Software converts plant floor data into real-time information.
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Press Release Summary:
VisualPlant v3.2(TM) Manufacturing Intelligence(TM) software provides manufacturers with alternative to custom-configured programs by analyzing activity of every machine in plant and feeding information live to employees' desktops. Enhanced trigger collection definitions allow users to create complex expressions for event triggers, instead of using single value definition. Being able to fine-tune data collection ensures customers are capturing only data relevant to their issues.
Original Press Release:
EMT Releases New VisualPlant Version 3.2
LONDON, Ont. - Executive Manufacturing Technologies, Inc. (EMT) today announced the release of its latest version of its off-the-shelf Manufacturing Intelligence(TM) software, VisualPlant 3.2(TM). This version of the company's premier product enhances existing modules and adds new functionality to meet the changing needs of discrete manufacturers. VisualPlant debuted in 1998, and version 3.2's predecessor-3.1-was introduced in September 2001.
VisualPlant 3.2 was developed through collaboration with customers and EMT's advisory council, including some of the world's largest global manufacturers. This new major release offers significant new visualization and analysis tools, focusing on simplifying the user experience while at the same time greatly enhancing the analysis and reporting functionality.
"This version of VisualPlant is the result of extensive interaction with existing and future customers and significant market research, and we're excited about the enhanced functionality it offers our clients around the world," says CEO Dennis Cocco. "Previous versions helped establish EMT as the world leader in Manufacturing Intelligence. Version 3.2 is designed to keep us well in front of our competition."
VisualPlant 3.2 has set the standard for Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence. It is still the only off-the-shelf software to provide manufacturers with an alternative to costly, custom-configured programs by analysing the activity of every machine in the plant and feeding this information live to employees' desktops. The latest version is fully compatible with previous versions of VisualPlant, meaning that customers can immediately begin taking advantage of all new features and usability enhancements.
"We think the expanded functionality and increased flexibility of VisualPlant 3.2 represents an unprecedented advancement in Manufacturing Intelligence," said Samir Sehovic, EMT's Vice President of Product Development. "VisualPlant continues to set the world standard for plant-wide data collection and analysis."
EMT is a leading provider of Manufacturing Intelligence software. EMT's software, VisualPlant, enables manufacturers to collect, store, analyze and distribute critical information throughout the manufacturing enterprise in real-time. VisualPlant consolidates raw plant floor data into relevant real-time information and historical data. This visibility allows plant managers and corporate executives to make faster, more informed decisions to improve operational efficiency, product quality and plant profitability. Customers include CibaVision, DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, Herman Miller, Lear Corporation, Magna International Inc., Visteon, Wescast Industries Inc., and ZF. EMT is a privately held company based in London, Ontario. More information about VisualPlant and EMT can be found at visualplant.com
VisualPlant Version 3.2 key enhancements
Collection Engine Enhancements
1. MSMQ private queues instead of public queues
- This new feature eliminates the need to install VisualPlant server applications on a network domain controller when running VisualPlant in the Windows 2000 environment.
2. Enhanced trigger collection definitions
- This feature allows users to create complex expressions for event triggers, instead of using a single value definition. This decreases the need for PLC program modification and allows an administrator to control the amount of data collected.
3. Trigger event collection by exception
- Being able to fine-tune the data collection will ensure customers are capturing only data relevant to the specific business issues they want to address. This eliminates unnecessary data capture and makes data analysis more manageable and easier to view.
4. Other improvements
- Improved communication between VPAdministrator and VPCollector.
- Enhanced performance in storing event data.
- Enhanced handling of various types of failures (SQL connection, OPC connection, MSMQ connection, Time synchronization).
- An enhanced log messaging system.
- Added diagnostic tools allowing for monitoring of values VP collector received from OPC.
VPAdministrator Enhancements
1. Export - Import configuration
- VPAdministrator is now able to export current configurations to a file for backup purposes or in order to share configurations between different servers, or to a SQL database for local use. Using this functionality an administrator can quickly copy portions of a configuration to the same project or to a new project, or work on a project remotely.
2. Enhanced item editing:
An administrator can now:
- Validate item definitions before saving
- Validate OPC items in the OPC Server
- Export item definitions to XML, Excel, HTML and delimited files
- The item definition editors also offer enhanced search and replace features.
3. Linking accumulator collection to an identifier
- For each collected identifier, the administrator can link a number of accumulators to ensure that when the identifier changes the collection engine will make a record for the linked accumulator. This ensures more accurate reporting on accumulators when viewing data by identifier in Production View and reports.
VPWeb Enhancements
1. Save and load a configured view
- Each VPWeb view allows saving the configuration to a database and/or a file. If configuration is saved as a file it can be imported to another asset or group.
2. Filtering of displayed data
- A non-unique identifier can be used to filter data in current view. Selecting an identifier value and selecting inclusive or exclusive flags will filter all data accordingly for the entire user instance of VPWeb.
3. Time frame enhancements
- VisualPlant now provides the ability to pick up identifiers for time selection (hour/day) instead of using drag and drop.
- A new feature of the time picker is the ability to define a time span (a number of minutes, days, etc.). The user can then browse through data using the time span by means of the Previous and Next buttons.
4. Real-time Incidents
- Current active incidents can now be displayed in real-time in a layout view using the Real Time Incident Viewer. This new control allows a user to define color changes and/or a flash animation when an incident occurs.
5. Hide/Show columns in production view
- With this new feature both data and description column headings can now be hidden or revealed. This feature extends functionality such that hidden columns are not included in any calculations. Data columns can be hidden as selected or hidden based on all columns with the same title (for example, daily lunch breaks from 12:00 to 1:00 can be excluded).
6. Displayed details on time lines
- By double-clicking on a time line in Production View, a popup window will display detailed records for the selected time line.
7. Editing of data and edit log
- Users of Production View, in addition to being able to edit values, can also now view all previous edits by user, value, and date.
8. Hyperlink to internal and external links in Detailed View
- Administrators can define internal and external hyperlinks in Detailed View. When a user clicks the link, the specified web page opens. This function also allows incidents to be linked to a database application, for example, to a maintenance knowledge base.
9. New report wizard
- VisualPlant 3.2 contains a new report wizard is that is 100% defined in the database. This allows new reports to be generated without hard coding wizard steps.
10. Local and Global Reports
- All users can now save reports to their local computer for future re-use. An administrator can also save a report format in the database so that it is available to all users.
11. Export all reports to MS Excel
- Reports can now be exported to Excel by a single click of a button.
VPTerminal Enhancements
1. Step-by-step Operator initiated download
- Each of the tasks in VPTerminal can have downloadable properties associated with them such that an operator can step through each task property and approve the download one property at a time.
2. Splitting Incidents
- Any incident (fault, alarm, etc.) can be split into any number of new incidents (E.g., A 10 minute E-Stop could be split into a 6 minute "Hydraulic Pump Failure" incident and a 4 minute "Hydraulic system reset" incident, providing much better detail about the incident.)
3. Downloading Manually-entered data items
- Any manually entered data item can now be configured to be downloaded to the appropriate asset on the plant floor.
