Often there is value lying hidden
in process data. Most of the time, we focus on the final product,
but rarely do we stop and take a look at how the product
was produced. Automation systems are great tools for making
things happen, but
at the same time they can offer just as much in the data they can
give back to the user. In return, this data may provide valuable
trends to allow analysis of your particular process or automation
task.
Common items that are often trended in process
control applications are:
- Process Variables (e.g., Temperature, pH, Speed, Pressure,
Flow, Level)
- Process Setpoints (for the above process variables)
- Device States (e.g., valve open/close, motor on/off)
- Alarms and Messages generated from process conditions
- Operator interactions with the process
Most SCADA and DCS solutions provide off-the-shelf data acquisition
and reporting solutions. Often, you have the ability to roll-your-own
data management tools for small, more basic, applications. Crosstec
can help you in either case: we can help configure your off-the-shelf
solution and optimize it to suit your needs or we can help you
roll out a custom solution utilizing whatever technologies you
(and your IS/IT department) are most comfortable with. We've
worked closely with all flavors of databases, historians,
and data management systems for many years, often in regulated
industries where data integrity is critical to day to day operations
of a facility.
Our staff is proficient in a variety of database platforms,
from the commercial offerings of Oracle and Microsoft, to lesser
expensive (but very robust) offerings from the PostgreSQL and
mySQL groups. Crosstec has the programming and design know-how
to create interactive interfaces using the medium of your choice,
whether you need a web-centric interface, a standalone application,
or a generic HMI solution. In every case, you will have the
level of control
and monitoring you need for your particular process.
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For those of you that require the ultimate in data collection and
reporting flexibility, we offer a custom data acquisition and reporting
suite called Chronicle that
has been created from the ground up based on our past years of experience
with clients and their data
requirements.
This
product
came
about because we could not find a single off-the-shelf package that
did everything the customer needed, or that could be ultimately expanded
to fit the bill. Additionally, we found that we were always at the
mercy of the software vendor when it came to issues such as patches
and new feature requests.
So, if you find yourself looking for a historical/reporting suite
that has almost infinite expandability (and tweakability), and you're
not afraid to get your hands dirty sifting through some data, we believe
Chronicle could very
well be a stable launching point for your needs. |
