ABSTRACT
One of the major concerns that plagues the industry even in the 21st century is the loss of life and property that occurs as a consequence of preventable industrial disasters. It may be the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984 or the Vishakhapatnam gas leak accident of 2020; the substance may vary and the place may vary, but the net result is always a tragedy. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) paradigm that comprises sensors and actuators for the industrial domain may be able to address this grave industrial concern with a reasonably high degree of reliability. The paradigm of real-time systems finds a complementary application in the arena of industrial disaster prevention. Various sensors may monitor the state of the desired and relevant critical variables relating to difficult industrial substances. Data received from these sensors must be analyzed under hard deadline constraints. The actuators may be employed to take automated preventive actions wherever possible. Notifications of imminent disaster (based on the analysis of the sensed data) dispatched to the administrative authorities that give a reasonable headstart are also a welcome step. This chapter reviews the stated issues in greater depth. Best practices for ensuring a reliable IIoT monitoring framework for industrial disaster prevention and management are also presented and discussed.
