Ericsson and Vodafone have joined forces to deploy a 5G Standalone mobile private network in a heavy industry environment at CIMPOR's production center in Alhandra, Portugal, the oldest cement plant in the world in continued operation for 130 years on the same site. This project marks a new chapter in the unit’s production center in Alhandra by integrating the most advanced communication and automation technologies into the production process and represents the first 5G Standalone private network in the country.
This communication infrastructure and state-of-the-art technological applications enable CIMPOR to monitor and maintain its assets even more efficiently, contributing to mitigating risks, reducing its environmental footprint and optimizing costs in one of the most relevant industries for the national economy.
A collaboration to foster 5G innovation.
The new network is already supporting the operation of the first use cases that will boost the digitalization of the Alhandra plant. These include:
- Machine Health Monitoring - Maintenance excellence with IoT sensors (10K sensors monitoring vibration, temperature, noise, rotational speed anomalies, etc.) improving reliability, run-time and productivity and thus, decreasing costs in spare parts, labor and inventory.
- Innovative Inspection with Drones - Fast, accurate and safe with 5G (indoor heavy-duty drones to do instant and safe inspections) shortening stoppage periods, costs and improving Health & Safety conditions.
- Smart Glasses - Remote advanced support and effective field works (hands-free control system with AI-powered voice recognition) securing business continuity and a safer environment for employees.
- HD and Wireless Cameras - Monitoring without any dead zone (enabling monitor operation in real-time and preventively detecting equipment failures).
- Potentials With 5G MPN - Digitalization for decarbonization. All these use cases also have indirect impacts on decarbonization only 1% of consolidated saving means nearly 140,000 tons of CO2 reduction per year, which equals to annual absorption of 6.5 million trees.
- The virtual visualization of infrastructures from a digital twin - digital representation of the facilities.
In addition to these use cases, the possibilities created by this network enable the full implementation of Industry 4.0 features, such as remote monitoring of equipment, the operation of autonomous devices and the permanent monitoring of workers during the performance of demanding tasks, using alarms.
Ericsson Private 5G delivers secure, high-speed 5G connectivity tailored to industrial environments, enabling seamless integration with IT systems and playing a pivotal role in accelerating CIMPOR’s digital transformation. Using Ericsson Private 5G’s scalability, cloud-based management and enhanced data security, CIMPOR is able to start small and expand the network as needed. This made it a key enabler for pioneering 5G SA use cases in one of the most relevant industries for Portugal’s economy. Ericsson radio access network (RAN) and Core solutions such as Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) were incorporated into the project. This enabled Vodafone and CIMPOR to efficiently share radio network infrastructure while ensuring dedicated, optimized radio resources and network performance for their industrial use cases.
The 5G SA private network will continue to contribute to more agile operations at a lower cost and quicker, more informed decision-making in one of the main industrial conglomerates in Portugal. In the coming months, two similar systems will be installed at different CIMPOR plants, continuing the cement industry’s digital transformation strategy. The modernization of CIMPOR’s operations, through the implementation of state-of-the-art technology, reinforces its position as a leader in the market, ensuring a more efficient and competitive future.
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