security, I don’t need you to be carrying {hardware} that will trigger an explosion in a constructing someplace, there’s often resistance to individuals carrying electronics round, proper, that’s not licensed for that type of factor.
So that you wouldn’t see numerous numerous communication protocols, IoT platforms, Wi-Fi, or issues like that. What you may see, you may see LTE linked units, otherwise you may see one thing like LoRa. Lengthy vary radio sort purposes if they’ve it. However we get into locations the place websites once more is smarter.
Information is a brand new oil. It issues what sort of information I’ve right this moment as a result of it’s going to tell how environment friendly I’m tomorrow. I need to know what individuals did right this moment as a result of I must plan my work tomorrow. So all of these issues are starting to shift mindsets. And now you’re seeing individuals fascinated with information infrastructure as a part of establishing their websites and vegetation and issues like that. Whereas it’s nonetheless laborious to get Wi-Fi going, it’s simpler to promote Bluetooth for a lot of causes And the explanations embody issues like, nicely, security, proper? Safety. Wi-Fi, persons are anxious you could hack into it from wherever. However with Bluetooth, there’s additionally a spread, there’s a spread limitation. And with BLE, there are additionally some kind of sort protocols you could embody together with your protocol, issues like encryption, and so forth. That permits you to allay a few of these safety issues that individuals could have. After which the opposite a part of it’s you don’t have a giant infrastructure price since you don’t must pay anyone to return and get your complete web site, which can be what number of sq. miles huge, get them full protection for Wi-Fi.
No, you solely have level to level Bluetooth protection. And if that’s ample so that you can combination information on the finish of the day after which come again to your workplace the place you have got Wi-Fi and add all that stuff and even use LTE units, then that is sensible for individuals.
– [Ryan] So let me ask then from, even in how far we’ve come on this house and the adoption we’ve seen throughout totally different industries, what are you seeing as a number of the gaps that stay when it comes to adopting IoT applied sciences and options, different digital instruments and stuff into the industries that you just’re linked to?
– [Chiz] The one is infrastructure, proper? The price of infrastructure. Like if anyone have been to go retrofit an current refinery right this moment, you need to get the entire web site lined. It’s going to take some huge cash, to, and numerous time to attempt to retrofit a complete web site. So persons are issues like, hey, can I retrofit lighting?
So as an example, in the event you’re in a web site, lighting is all over the place. So might you exchange your lighting fixtures and your mild gear into, let’s say, Wi-Fi routers or Wi-Fi extenders and issues like that. And as you retrofit them, you may prolong protection in your websites, proper? Issues like that will assist sooner or later, however one of many greatest hindrances you’re going to search out is infrastructure, proper?
Now, assuming you may get the infrastructure prices, then you need to reply the safety questions. So most websites, enterprise websites, have issues in regards to the safety operations of all of their information as a result of by, by default, every little thing’s thought-about delicate. So if issues are delicate, so you need to handle information flows and you need to handle entry management, who has entry to what, and you then now must care about MDM as a result of it’s oh, now I’ve, I personal the kind of issues about MDM administration of all of the units which are on the market, how can I observe it?
And the way do I do know that nothing’s leaking out? So these three issues, as an example, are actually like enormous hindrances relating to approaching web site and making an attempt to deliver IoT units on web site to individuals. Now, it doesn’t imply that the necessity for this stuff aren’t acknowledged.
Individuals are slowly recognizing the wants and the query turns into how do you decrease the price, the bar, the entry stage bar for all of those websites to get to a spot the place they start to undertake, measures to have connectivity on web site.
– [Ryan] What are your ideas on type of the necessity for type of a typical for communication in any type of these environments and issues that you just’ve come throughout?
– [Chiz] Yeah, you’re undoubtedly singing my music. There are want for requirements, clearly. Wi-Fi itself is a typical that when it comes to the way you talk, there’s nothing that must be modified. You simply must get individuals going. But when we need to discuss Bluetooth the place I’ve numerous vested curiosity relating to utilizing instruments which are linked, proper?
Instruments that do work, instruments that may give you data and in addition kind some kind of a 3rd social gathering slash unbiased assurance of the type of work that you just did as a result of information is collected out of your instruments, then it turns into essential to outline information requirements. When it comes to how do I talk the type of information that this instrument is getting in such a method that if a brand new vendor or let’s say a brand new third social gathering individual is approaching web site and is doing work to your buyer, they don’t must reinvent the wheel and take a look at to determine precisely, how do I speak to this gadget? Or how do I speak to that instrument? I must know that there’s already a typical framework that’s outlined, and I don’t must basically develop new drivers and issues like that. So I’ll provide you with one other instance, proper? So one of many instruments we use is a digital Bluetooth torque wrench made by one of many main producers.
However they got here up with a protocol. It’s a spot protocol that’s particular to their instrument, proper? And it’s nice as a result of, okay, yeah, you may, you utilize the hole profile, which if all people is aware of the best way to implement hole profiles on the Bluetooth gadget, they will do it. Solely downside is, if I, if my buyer decides I need to use a distinct torque vary, it’s Bluetooth.
Why don’t you hook as much as it? It’s not that easy as a result of they’ve a totally totally different profile with the hole protocol. And now I’ve to jot down code and have my builders reinterpret that protocol and that information when it comes to how the management parameters are and handshaking parameters, getting information, sending it up, doing the issues that I wanted to do.
From our utilization standpoint or utility standpoint, the torque vary is a torque vary. So it’s best to be capable of have normal interfaces you could outline to speak with it.
– [Ryan] It’s an fascinating problem to have to unravel. There’s numerous issues occurring there. What do you, what about your expertise getting the top person, which is one thing we speak lots about. We attempt to speak, there’s clearly the patrons and those that see the worth of the instrument however then there’s those that are literally gonna be utilizing this on daily.
So let’s discuss like extra of the sector employees within the sense of, they’re not possibly used to working with linked merchandise, linked instruments, connections, options, proper? So how do you overcome that problem or how can firms listening to this possibly method that downside when that type of arises?
– [Chiz] It’s a fantastic query. As a result of in our subject, we run into totally different several types of customers with totally different ranges of let’s say {qualifications} or consolation with good units. So one of many issues we do is we attempt to design our software from a UI perspective with an eye fixed to conserving the identical types of requirements that you just use with cell telephones or cellular units, proper?
On the earth, you understand that we’ve got about 70% Android utilization, and there are often widespread UI components and UX components relating to design for each Android and iOS purposes. So we goal our cellular platform, A, to Android and iOS purposes, issues that persons are often accustomed to.
Then to assist them overcome a few of these types of preliminary hesitation to utilizing our instrument, we tried to, once more, reveal what they will achieve from utilizing the appliance. So as an example, proper, a few of these employees must fill out paperwork on the finish of the day about all of the work that they’ve completed.
So that they must doc it. They must jot it down. Pardon me. They usually have to essentially attempt to keep in mind a few of these issues that they’ve completed to make sure that they’ve clear transparency. Now, the second you say to them you don’t must do any documentation, all you need to do is have this gadget, scan this, scan that, all of the issues that you just used to deal with by like handwriting on the finish of the day, you don’t want to do this.
As quickly as you’re completed together with your work, you’re truly really completed. And the gadget collects all the knowledge that you just want. In order that often helps get the message throughout. After which, early phases, we used to exit with the employees within the subject as a part of our usability research, and we’d speak to the employees, would say, okay, what do you want? How will we enhance the software program for you? One of many issues they’ll inform us is, I don’t need to sort too many occasions. So we attempt to get rid of as a lot as potential the necessity to sort and enter information with handbook typing and issues like that.
So numerous makes use of for QR codes and cameras and issues like that, proper? So we’ve taken into consideration a number of the issues individuals sometimes have relating to having to study one thing new. Attempt to make it as straightforward to study however have numerous materials to coach, however on the similar time, give them a carrot.
And the carrot is, hey, you don’t have to do that on the finish of the day as a result of this helps you clear up that downside.
– [Ryan] I assume it’s essential for individuals to know that as a result of oftentimes the client is totally different from the top person, however these options are constructed for the top person, proper? They’re those who’re going to hopefully profit from this. So the corporate general advantages in no matter space they’re bringing the answer in to unravel some downside.
So yeah, balancing and speaking that and having the purchase in from all sides as a result of in the event you don’t have the purchase in from either side, you’re not going to get, you understand, it’s not going to be adopted, individuals aren’t going to make use of, it’s going to be a wasted funding. So yeah, tremendous good or tremendous completely happy we have been capable of discuss that.
One different factor I wished to ask you as a result of clearly within the environments through which you all work, safety is exclusive at occasions. Every firm I’m assuming has totally different safety practices, and also you want to have the ability to talk, herald a expertise and an answer like this or a instrument like this that there are going to be new dangers, there are going to be new vulnerabilities that might come up.
How is that communicated? And the way is that dealt with to make sure that everybody understands the best way to correctly not simply implement however then use the carried out answer with out additional exposing the corporate to any dangers or vulnerabilities outdoors of themselves.
– [Chiz] Usually, once we begin speaking to new distributors, one of many first questions they need to know is, hey, do you have got any kind of third social gathering attestation to your safety posture or how your group manages safety? And so very early on, one of many issues we did was we did an SOC evaluation. I’m unsure in the event you’re accustomed to SOC, yeah, precisely. So we did an SOC evaluation, and we determined to get a kind 2 certification. And so yearly, we’ve got an audit that principally audits our controls and that’s out there for our prospects. We do a bunch of issues related to normal safety practices like penetration testing, vulnerability testing, and even having numerous the protocols in place and prospects on the finish of the day nonetheless need us to fill questionnaires principally describing our safety infrastructure and our program.
And we do this. In order that’s upfront when it comes to how we handle issues and the way we reveal that as a corporation, that we’re following the most effective practices. Now, when it truly comes all the way down to the nitty gritty when it comes to how we implement issues, we truly sit with the safety groups, sometimes the IT people on the forefront of this, and we attempt to handle their issues and say, okay, listed here are the issues that you just want, proper? We need to ensure that whenever you’re utilizing our system, you’re nonetheless compliant with your personal safety practices. So what are we going to do that can assist you? So in some instances we’ve completed, made modifications to our programs to accommodate that.
One of many issues we’ve completed just lately is allow SSO on a cellular software. So now organizations can do SSO as a method of simply onboarding customers and stopping inadvertent accesses to the programs, any method or the opposite. And as it’s possible you’ll know, our software is fully cloud hosted.
So we’re, we’ve additionally had conversations with AWS the place they’ve, I believe I can share that, AWS is our cloud hosted platform, however they’ve additionally assessed our platform and we’re following the most effective safety practices. So we offer all of this stuff as a strategy to guarantee our prospects that we’re doing the most effective we will to guard their data, their information, and to additionally enable them to proceed their very own safety practices whereas utilizing our system. And the very last thing we do is we ensure that they personal their units. We don’t provide any units. So all their units are MDM managed by them, utterly underneath their management with their very own safety platforms, safety infrastructure, and safety protocols. And so all they must do is principally whitelist our URL and permit it to cross it backwards and forwards.
– [Ryan] Last item I need to ask you earlier than I allow you to go right here is simply what do you, given the place we’re out there proper now and the house that you just’re all in, what are you most excited for? What are you trying ahead to, I assume, over the subsequent, let’s say six, 12 months type of timeframe.
– [Chiz] Truthfully, I’m trying ahead to seeing smarter and smarter instruments. So once we began this journey, numerous instruments weren’t good, however I might depend on one hand what number of torque wrenches truly boasted any kind of good interface, notably BLE interface. Now they’re simply popping out of the woodworks slowly.
And what I’d actually like to see is to have a corporation like Blue Sake start to assist corral the unfold of those instruments by serving to outline GAC requirements. And I’m truly all in favour of working with them to assist handle that as a result of it advantages all people within the business. It advantages our prospects as a result of then they are often instrument agnostic.
They will use any instrument and never fear that it’s going to not interface with programs like ours. It advantages the producers as a result of as soon as they’ve these requirements, then they will, they will belief like chip producers, who make SOCs and let’s say Bluetooth SDKs, they’ll provide you with these hole profiles which are already supported out of the field.
So it’s straightforward for them to only construct purposes with these SDKs and issues like that. After which it’s additionally good for the instrument producers themselves as a result of they get themselves on the market into extra totally different, to totally different environments that they didn’t anticipate that they might get into.
So it’s a win for everyone. So I’m trying ahead to issues like that. I’m additionally trying ahead to alternatives for, that 5G could current when it comes to permitting extra websites to be extra information conscious when it comes to actual time perspective, having better bandwidth, having simply the flexibility to have units speaking with a lot, far more effectivity and the flexibility to transmit an entire load of knowledge, so I’m trying ahead to that.
– [Ryan] Yeah, I believe, I’m in settlement with you, simply throughout the business, seeing the adoption proceed to develop and seeing not simply the bodily, the instruments you’re speaking about, however simply options being carried out, extra firms seeing the worth and success of those linked applied sciences and what they will do for not solely their enterprise however the finish customers, simply basic capability to do their job nicely and luxuriate in their job. I believe that’s one thing that individuals usually overlook. And the higher we will marry these two collectively, the higher these options are going to be, and the extra success firms are going to see with IoT, which I believe that advantages everybody right here that, within the business.
So for our viewers on the market who desires to study extra, comply with up, keep in contact, something like that, what’s one of the simplest ways they will do this?
– [Chiz] So, they will look us up at cumulusds.com. That’s our web site. DS is Digital Programs. cumulusds.com. We’ve all the information out there. We’ve brochures. We’ve contact data. It’s all there.
– [Ryan] Implausible. Effectively Chiz, thanks a lot, man. I actually recognize your time. Nice to have you ever on, and we’re excited to get this out to our viewers.
– [Chiz] Thanks.
