Annual technology conference for SA system integrators
January 2001
System Integration & Control Systems Design
Futuristix-Wonderware's annual SI conference has become a traditional and noteworthy event for professionals serving SA's manufacturing industry. Companies representing approximately a R1bn slice of the professional services, IT and industrial control industries attended this informative forum, which featured a number of international speakers.
Futuristix-Wondwerware's system integrators are involved with virtually every aspect of key manufacturing processes such as process planning, process control and visualisation, logistics, supply chain optimisation, production planning and plant maintenance. To address this broad spectrum of needs, the conference featured a wide variety of topics including thin client computing, terminal services, Internet portals, cross-application data access, manipulation and analysis, a new generation of remote alarm handling technologies, realtime asset management and preventative maintenance as well as significant enhancements to FactorySuite that provide new functionality and compatibility with these evolving technologies.
Presentations were made by US speakers representing Wonderware and its US-based SI network as well as local presenters.
"SA is a world leader in the application of industrial control and information technologies," says Futuristix MD, Mike le Plastrier. "We therefore tend to attract international experts in these fields so that we can learn from one another. The exponential growth in technology is providing us with unprecedented opportunities in those areas of manufacturing that contribute most to wealth creation. Every year, Wonderware releases products that address issues of key importance to manufacturers and everyone involved in their supply chains. The purpose of these annual SI conferences is to be as informative as possible and to make everyone involved in solution implementation aware of the possibilities that exist." Two of the major technologies impacting manufacturers and their supply chains today are terminal servers and web enabling. Terminal servers provide for the convenience of centralised computing with none of the disadvantages by using 'thin' clients that not only drastically reduce the cost of ownership of extensive networks but also feature robust operation in the most adverse of conditions. Web enabling consists of several technologies that work together to provide unified and unprecedented access to plant information in whatever format it happens to be. This access includes realtime links to alarms via cellphone, e-mail or any other communication medium while also providing some degree of control over plant operation.
"By supporting and, most importantly, integrating these technologies, our software opens a new world of possibilities to cope with even the most complex and demanding realtime information and control situations," continues le Plastrier. "The focus is to provide manufacturing end-users with the flexibility and control over their processes that they have come to expect. Presentations at these conferences focus on addressing real needs and showing practical applications of these emerging technologies."
Futuristix
(011) 723 9900
[email protected]
www.futuristix.co.za
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