With many people working from home (WFH) and the desire 
to keep site access and cross-contamination to a minimum, remote support is becoming more common. Traditional benefits of remote support, even before Coronavirus, include travel cost reduction, access from anywhere, quick response times (no need to wait for the expert to arrive on site).
We have remote support for many of our customers already in place. The methods vary depending on client policies and site restrictions. The two basic methods are:
- VPN (Virtual Private Network).
In this scenario, our PC becomes a part of the remote network. We can then use our software to monitor and control the system. - Remote Desktop.
This involves remotely taking over an on-site PC. The keyboard and monitor on our PC replicate the keyboard and monitor on-site.
- VPN (Virtual Private Network).
Some specific examples include:
- A corporate IT remote access system using Citrix Desktop. From the Citrix Desktop, we can use various on-site engineering terminals with the required software to access equipment.
- Prosoft gateway providing a VPN connection to the PLC network.
- Team Viewer VPN and remote control.
- Local PC with a permanent 4G Modem internet connection, allowing us to take over the local PC using Team Viewer.
- Radmin authorised access to online PC. We can either take over the PC or access the files on the PC.
- Splashtop Business Access – where we are given authorised access to the PC on site.
For occasional access in an emergency, there are many tools.
- There is always the phone call where you blindly guide/advise onsite personnel. The most stressing example of this is guiding an IT help desk person through the installation of RsLinx. IT Policies changed after this to allow us better access.
- We have had little success with the Microsoft remote help built into windows; Corporate firewalls tend to block this access.
- Purpose-built tools such as Team Viewer, PTC Vuforia Chalk, Schneider Machine Advisor, EcoStruxure™ Secure Connect Advisor have various pros and cons.
- Video conferencing tools like Zoom can be used
very effectively, if you aren’t Zoomed out already. It seems that even those who had no idea about the existence of Zoom before Covid19 are now quite ofay with its use! The remote control and annotation tools are very useful during remote support.
In the past, remote support has been a guiding hand or tip, with site personnel handling any required changes. This is slowly changing, with site personnel becoming limited in their access and availability. The amount of development and commissioning performed remotely is increasing, but there are still many occasions that an on-site presence is best. Being on-site allows your other senses (hearing, sight) to be aware of actual equipment state, potential issues and solutions. However, face-to-face still provides the best human-human communication.
