Futuristix Advanced Control Systems has been awarded the exclusive South African distributorship for US-Based MDT Software - a developer of specialised software systems that manages changes to a wide variety of realtime industrial automation devices. Those devices include PLCs, robots, drive systems, human-machine interfaces, computer-based realtime control and data acquisition systems as well as their related documentation.
Futuristix, the sole South African distributor of the Wonderware range of industrial automation products, is adding complementary and unique applications to its already wide range of solutions.
In most plants today, programming changes are made by multiple users on multiple PCs and multiple programs. As a result, there are dozens of floppy disks located throughout the plant, each containing different program versions. Inefficiencies are inevitable, costly and even dangerous. With an increase in programs and a decrease in automation personnel, effectively managing this situation is a growing challenge. MASS AutoSave from MDT eases the company's management burden and helps it seize plant-wide control of its automation environment.
'Software controls almost every aspect of production today,' says Mike le Plastrier, MD of Futuristix. "It controls what PLCs do, what functions robots must perform, how to process orders and what decisions to make. At the IT level, careful provision is made for safe and backed-up information repositories and the organised storage of strictly controlled software releases. But at the production level, where the enterprise's wealth is generated, such luxuries are rare. Yet, changing PLC software will directly affect production and the company's bottom line as will scada changes but, should the change not be documented or its author leave the company, what will happen in a time of crisis or when you want to change your processes?'
MDT Software invented change management software. Since the early '80s, MDT Software experts have been expanding and adapting change management software to strive for the most advanced technology in the industry. As a result, MASS AutoSave is claimed to offer more features, performs more functions and supports more devices and automation software than any other change management software in the world.
MASS AutoSave is a realtime interactive Change Management, Programmable Device Support (PDS) software system that provides full documentation, audit trails, security, uploads, downloads, comparisons, and archiving. It uses a Windows environment and is fully integrated with programme-panel software. MASS AutoSave unites the plant's automation software under one common user interface that creates a centralised, documented, well defined, more productive and secure automation programme environment.
MASS AutoSave supports virtually all brands and types of PLCs, robots, HMIs, and any other intelligent device including Rockwell/Allen-Bradley, Modicon, Siemens, Square D and GE Fanuc. MASS AutoSave also supports virtually every brand of programming software as well.
'MASS AutoSave must surely be one of the most strategically important solutions to any manufacturing concern,' continues le Plastrier, 'because it archives and documents the changes in the artificial intelligence responsible for the production processes of the enterprise. Who would want to put that at risk or to lose it altogether?'
MDT offers a range of centralised solutions that will monitor and document ad-hoc or formalised changes to control software as well as institute a rigorous software release control policy that provides management the control it needs to maintain and optimise production.
Futuristix
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