Undocumented changes to and unregulated backups of PLC programmes and scada systems can lead to costly and lengthy production delays when something goes wrong. Yet, changes to PLC code are part of the necessary on-going process of production improvement and response to emergencies. By regimenting the software change process, MDT's AutoSave allows for incremental process improvement and controlled disaster recovery.
Scaw Metals' extensive works rely on 24/7 production availability in an environment where untracked and undocumented PLC software changes can quickly lead to chaos. This applies to most industrial automation environments where the blame for malfunctions and poor disaster recovery usually falls on attendant technicians and engineers because of lack of documentation. The reality of the situation is that operational personnel quite rightly have other priorities in production optimisation or emergency situations than documenting software changes. What aggravates the situation is that that there is rarely a mechanism to help them do so.
"AutoSave has virtually eliminated the tediousness, guesswork and the dangers of the past," says Martin Volkwyn, divisional engineering manager, Scaw Metals. "Today, technicians do not have to go from place to place to do backups. We know at all times what changes have been made and what software release is current. We also know why changes were made and who made them. This is important because changes are automatically e-mailed to anyone they will affect and this, in turn, encourages the person who made the changes to supply more complete information. AutoSave also lets us verify and track backups. All this has helped to eliminate doubt and reduce the time for disaster recovery should this be required."
About Scaw Metals
The Scaw Metals Group is an international group, wholly owned by Anglo American, manufacturing a diverse range of steel products. Its principal operations are located in South Africa and South America. The group consists of five main product lines: rolled steel, Haggie wire rope and strand, McKinnon Chain, Moly-Cop forged grinding media and cast steel and alloy iron products. The South African facilities include wire and steel wire rope operations, steel plants, rolling mills, steel foundries and chain manufacturing operations. These facilities produce steel wire rope, pre-stressed concrete wire and strand, reinforcing bar, wire rod, cast and forged grinding media, steel castings, high chromium iron castings and plain carbon and low alloy steel chain and fittings, supplied to the construction, railway, power generation, mining, cement, marine and agricultural markets worldwide.
Scaw Metals is still in the process of deploying MDT AutoSave but has already reaped the benefits of an IT approach to shop floor software management.
About MDT AutoSave
MDT AutoSave is a realtime change management solution for factory and industrial automation software that forms an umbrella for programmable device systems.
It allows multiple access to multiple devices and centralised, access-controlled storage to control software while providing the required level of backup, version control, scheduled software version comparisons, disaster recovery and automatic change notification facilities.
For more information contact Mike le Plastrier, Futuristix Advanced Control Systems, 011 723 9900, [email protected], www.futuristix.co.za
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