Reviewer details
Name: Tommy Gibson
Position/Designation: Manager - Automation
Company: Voest Alpine Minning and Tunneling
Telephone: (031)665 1075
E-mail: [email protected]
Product details
Vendor: Adroit Technologies
Contact person: Paul Geng
Product name and version: Adroit 4.1
Telephone: (011)781 3513
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: www.adroit.co.za
General
Q: What industry (eg mining, food and beverage, automotive etc) is the scada being applied in? Describe the application briefly.
A: Coal mining. The continuous miners are complex machines that employ on-board proprietary radio remote control systems controlling total functionality in respect of safety, performance, condition monitoring etc. With the drive to improve the efficiency of the continuous mining machine, in order to reduce the Rand/tone mined with improved safety, there was a need to have the data captured 'on line' on surface, so that management decisions can be made proactively rather than reactively. The Adroit scada package is utilised as a platform to capture this data and graphically displays the mimic of the actual machine on surface. Currently, Adroit is only used for monitoring purpose for safety reasons however it is envisaged that as development takes place, the control functions will be utilised. The Adroit package is used in a fairly unique way as it was used as a platform for VAMT to write its own Voest Alpine Monitoring System (VAMS) application on top of the scada package.
Q: Who did the system integration?
A: Because of the project's unique nature, system integration was carried out by Voest Alpine automation technician Freddie Mare, despite the fact that he had no prior training or introduction into scada systems. This underlines the ease-of-use inherent to Adroit, as well as the strong technical support available from the company, as the only South African scada developer.
Q: Approximately how many man-hours did the integration take?
A: The development of the 'driver' took approximately 25 days and approximately 200 man-hours to draw up the application for the first model of continuous miner thereafter a further 18 hours each, for the other five models of machines. During the development and integration stage all means of communication (data and voice) were employed as the need arose, on a 24 h basis. We had a deadline to achieve full integration before 'Y2K' (which was achieved with 1,5 months to spare.)
Q: How is the after-sales support handled?
A: Having taking out a global Technology Agreement with Adroit, we now enjoy 24 h telephonic support and call-out facilities, free access to all software updates and version changes and free access to the company's newly created, dynamic knowledge base. We did and will continue to make frequent use of Adroit's development team, something that would not have been possible were we dealing with any other scada supplier in South Africa.
Q: What sort of licensing agreement is used on the system?
A: Our licence agreement covers all modules and is also unique in that it depends on the number of machines operating at one geographic site, but discussions are ongoing with Adroit on this aspect. Typically one machine utilises 150 'tag' points and we currently have 20 machines being monitored with another five ready for the integration. Both analogue and digital I/O are scanned.
System architecture
Q: How many tag points/I/O does the installation have?
A: Typically one machine utilises 150 'tag' points and we currently have 20 machines being monitored with another five ready for the integration. Both analog and digital I/O are scanned.
Q: What operating system is the scada running on?
A: Adroit runs on NT, which suited our application because of the security options available and the compatibility with existing mine LAN environment. With the exception of the database in version 4.1.1.22 we found the standards very open with an excellent list of standard drivers. However, in order to apply Adroit, as previously mentioned, they developed a system specific driver with OEM security key for safety reasons, there are further developments on our machines that will more than likely result in us utilising one of the standard protocol drivers. As far as the database is concerned, version 4.2 due for release will be employing a SQL database allowing a more open integration.
Q: What impressed you most about the architecture?
A: The open nature of Adroit is so extensive that we were able to import intricate machine graphics directly from a proprietary Austrian software package used on the machines, directly into Adroit. Any drivers that were not available were developed to custom specifications. Through the TA agreement mentioned above, we will receive upgrades as and when they become available.
Q: Is the system integrated onto an intranet or the Internet?
A: Using Adroit's newly developed Web-Client Technology, we are implementing a pilot project that will allow selective users to view live machine information, such as major componet work cycle duty in order to establish life cycles, from any of our facilities in the world via our intranet. Although at present we are only utilising the monitoring and visualisation features of Adroit, we have a vision to eventually use full Adroit functionality, including selective remote control at mine level.
Graphics
Q: Describe the graphics development process.
A: While Adroit have an extensive range of standard graphic images we chose to import our own machine drawings into the package. Further integration is ongoing with the users of our machines where mine conveyor belts will be displayed as well.
Q: How would you describe the library of graphic images?
A: This is a unique application which required the use of our own graphic images. However, in the integration of conveyor belt mimics, we will make use of Adroit's very extensive library of vector-based images.
Compatibility
Q: Did you run the scada in conjunction with any third-party application software? Describe.
A: Yes, we have integrated the scada with SQL and IIS (Internet Information Server) In addition, we will be linking Adroit to our on-line instruction and parts-list manual.
Q: Does the scada allow for the user to create scripts to perform specific tasks? Describe.
A: Yes, in fact we make extensive use of this facility, using Microsoft standard Visual Basic and Java scripting, as integrated into the Adroit package.
Management reporting
Q: Is a trending and historical data reporting system included?
A: Because of the nature of our application and specifically safety and condition monitoring we make extensive use of the "notification agent" for SMS messaging for methane alarms and high gearbox temperature warning on the GSM network. This in conjunction with the trend reporting allows us to detect, analyse and take action against possible catastrophic failures and this is data logged for future use.
Q: Is a management reporting system included in the package?
A: We see reporting as having two functions. Firstly, the trend report that comes as standard with the package is used for specific statistical analysis of recent events ±7 days, with special events being logged. Secondly, management reporting that assists with improving machine overall production output and we have experienced significant improvements where the reporting is used, up to 20%, in one application. Currently, we utilise MS Access for these management reports but will be changing this, so that we can integrate this for other uses, eg 'RF ID' tagging, MES etc.
Q: Is the system integrated into a manufacturing execution system?
A: Not currently
Q: Is the scada system integrated into a management reporting or control system?
A: Not currently. Using an OLE-DB compliant database (which can be seamlessly integrated with Adroit), tables from an Oracle database could be made available for a SAP-certified interface
Conclusion
Q: What impressed you the most about the system?
A: It should be noted that when we initiated the project with Adroit in June 1999, we were starting from a relatively low-level scada knowledge base. Our primary reason for selecting Adroit was the product's user-friendly nature, the fact that one of the major users of our machines had standardised on Adroit for there 'plant' environment (which makes integration simpler) and the willingness of Adroit, being locally based, to assist with this implementation.
| Tel: | +27 11 658 8100 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.adroit.co.za |
| Articles: | More information and articles about Adroit Technologies |
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