Why Your Company Needs a Data Acquisition System: 10 Compelling Reasons

Those who say the data are the oil of the 21st century are not wrong. Thanks to the obtaining of information and its subsequent analysis, companies can increase their turnover. When an organization has the necessary tools to capture reality data and is able to analyze it correctly, it can, for example, detect an increase in temperature in a cold room and automatically activate a cooling mechanism so that food production does not go to waste.

In this context, it is increasingly important to have sensors and resources that are capable of digitizing reality so that a computer can analyze this data and present real solutions to increase business volume.

This process of digitizing the reality of the world around us has a name: Data acquisition or, shorter, DAQ. Thanks to this procedure, information can be displayed, analyzed and stored on a computer and used to make better decisions that benefit the business.

The digitization of the information that is available in reality is carried out through a Data acquisition system. This system is controlled and supervised from the Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), a system of software and hardware elements that allows companies to improve their processes in real time.

What is a data acquisition system?

A data acquisition system consists of three key elements: a sensor, a signal conditioner and an analog-to-digital converter, also known by its acronym CAD or ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC).

• • • • Sensor: A device, also known as a transducer, capable of transforming conditions of reality, such as temperature or motion, into an electrical signal that can be measured and analyzed with a computer.
      • Signal conditioner: This is a device that filters the analog signal picked up by sensors before converting it into digital information. You can amplify the signal, attenuate it, filter it, calibrate it or isolate it. The information obtained from reality can be too noisy and too dangerous to treat directly without prior filtering.
      • Analog to digital signal converter: It is the key to any data acquisition process. It is a chip that transforms the signal captured from reality into information that can be interpreted by a processor. This data is transferred to a PC via a bus for further analysis.

Companies can implement a data acquisition system through a DAQ device, which includes signal conditioning and an analog-to-digital converter. Why should companies have such a system?

10 reasons why you should have data acquisition system

Data acquisition is key in very diverse fields such as health sciences research, civil engineering, industry, etc.

All these sectors bet on a technology of this type because it brings them many advantages. We summarize them in the following Decalogue:

• • • 1. Improves the efficiency and reliability of processes or machinery. Steel mills,  utilities, or a research lab have some kind of data acquisition device that silently monitors some parameter. These collected data can be used to improve efficiency, ensure reliability or ensure that machinery operates safely.
      2. Problems are analyzed and solved faster.  With the use of real-time data acquisition systems, measurements are generated and displayed without delay. Thanks to this system, a technician can intervene faster in any problem and make the machine reach optimum performance in less time.
      3. Data redundancy is reduced. With the application of a system of this type, companies forget to have duplicate data and adopt a technology that facilitates the analysis of the information obtained, as it allows them to work without any noise that hinders the analysis.
      4. Decrease update errors. This type of system automates data entry processes that were previously done by hand. Automation reduces errors by eliminating human error and misplacement.
      5. Increased data integration and reliance on other programs. The fewer programs that intervene in a more agile process, the more agile it will be. Thanks to a DAQ system, it ensures that the information is complete and correct without having to rely on other types of applications.
      6. Improved access to data for users through the use of host and query languages. With these systems it is easier to access the database and retrieve information for processing and analysis.
      7. Improves data security. By automating the process of capturing data from reality, the human factor is no longer involved and the security risks associated with this procedure are reduced.
      8. Data entry, storage and retrieval costs are reduced. These three processes are cheaper because data is entered faster, takes up less space, and can be retrieved in less time.
      9. Quality control. A system of this type can confirm that a system is meeting the design specifications and that a product meets the user’s needs. In addition, you can test whether a product has the quality required for marketing and detect those that are defective.
      10. Supervision of processes without human interaction. With such a system, the company’s various procedures are tracked and monitored to identify and resolve faults faster.

Using a data acquisition system allows to obtain valuable information of the reality to improve the performance of the company and to increase the economic benefit.

Data acquisition provides greater control over an organization’s processes and faster response to failures that may occur. The procedures are optimized to the maximum to obtain products and services of quality that maximize the result of the company and increase its efficiency.

Are you interested in activating a Data acquisition in your company? Contact us and let us help you.