Smart Instruments for smart electricity, CEM Instruments & METRAVI
With the growing trend towards smart cities and more environmentally conscious consumers, there is a clear growth in smart electricity, be it smart grids, more efficient production and transmission or automated monitoring and consumption systems. With this comes a need for efficient, precise and high accuracy instrumentation. We are in a prime position to be able to fulfil these needs with our smart and high-precision, reliable instruments. So, we see growing and sustainable opportunities for both smart electricity and our smart instruments for such smart systems.
Q. Current trends in T&M sector
Consumers are becoming aware and conscious of the fact that quality is more valuable than price when it comes to T&M instruments. India being a very price sensitive market, the trends and purchase habits used to be always focused on the price while quality, longevity and accuracy always took a back seat. However, this is now changing. The consumers are becoming more and more aware of the fact that they might be saving pennies while buying cheap T&M instruments but in the long run they are losing out on pounds, as these cheap instruments are unable to deliver on accuracy or quality, which is direly required.
This trend is finally a win-win for both the consumers as well as the T&M industry, as the customers are getting better quality and accuracy and the industry is able to move beyond the rat race of being able to manufacture and supply the cheapest possible instrument. Rather the focus now is on quality and accuracy.
Q. Latest innovations by CEM & Metravi in T&M
We have launched our integrated range of CEM Thermal Imagers, including adaptors that convert smart phones into Thermal Imagers, Air Particle Counters, Multi-Gas Analysers, Nuclear & X-ray Radiation Meter, Multimeters & Clamp Meters combined with Thermal Imagers, High Current Data Loggers, ELCB Testers, Clamp-on Ground Resistance Testers and Digital Storage Oscilloscopes on Tablets. We are also launching professionally designed & Bluetooth enabled series of CEM Environmental Meters.
We are almost ready with a 3 Phase balanced and unbalanced load Power & Harmonic Analyzer that is Class A, along with another one that even has a built-in thermal imager.
At generation and distribution points, where a user needs to undertake power analysis for power management, this would enable a parallel thermal analysis, effectively leading to reduction in power losses and internal electrical pressure on the transmission and distribution system (bringing the power quality nearest to 1), along with increasing cost efficiency. This instrument would singly negate carrying multiple equipment or instruments.
We have introduced an industrial/professional series under the Metravi brand – the METRAVI PRO range – water and dust proof, to be used in rugged environments. Some of the products are intrinsically safe and the range includes products with OLED displays, unheard of in instrumentation as of yet. Products under this range carry a 48 hours replacement warranty.
Q. Future of testing and measurement industry & key application areas
With the growing trend towards smart cities and more environmentally conscious consumers, there is a clear growth in smart electricity, be it smart grids, more efficient production and transmission or automated monitoring and consumption systems.
With this comes a need for efficient, precise and high accuracy instrumentation. We are in a prime position to be able to fulfil these needs with our smart and high-precision, reliable instruments. So, we see growing and sustainable opportunities for both smart electricity and our smart instruments for such smart systems.
With Industry 4.0, human involvement is on the decrease and computers make decisions as they are connected and can communicate with each other. A combination of Internet of Things, Internet of Systems and Industry 4.0 is making and will make the Smart Factory a reality. Consequently, the support from smart machines will be on the increase as they get access to more data and will result in a jump in efficiencies & productivities. Ultimately, the network of these smart machines will create and share the information that results in the true power of Industry 4.0.
Instrumentation is this scenario will become highly useful and important with the likes of smart instruments which will connect to computers and smartphones for instant data, reports and analytics. High quality instruments would be required to work at higher frequencies with ability to collect, collate and analyse big volumes of data.
The essence of Industry 4.0 is Automation and data exchange-driven manufacturing technologies and processes that are encapsulated in Cyber-Physical Systems(CSP), Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT), Cloud Connectivity and computing, cognitive computing and artificial intelligence.
Q. CEM & METRAVI products in line with industry 4.0
We already have instruments that are in line with these principles and we are also actively working on next-gen instruments so that they are Industry 4.0 ready right from the box.
We have instruments and solutions for everything from IoT enabled Air Particle Counters to customized solutions (that we have done for customers who want data directly from their clamp meters/multimeters right into their cloud driven system). We also have a large number of App-connected instruments, be it Borescopes, Multimeters, Clamp Meters, Thermal Imagers and many more.
Q. Future Vision for CEM & Metravi
We have been working on the following issues as regards Test & Measurement and we will continue towards our efforts for the same in the coming years:
Often customers are unaware as well as unsure about which instrument or specification would serve their measurement needs – we provide consultation and advice as per measurement or industry needs before offering them any product from our range.
Most of the users are oblivious that certain instruments are already available for their specific needs – we are now trying to educate and propagate our offerings and solutions that we offer – for every measurement need.
Mostly users are unaware that such hi-quality and reliable, innovative instruments are available at such realistic pricing, since they have only been used to American brands selling at three times our prices. We want all to know that quality and reliability does not always come at a price.