Futuristix Advanced Control Systems reports that virtually any day of the week throughout the year, its car park is filled to capacity with the cars of operators and managers attending courses that will help them get the most from their selected industrial automation solutions.
During the first eight months of 2003, Futuristix trained nearly 570 delegates and held over 80 training courses covering the comprehensive range of solutions on offer. 140 of these delegates were trained on-site over a schedule of 19 courses. The SETA*-approved training courses cover the Wonderware range of products including ArchestrA/IAS (industrial application framework), InTouch (HMI/scada), InTrack, InBatch, InSQL, ActiveFactory (Web-enabled supervision and reporting), InControl (soft PLC), QI Analyst (quality monitoring), DT Analyst (down time monitoring) and Avantis (Enterprise Asset Management). Other courses address MDT AutoSave from MDT Software (PLC/HMI software release, revision and backup control).
"Looking at the numbers," says Mike le Plastrier, director of Futuristix, "we probably process more students through our facilities than any other organisation excluding universities and colleges. Our courses are structured to familiarise customers with the use of their chosen solutions in their environment so that they can realise the best ROI and optimised productivity. That is why they bought the software in the first place."
Training is done at Futuristix's head office in Bedfordview as well as regionally and also at customer sites. "We go to virtually any length to provide our clients with the practical knowledge they need to win with our products," says le Plastrier. "The idea that a customer could be wondering how to get the most from his or her chosen solution is unacceptable. That is also why we have recently started a consulting service. While many solution vendors in our industry equate their success with their sales figures, we compare ours with the interest shown in training and the success stories of empowered end-users and system integrators - that is because referral selling works best of all."
In order to put paid to the 'too good to be true' belief concerning ArchestrA, Wonderware's industrial application framework, Futuristix is offering courses on this highly significant new development so that people can judge for themselves. "We think that every delegate who attends this course knows with certainty that the re-invention of the industrial software wheel on every project is now a thing of the past," says le Plastrier. "And it has all happened over several days rather than during a quick demonstration. This gives potential users the opportunity to really come to grips with the product and to critically evaluate its effectiveness in their environment."
Another product, which is gaining training popularity, is DT Analyst. This solution measures and reports on downtimes of any duration in order to help pinpoint the cause of problems and to improve the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) of all production environments. "Since DT Analyst can make a more significant contribution to a company's bottom line faster than many other approaches," says le Plastrier, "it is triggering the imagination of all management who want a greater degree of knowledge about the strengths and weaknesses of their production processes. DT Analyst is also aggressively supported by our consulting service. Whichever way you look at it, knowledge is power. The knowledge we impart in our training courses empowers our end-users and system integrators to get the most from the solutions we represent. We would not have it any other way."
For more information contact Mike le Plastrier, Futuristix Advanced Control Systems, 011 723 9900, mike@futuristix.co.za, www.futuristix.co.za
* SETA: Sector Education and Training Authority.
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