Smart Grain Elevator Systems Using IoT: Transforming Modern Agriculture

With the smart agriculture market valued at nearly $23 billion, businesses embrace innovation like never before. Fuelled by a pursuit of efficiency, control, and transparency, they are turning to the power of grain facility automation using IoT technology.

But why opt for automated grain elevators in the first place? From optimized operations to greater supply chain visibility, our article will cover all the benefits of such solutions. We’ll discuss the features, functioning specifics, and types of IoT devices used in such systems. Having delivered IoT-based automation solutions like 2Smart Standalone, WebbyLab will also share practical insights on turning your grain elevators smart.

Why Deploying an IoT Grain Elevator Solution Is a Good Idea?

There are several reasons to power your automated grain elevator with IoT technologies. Let’s explore some of them.

• Streamlining such operations as inventory level tracking and grain handling
• Reducing manual labor and human errors
• Gaining real-time insights into the grain logistics process, from storage to transportation conditions
• Reducing operational costs and risks owing to IoT implementation
• Leveraging predictive maintenance to detect potential equipment failures before they occur
• Improving decision-making by analyzing trends, performance metrics, and other data

As you can see, leveraging IoT based smart elevators is way more efficient and profitable than traditional ones.

Stages of Transformation into a Smart Grain Elevator System

Let’s now discuss how to reach that advanced efficiency level with an IoT smart grain elevator solution. Here are several steps to make your grain elevator smart.

1. Assessing and modernizing your IT infrastructure. Evaluate your current hardware, network capabilities, and software systems and update them if necessary.
2. Developing and implementing a grain elevator management system. Create a remote monitoring and elevator control solution by integrating IoT devices and sensors.
3. Implementing vehicle identification and control perimeter systems. Enhance security and control by tracking vehicles, gates, and barriers at the grain elevator premises.
4. Integrate analytics and reporting tools. Use analytics solutions to study data from sensors and IoT devices implemented into your grain elevator monitoring system.

Benefits of Using IoT Systems in Grain Elevators

As seen in WebbyLab’s experience, automation with IoT is always advantageous for businesses, including agriculture facilities. Look at the following benefits of IoT grain elevator solutions:

• Maintenance forecasting. By leveraging IoT-enabled sensors connected to grain elevators, businesses can effortlessly predict their equipment maintenance needs.
• Real-time monitoring. Sensors throughout the agricultural facility track inventory levels, temperature, humidity, and other conditions. It helps businesses store their grain properly and manage their operations efficiently.
• Remote control. With IoT, grain elevator operators can remotely manage and control various processes.
• Cost-effectiveness. Enabling the automated grain elevator with IoT usually leads to significant cost savings. It’s possible because businesses automate operations, lower manual work, optimize energy usage and inventory management.
• Enhanced safety and security. With IoT systems, businesses can monitor environmental conditions to prevent fire hazards, spoilage, or other safety risks and ensure that only authorized personnel and vehicles enter their facilities.

Features of Smart Grain Elevators

Using the Internet of Things in grain elevator solutions comes with a range of features that make the above benefits a reality. Let’s look at the main ones:

• Machine learning. Smart grain elevators use ML algorithms to optimize operations. They detect anomalies and make intelligent predictions by analyzing historical data and real-time inputs from IoT sensors.
• Customization. Grain elevators using IoT technology allow businesses to configure and tailor functionalities to their specific operations. Some options include customizing grain storage and shipping processes or setting thresholds for alerts and notifications.
• Performance tracking. IoT-based elevators allow companies to monitor grain quality, energy consumption, and equipment condition to understand the elevator’s performance better.
• Remote control. While being a benefit, it’s also one of the main features of the intelligent grain elevator. Through interfaces accessible on desktops or mobile devices, operators can remotely monitor all elevator-related operations.

How Grain Elevator Automation Using IoT Works

To create a fully automated grain elevator with IoT, businesses use IoT devices, sensors, and systems for monitoring and controlling various parameters within specified limits without manual labor. Here’s how it works:

• Monitoring environmental conditions. IoT sensors measure air temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, etc., to ensure optimal grain storage, preventing spoilage, mold growth, and pest infestations.
• Implementing lighting systems. These allow grain elevator operators to control the level and duration of lighting to minimize energy consumption and optimize grain preservation. With IoT technology, such systems can be programmed to adjust lighting automatically following specified requirements.
• Controlling ventilation systems. IoT-enabled ventilation allows businesses to maintain perfect air conditions in silos.
• Using automated grain storage systems. These accurately measure, weigh, distribute, and store grain based on the predetermined parameters.
• Implementing a centralized control panel. It’s the brain of the automation process, which receives data from sensors, analyzes it, and suggests or gives commands to IoT devices.

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Types of IoT Devices Used in Smart Grain Elevators

As you can see, the automation of grain storage complex is only possible with specific IoT devices and sensors. What are they? Let’s take a quick look:

• Environmental sensors — monitoring temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, and air quality
• Level sensors — measuring grain quantity in storage silos
• Moisture sensors — measuring the moisture content of grains
• Pressure sensors — monitoring pressure levels in various parts of the grain elevator
• Security and surveillance systems — monitoring the grain elevator facilities perimeter 
• Control systems — enabling automation and remote control of operations in the grain elevator

WebbyLab Experience in IoT Systems for Grain Elevator

From WebbyLab’s expertise, using IoT energy management solution for grain elevator automates and simplifies numerous processes. In particular, this is evident in our universal automation platform 2Smart Standalone.

A dashboard of a 2Smart Standalone automation platform.

Businesses often face the challenge of integrating multiple off-the-shelf monitoring devices for grain storage, each from a different manufacturer and brand. It typically requires either purchasing all devices from a single manufacturer at a high cost or dealing with compatibility issues and a lack of software. Yet, with 2Smart Standalone, connecting and integrating IoT devices from different brands and protocols into a unified ecosystem is possible, creating a seamless monitoring solution.

Standalone platform connects various IoT devices and supports different communication protocols.

By using 2Smart Standalone for grain elevators, businesses can tackle the following tasks:

• Remote control
• Monitoring
• Automation
• Historical data analysis
• Integration with accounting, logistics, and ERP systems
• Integration with personnel, buyer, and supplier systems
• Forecasting issues with grain quality and storage
• Optimization of resource control such as electricity, water supply, etc.

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Based on this ready-made monitoring and automation system, businesses assemble their own unique grain storage complex tailored to their needs. For that, they require experts in various use cases and tasks of IoT solutions for enterprise organizations, such as WebbyLab.

At our company, we are knowledgeable about the latest IoT standards and have expertise in the following:

• Development of the access control and management system
• Measurement using sensors of grain storage conditions
• Control of volume and weight of grain in compartments
• Automated control and management of storage conditions
• Video surveillance

Implement Smarter Grain Elevators with WebbyLab

Grain facility automation using IoT presents significant benefits for agricultural businesses. From improved efficiency and transparency to streamlined operations across the whole chain, companies enjoy the power of the Internet of Things.

If you want to improve your existing facility or build one using IoT, WebbyLab offers comprehensive IoT consulting services. Feel free to contact our team to discuss your project in greater detail.