5 Best Practices for Creating an IIoT Dashboard

It can be tempting to show all the data in one view. Don’t overcomplicate it. Try to keep each dashboard focused on the most relevant data. Think of it like reading news headlines: the most important performance data should be the first thing you see. Secondary information is less of a priority and should be reflected as such in your dashboards. Limiting how much information you put in dashboards keeps them organized, accessible, and simple to maintain. This is particularly important for users who monitor a variety of conditions, such as tank level, temperature, part counts, and more. As a rule, share a specific piece of information once, in the simplest form possible. For example, if you are representing the fill level of a tank so that an operator can be notified to refill it, use a visual indicator widget such as a gauge and avoid adding extra level charts, or graphics.

On the other hand, plant managers or controls engineers would find more value in trend lines, as well as correlating tank level with productivity data, but they may need less specific information about the exact current state of a particular tank. The simplest form of information will differ depending on your stakeholders, so remember to start with your users’ requirements. Another tactic can be to create a dashboard that focuses on the data you need to solve a single problem.

Did you know that research from MIT suggests that the human brain can process an entire image that your eyes see in as little as 13 milliseconds?1 Keep this in mind when you label your dashboards with text and icons.

A dashboard is best utilized for reading key data quickly. It should include high-level information and overall performance data; it is not a full report with detailed analysis of factory performance. It can be tempting to use an abundance of text to describe what is being monitored, but featuring only essential information enables users to quickly monitor the machines and respond to critical incidents. Use text for key labels and descriptors of assets that guide the users’ eyes to the most important information. Show, don’t tell, what the users need to get from the dashboard. This will offer an organized overview of critical information and prevent confusion.

1 Trafton, A. (2014). In the blink of an eye. MIT News. Retrieved from: https://news.mit.edu/2014/in-the-blink-of-an-eye-0116

To make your dashboard immediately valuable, use visual cues and patterns that a user is already familiar with. It is easier to remember which asset on the dashboard corresponds to a machine if the graphics are tailored to the specific application. Add your own images to the background of the dashboard to customize it even further. For example, a simple map or blueprint of a facility can be the background of a dashboard, and specific asset icons can be overlaid on top. To clarify where a specific sensor is on a piece of equipment, add a picture of the entire machine and place icons over the spots where they exist in your actual facility. Therefore, it is important to have a dashboard system that allows you to add images and graphics and then overlay them with relevant indicators.

For example, Banner Cloud Data Services includes a built-in library of icons that represent different sensing modes and machine asset types, from motors and tanks to differential pressure and amperage. These icons can be color-coded to indicate connectivity or threshold alarms. This gives the users a true at-a-glance view of an asset and its status.

Creating custom dashboards enables total control of what assets you want to monitor. You have the option of customizing alarms, background colors, graphs, tables, and more. If you would rather use an existing dashboard instead of creating your own, many of Banner's kits for condition monitoring and performance tracking, such as the Expansion Kit or PPM Kit, generate pre-configured dashboards. Banner’s Wireless Production Performance Monitoring (PPM) Kit is a stand-alone, add-on solution that is compatible with new and existing production machinery, without the need for modifications. It comes preconfigured with a DXM1200 Controller and one Q45 all-in-one sensor node or a TL70 node. The SmartSolutions Expansion Kit is an end-to-end monitoring solution designed to simplify and streamline the deployment of IIoT solutions into your plant. Preconfigured dashboards give you a template to adjust and build on. Data can be analyzed to help you follow trends, verify compliance, solve problems, and make informed decisions about your business. Simply unpack the box, install the devices, and start collecting data.