Workflow Software promotes operator effectiveness.

Press Release Summary:




Targeting water/wastewater industry, Proficy® Workflow provides information-rich, circumstance-based workflows that operators follow to understand what is happening around them and how to react in sequenced and procedural manner that is repeatable every day. Program guides operators with step-by-step instructions for each task and automatically walks them through corrective action to prevent or fix problems. Software can connect to many existing databases using Proficy SOA.



Original Press Release:



GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms' Proficy® Workflow for Water/Wastewater Reduces Costs and Improves Quality by Making Every Operator an Expert



Software interactively guides operators to improve effectiveness by up to 15 percent solving problems faster for a true sustainable advantage

Charlottesville, VA, June 10, 2009 GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a unit of GE Enterprise Solutions, today announced the availability of Proficy® Workflow for the Water/Wastewater industry, enabling an environment of information-rich, circumstance-based workflows that operators follow to understand what's happening around them and how to react in a sequenced and procedural manner that is repeatable every single day.

With a Work Process Management system, plant managers have the opportunity to improve quality, reduce operational costs and secure operations for a true sustainable advantage. In addition, they can decrease the variation in operator performance, making operations more predictable. Proficy Workflow guides operators with step-by-step instructions for each task during the day and automatically walks them through corrective action to prevent or fix problems. For example, an alarm from the SCADA system will trigger Proficy Workflow to instruct the operator exactly how to work through the problem, provide the information that he/she needs and possibly plays a video on how to resolve the issue with a piece of equipment.

This combination of technology and human interface allows operators to better understand the information at hand - and take action, improving effectiveness by up to 15%. Additionally, Proficy Workflow can connect to many existing databases in water and wastewater treatment plants - both GE Fanuc and third party, using Proficy SOA (Service Oriented Architecture). This architecture connects to different databases and pulls information back into video, portal or HTML screens. The software prompts operators for manual data entry, as needed, and the validated data becomes part of the facility's permanent databases.

Proficy Workflow for Water/Wastewater can make operators more productive and valuable by:

o Enable operators follow the right work processes

o Coordinating data across systems - know what to do, when

o Enabling Corrective Action to improve operations in real time

o Triggering Workflows to act on alarms and prevent additional downtime

o Capturing knowledge of expert workers to reduce effects of employee attrition

o Automatically triggering QA based on events or elapsed time

o Recording and tracking work processes and operational data to ease compliance

o Managing both automated and manual processes

"Sometimes having too much information is as bad as not having any information at all," said Alan Hinchman, GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms' Global Water Industry Manager. "In a water treatment plant, managers and operators need to filter through complex situations and sets of circumstances, managing the data from many sources and understanding what the next steps should be. Management can count on the best operators - but these operators can't handle every situation, every day, every year. With Proficy Workflow, you can make every operator an expert."

GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms also provides the following QuickStart Use Cases for the Water/Wastewater industry:

o Electronic Work Instructions / Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

o Process Set Up

o Virtual Trainer

o Non Conformance

o Water Quality & Lab Sampling

o Alarm Management

o Corrective Action and Exception Management

o Troubleshooting Trees

For more information: www.gefanuc.com/workflow.

About GE Enterprise Solutions

GE Enterprise Solutions elevates customers' productivity and profitability with integrated solutions using sensors and non-destructive testing; security and life safety technologies; power system protection and control; and plant automation and embedded computing systems. Enterprise Solutions' high-tech, high-growth businesses include Sensing & Inspection Technologies, Security, Digital Energy, and GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms. The business has 17,000 problem-solving employees in more than 60 countries around the world.

About GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms

GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a joint venture between General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) and FANUC LTD of Japan, is an experienced high-performance technology company and a global provider of hardware, software, services, and expertise in automation and embedded computing. We offer a unique foundation of agile, advanced and ultra-reliable technology that provides customers a sustainable advantage in the industries they serve, including energy, water, consumer packaged goods, government & defense, and telecommunications. GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms is a worldwide company headquartered in Charlottesville, VA and is part of GE Enterprise Solutions. For more information, visit www.gefanuc.com.

For more information contact:

Elli Holman

GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, Public Relations Manager

t: +1 508 698 7456

m: +1 508 298 8306

e: elli.holman@gefanuc.com

All Topics