LPWAN SOLUTIONS
Heavy Industries
End-to-End IIoT Solutions for Heavy Industry Infrastructure.
-
Real-time equipment telemetry and vibration monitoring to detect asset anomalies and prevent catastrophic failure.
-
Automated predictive maintenance scheduling and remote fleet health tracking across harsh operating environments.
-
Structural integrity, temperature, and emission sensing to ensure strict regulatory compliance and workplace safety.
-
Ruggedized, IP68-rated wireless sensors built for multi-year, maintenance-free operation in extreme industrial conditions.
Heavy Industries Infrastructure Monitoring
Heavy industries—including mining, metallurgy, oil and gas, chemical refining, and heavy manufacturing—rely on massive, capital-intensive physical infrastructure built for continuous, high-volume production. Unlike light commercial manufacturing, these environments subject both rotating machinery and static infrastructure (such as primary grinding mills, multi-stage compressors, cracking towers, high-pressure slurry pipelines, and geotechnical tailings dams) to severe operating stresses. Equipment continuously operates under extreme thermal cycling, corrosive chemistry, high dynamic loads, and abrasive wear. Because these tightly coupled processes operate continuously, mechanical or structural degradation in a single asset can trigger cascading disruptions across the entire operational chain.
Infrastructure monitoring provides the diagnostic foundation necessary to evaluate the physical health, structural integrity, and operating stress of these critical assets in real time. While traditional Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems focus on optimizing process parameters such as flow rates and throughput, infrastructure monitoring assesses the underlying physical condition of the containment systems and machinery supporting those processes. Utilizing ruggedized industrial IoT sensors—including level, radar, pressure sensors—infrastructure monitoring detects the earliest signatures of wear, fatigue, and ground deformation. By converting subtle physical changes into actionable telemetry, continuous monitoring bridges the visibility gap between normal operation and catastrophic asset failure, allowing operators to intervene long before structural or mechanical integrity is lost.
-
Primary Material Extraction, Comminution, and Smelting Plant Infrastructure: Processing raw mineral ores, hydrocarbons, and chemical feedstocks through heavy mechanical and pyrometallurgical reduction. Unit processes include primary jaw and gyratory crushing, autogenous and semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) milling, beneficiation flotation circuits, calcination in rotary kilns, and electric arc or basic oxygen smelting. Infrastructure monitoring relies on ruggedized non-contact radar level sensors and ultrasonic distance nodes to continuously measure ore levels inside high-dust primary crushers, feed hoppers, and surge silos without physical wear. Industrial temperature sensors and high-temperature pressure transmitters track cooling jacket efficiency, kiln shell thermal stress, and hydraulic crusher pressures to prevent structural overheating and drive failures. Simultaneously, digital flowmeters track water and chemical reagent consumption across wet grinding circuits, optimizing comminution slurry consistency and preventing mill over-densification.
-
Dynamic Rotating Machinery and Plant Drivetrain Auxiliary Surveillance: Continuous industrial throughput across heavy operations depends on mission-critical rotating assets, including multi-stage boiler feed pumps, slurry transfer pumps, industrial draft fans, heavy centrifugal gas compressors, and industrial gearboxes. Infrastructure surveillance safeguards these machines by tracking auxiliary fluids and thermodynamic parameters that directly precede mechanical failures. Ellenex industrial temperature transmitters and combined pressure-temperature sensors monitor bearing housing temperatures and forced-lubrication oil supply lines to catch friction-induced thermal runaways and loss of lubrication. Differential pressure transmitters monitor suction lines and lubrication filters to detect cavitating pumps or clogged elements, while inline flowmeters and compact submersible or radar level sensors continuously verify oil reservoir volumes and coolant flow rates to protect high-value drivetrains from dry-running.
-
High-Pressure Static Containment, Cracking Columns, and High-Energy Piping: The static transport and reaction network designed to contain, separate, and transport hazardous, highly corrosive, or superheated media under extreme operating pressures. Critical assets include catalytic cracking towers, autoclave reactors, high-pressure steam headers, heat exchangers, and abrasive chemical pipelines. Infrastructure surveillance utilizes IP68-rated and IECEx-approved industrial pressure transmitters to detect hydraulic water-hammer spikes, abnormal vessel over pressurization, and line restrictions. High-frequency non-contact radar level sensors provide continuous, non-invasive liquid and vapor interface tracking through corrosive fumes and high-temperature vapor zones in storage and distillation columns. Inline flowmeters and industrial differential pressure interfaces track transfer rates and volumetric balances across piping networks, pinpointing localized blockages and sudden line depressurization in real time.
-
Geotechnical Civil Containment, Tailings Storage Facilities, and Environmental Water Management: Large-scale civil earthworks and containment infrastructure required to manage hazardous process byproducts and protect surrounding ecosystems, including Tailings Storage Facilities (TSFs), heap leach pads, coal ash dykes, and runoff reservoirs. Telemetry arrays deploy non-contact FMCW radar level sensors and rugged submersible hydrostatic level transmitters to continuously monitor pond freeboard, decant well depths, and dam crest clearances over long-range LoRaWAN or NB-IoT links to prevent catastrophic overtopping. Subsurface hydrostatic pressure sensors track subterranean phreatic lines and pore-water pressure buildup within dam embankments. Downstream, multi-parameter water quality sensors continuously analyze pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity/salinity, and dissolved oxygen in seepage collection sumps and surrounding waterways, while discharge flowmeters log effluent volumes to ensure full compliance with environmental discharge regulations.
Key Advantages of Heavy Industry Infrastructure Management
-
Mitigating Costly Unplanned Downtime: Unplanned equipment outages represent a severe financial drain in heavy industry, where the world's 500 largest industrial enterprises collectively lose $1.4 trillion annually to unexpected downtime—roughly 11% of their total revenues. In heavy manufacturing and processing plants, downtime costs average $187,500 per hour, while offshore extraction and refining facilities frequently face losses exceeding $500,000 per hour. Deploying continuous condition telemetry via Ellenex industrial pressure transmitters, non-contact radar level sensors, and temperature probes reduces unplanned downtime by 30% to 50%. By tracking dynamic pressure transients in hydraulic circuits, sudden temperature rises in bearings, or low lubricant levels in critical oil sumps, operators detect early process and asset anomalies days or weeks before they escalate into sudden mechanical shutdowns.
-
Preventing Catastrophic Failures and Safeguarding Personnel: Heavy industrial facilities store and process immense kinetic, thermal, and chemical energy. Unmonitored degradation can result in pipe bursts, furnace breaches, boiler overpressurization, or toxic chemical releases. Ruggedized Ellenex pressure sensors (including flush-diaphragm PTF and differential PDS models) continuously track vessel overpressure conditions and line restrictions, while industrial temperature transmitters (TT series) monitor thermal runaway on drive housings, autoclaves, and reactor jackets. Furthermore, non-contact radar level sensors (DRC3) and corrosion-resistant submersible level transmitters (PLC series) safely measure aggressive acids, caustic reagents, and combustible fuels remotely. Engineered with IP68 ratings and IECEx intrinsic safety certifications, these wireless LPWAN nodes eliminate the need for technicians to perform hazardous manual dip-tape readings in confined spaces or scale elevated structures in dangerous atmospheres.
-
Extending Capital Asset Lifespan (CapEx Rationalization): Critical heavy industrial assets—such as primary grinding mills, rotary kilns, cracking columns, and high-pressure slurry pipelines—require multi-million-dollar capital outlays and involve multi-year fabrication lead times. Continuous auxiliary surveillance extends the Remaining Useful Life (RUL) of these machines by preventing adverse operating conditions. Ellenex combined pressure-and-temperature transmitters (PTD series) and industrial temperature sensors continuously monitor forced-lubrication oil supply lines and bearing housings, catching thermal degradation before friction causes surface spalling or seal failure. Differential pressure transmitters (PDS series) monitor filtration stages to prevent clogged filters from starving pumps, while inline flowmeters (FTS series) ensure consistent cooling flow, protecting major capital assets from premature wear and deferring major replacement CapEx.
-
Drastically Reducing Maintenance Operating Expenditures (OpEx): Reactive, "run-to-failure" maintenance costs three to five times more than planned maintenance due to emergency field technician callouts, expedited parts delivery, and collateral machinery damage. Conversely, traditional calendar-based overhauls lead to the premature replacement of healthy components and risk introducing installation errors or fluid contamination. Condition-based infrastructure management utilizing Ellenex LPWAN sensors lowers overall maintenance OpEx by 18% to 25% and delivers an average return on investment of 250% within 18 months. Differential pressure sensors alert teams to replace filter media only when differential thresholds are breached, non-contact radar nodes track bulk consumption to optimize lubrication intervals, and industrial flowmeter interfaces (FMS2) monitor fluid usage, ensuring work is performed strictly when operational data dictates.
-
Optimizing Energy Efficiency and Operational Performance: Machinery operating outside optimal hydraulic or mechanical parameters consumes substantial excess power. In heavy pumping systems and grinding circuits, clogged pipes, valve throttling, or pump cavitation can force industrial drive motors to draw 10% to 15% more power. Ellenex industrial pressure transmitters (PTS series) identify hydraulic restrictions and line buildup, while digital flowmeter interfaces track fluid transfer rates to verify that pumps operate at their Best Efficiency Point (BEP). Concurrently, continuous temperature tracking (TTS series) flags abnormal friction and heat buildup across drive systems, while radar level transmitters (DRC series) ensure optimal feed-head levels in hoppers and silos, stabilizing throughput and cutting overall facility megawatt consumption.
-
Automating Enterprise Workflows and Supply Chain Planning: Modern infrastructure monitoring bridges field telemetry directly into Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) and Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS), such as SAP Plant Maintenance (SAP PM) and IBM Maximo. Ellenex battery-operated sensors transmit pressure, level, temperature, flow, and water quality data over long-range LoRaWAN, NB-IoT, or LTE-M networks directly into cloud platforms and enterprise software via standardized APIs. When a differential pressure sensor detects a saturated filter element, an industrial temperature probe flags a sustained thermal trend, or a tank level sensor detects low lubricant inventory, the connected EAM system automatically logs a maintenance work order, reserves the matching spare parts from stock, and schedules work orders for the next planned shutdown window without administrative delays.
-
Ensuring Geotechnical Stability and Environmental Compliance: Heavy industrial facilities must manage high-consequence civil containment infrastructure, including Tailings Storage Facilities (TSFs), ash dykes, heap leach pads, and storm runoff reservoirs. Long-range FMCW radar level sensors (DRC3) and rugged submersible hydrostatic level transmitters (PLS3) provide continuous, millimeter-precise monitoring of tailings pond freeboard, decant wells, and dam crest levels to prevent overtopping. Subsurface hydrostatic pressure transmitters track groundwater fluctuations and pore-water pressure buildup within earthen embankments. Downstream, Ellenex multi-parameter water quality sensors—monitoring pH (CPH2), turbidity/TSS (CTR2), conductivity and salinity (CSD2), and dissolved oxygen (CDO2)—alongside environmental discharge flowmeters (FMS2/FTS2), continuously inspect seepage interception basins and discharge streams to eliminate pollution risks and satisfy strict regulatory requirements.
Find the Right Monitoring Solution for Your Application
Every industrial site operates under unique constraints—whether you are managing remote water infrastructure, protecting critical equipment, or automating environmental compliance. Ellenex simplifies IoT deployment by offering pre-engineered, battery-powered monitoring solutions configured for your specific operational needs.
To help you quickly find the exact setup for your project, explore our solution portfolio through two distinct lenses:
Solutions by Asset Performance
Deploying Industrial IoT is not just about mounting hardware—it is about maximizing the value, reliability, and lifespan of your physical infrastructure. Our Asset Performance solutions are designed to address the core operational challenges faced by site managers, reliability engineers, and enterprise leaders. By combining battery-powered LPWAN sensors (NB-IoT / LTE Cat-M1 and LoRaWAN) with real-time telemetry on the Ellenex Platform, we turn raw equipment data into actionable operational intelligence.
Solutions by Sensor Type
While asset performance focuses on the health and lifespan of your physical infrastructure, Solutions by Operational Purpose targets your core business and operational objectives. Every industrial facility operates with specific targets—whether that means eliminating manual inventory audits, cutting carbon emissions, preventing environmental contamination, or automating workflows.
Water Quality Monitoring Solutions
TECHNICAL CENTRE
Ellenex Cellular NB IoT and LTE-M Cat M1 Products
Product & Technical Questions? Contact Us
Other Ellenex Products? Find them here
Frequently Asked Questions
How does IIoT infrastructure monitoring reduce unplanned downtime and maintenance costs in heavy industry?
Unplanned downtime costs the world’s 500 largest industrial organizations an estimated $1.4 trillion annually—roughly 11% of their collective revenue—with mechanical breakdowns in bearings, pumps, and fluid lines driving over 40% of outages. Conventional calendar-based maintenance often services equipment unnecessarily, while reactive "run-to-failure" repairs cost three to five times more due to emergency callout labor and expedited supply chains.
Continuous telemetry bridges this gap by shifting operations to predictive maintenance (PdM), which reduces downtime by 30% to 50% and lowers overall maintenance costs by 18% to 25%. Ellenex industrial pressure transmitters (PTS2 and PTS3 series) and differential pressure sensors (PDS2 series) continuously track hydraulic circuits, delivery lines, and filtration stages to catch pressure surges, cavitation, and filter blinding before pumps run dry. Simultaneously, Ellenex dual pressure-temperature sensors (PTD2 series) and industrial temperature transmitters (TTS2 series) monitor forced-lubrication loops and bearing housings to detect thermal runaway and lubrication breakdown days or weeks before catastrophic mechanical failure.
What sensors are best suited for level measurement in harsh, abrasive, and high-dust heavy industrial environments?
Heavy industrial facilities—such as primary mineral crushers, calcining rotary kilns, chemical leaching plants, and bulk storage silos—pose extreme challenges for standard contacting level sensors due to physical abrasion, chemical corrosion, and heavy airborne particulates.
For non-contact level sensing in high-dust hoppers, storage silos, and chemical reactors, the Ellenex DRC3 series FMCW radar level sensor is the optimal choice. Operating with high-frequency electromagnetic radar waves up to a 30-meter range, the DRC3 is completely immune to dust clouds, ambient vapor, steam, and aggressive fumes that disable optical or standard ultrasonic sensors. Where direct liquid measurement is preferred inside acid-wash tanks, wastewater sumps, or fuel reservoirs, Ellenex provides corrosion-resistant submersible level transmitters (PLC2 series) and chemical-compatible hydrostatic probes (PLS3 series) engineered with specialized wetted materials to prevent chemical degradation.
How do wireless IoT sensors maintain pipeline and pump health across sprawling industrial plants without extensive cabling?
Wiring traditional supervisory systems (SCADA) across multi-kilometer processing facilities, refineries, or open-pit mines is cost-prohibitive and vulnerable to mechanical damage from heavy transport vehicles.
Ellenex solves this spatial barrier by deploying autonomous, battery-operated sensors that communicate over Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWAN)—specifically LoRaWAN, NB-IoT, and LTE-M / Cat-M1. These low-power networks penetrate structural steel, dense machinery, and subterranean pits without requiring external AC power or data trenches. Operators install Ellenex PTS2/PTS3 wireless pressure sensors along remote pipelines to detect water-hammer spikes, localized restrictions, and pipe leaks. To monitor continuous fluid transfer rates, Ellenex FMS2 industrial meter interfaces retrofit existing mechanical water meters and pulse-output flow devices, converting legacy mechanical assets into digital, cloud-connected telemetry points without pipeline modifications.
How can mining and processing operations monitor geotechnical stability and environmental compliance in tailings storage facilities (TSFs)?
Tailings Storage Facilities (TSFs), heap leach pads, and decant ponds are among the highest-consequence civil structures in heavy industry. Structural failure or toxic slurry discharge presents severe environmental hazards, multi-million-dollar liabilities, and immediate regulatory shutdowns.
Ellenex provides a dual-layer geotechnical and environmental monitoring suite:
-
Containment & Dam Freeboard: The Ellenex DRC3 FMCW radar level transmitter and PLS3 submersible hydrostatic level sensor continuously track tailings pond water elevations, decant well levels, and minimum dam crest freeboard in near real-time, preventing dangerous overtopping events.
-
Subsurface Hydrostatic Pressures: Ellenex PLS series sensors monitor subterranean pore-water pressures and phreatic surface levels inside embankment piezometer boreholes to detect internal seepage piping.
-
Environmental Runoff & Water Quality: Downstream seepage interception trenches and release waterways are continuously monitored using Ellenex industrial water quality probes, including CPH2 (pH), CTR2 (turbidity / total suspended solids), CSD2 (electrical conductivity and salinity), and CDO2 (dissolved oxygen). These nodes instantly transmit automated threshold alerts if acidic or contaminated leachate escapes the primary containment envelope.
Can Ellenex wireless sensors be safely installed in classified explosive zones and harsh washdown environments?
Yes. Heavy industrial facilities—such as petrochemical refineries, grain handling silos, paint manufacturing units, and chemical synthesis plants—frequently have classified operating zones where flammable gases, combustible hydrocarbon vapors, or airborne dust can be ignited by electrical sparking or surface heat.
To ensure plant safety, Ellenex manufactures intrinsically safe sensor versions certified to IECEx standards. Products such as the Ellenex PTS-industrial pressure transmitter, submersible level sensor, and temperature transmitter are engineered to limit electrical energy and surface thermal dissipation under all operating and fault conditions. Furthermore, these devices feature rugged mechanical enclosures with IP67 or IP68 ingress protection ratings, ensuring full resistance to high-pressure washdowns, chemical cleaning agents, continuous submersions, and abrasive mineral particulates.
How does field telemetry from Ellenex sensors integrate into enterprise asset management software (SAP PM / IBM Maximo)?
Siloed diagnostic data on local gauges or closed networks creates operational bottlenecks. Ellenex battery-powered sensors transmit encrypted measurements (level, pressure, temperature, flow, and water quality) over LoRaWAN or cellular LPWAN gateways directly into central IoT cloud servers.
From there, open RESTful APIs and standard industrial protocols (MQTT, HTTPS, Webhooks) integrate the incoming telemetry directly into Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) and Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS), such as SAP Plant Maintenance (SAP PM) and IBM Maximo. When an Ellenex PDS2 differential pressure sensor flags a saturated filter bank or a PTS3 pressure transmitter detects a line drop, the integrated enterprise platform automatically logs a maintenance work order, queries the warehouse to reserve the correct replacement cartridge or dynamic seal, and schedules technician labor during the next planned plant turnaround—automating the complete workflow from physical field anomaly to resolved repair.
