Our Work

Custom 5-day on-site CIMPLICITY training covering topics and issues selected based on the customer’s specific system configuration, structure, and implementation. Training was led by an instructor with over 30 years of CIMPLICITY experience. Training included a PPT presentation with almost 300 slides, numerous demonstrations, and 22 labs that incorporated PLC driven simulated processes. Attendees were provided a three-ring binder with hard copies of all the PPT slides and labs. The sequence of the labs was structured such that by the end of the 5-day class the attendees created a fully functional CIMPLICITY project capable of monitoring and controlling a lab station assigned PLC driven simulated process. Perhaps of greatest importance, each learner acquired new tools and knowledge to help facilitate greater self-reliance in maintaining and enhancing their on-site installed systems.

In addition to fundamentals, the course also covered advanced topics such as:
 

• Advanced CIMPLICITY Utilities
• Active Directory integrated security
• CIMPLICITY Viewer setup and integration
• Redundant CIMPLICITY project management and monitoring
• How to access and interpret CIMPLICITY help system
• Proficy Licensing management
• WebSpace management and monitoring
• General IT troubleshooting techniques – including working with Windows Admin Center

On-site training class Lab consisted of:
 

• A Windows client computer for each lab station
• PLC providing process simulation
• 1Gb hardwired (CAT 6) IP Subnet and collection of 1Gb switches
• Secure internet access
• 2 node S2D HA HCI cluster for hosting various workloads such as:  
  • Active Directory Domain Services
  • SQL Server
  • Remote Desktop Services and associated RDS licensing server
  • Proficy WebSpace
  • Proficy Common Licensing
  • Collection of VMs running CIMPLICITY for demonstration and lab purposes

Custom solution to aggregate Status log information from 9 CIMPLICITY projects and a collection of CIMPLICITY viewers. Solution supplied production support personnel the ability to view the information via flexible intuitive browser-based UI. The largest primary CIMPLICITY project contained a number of custom BCE/CimEdit scripts and C++/MFC/.NET applications which logged extensive operational information to the Status Log. Providing access to this information, along with CIMPLICITY system log information, equipped production support personnel with a powerful maintenance and troubleshooting tool.

In order to keep up with the vast amount of logged information, and the speed with which it was logged, a high-speed Windows Service was created and deployed to every CIMPLICITY node – both servers and viewers – to monitor and read each respective Status Log file. The Windows Service from each node then inserted the log data into a properly normalized custom SQL Server database. The database design allowed for decades of Status Log data retention – while providing fast efficient search capabilities.

However, the real power of this solution came from the versatility of the custom Web application user experience (UX). The UX afforded the user not only flexibility in how the log data was presented, but also tremendous flexibility in how detailed Status Log data search queries could be easily constructed.

Professional grade custom utility and supporting documentation to help manage and monitor a SQL Server Enterprise based data historian solution provided by Persistent Technologies (PT). The rather sophisticated solution necessitated the need for support personnel to manage/monitor SQL Server transactional replication, table partitioning, page compression, and rather elaborate database maintenance plans. Although most of the required support functionality could have been furnished using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), the PT supplied custom utility offered a significantly more streamlined and concise approach and helped eliminate any undesired configuration and operation.

In addition, PT also supplied the customer a 73-page document, complete with screen shots, diagrams, and document navigation – which offered thorough system design and operational information – as well as detailed guidance documentation for the custom utility.

Configuration utility designed to support a custom EAF scrap delivery management solution provided by Persistent Technologies. The system was highly database driven and required occasional data modifications to support changing scrap material supply conditions. The custom utility provided ease in making such changes while eliminating any undesired configuration or data changes. Material data modifications could then be easily propagated throughout the system making automatic required updates to all UI, reporting, and event systems.

In support of an AD deployment on large stainless steel production line, supplied customer 19-page AD design and management document with implementation details of domain users, groups, OUs, GPOs, sites, subnets, logon scripts, WMI filters, and printer management. Given that Microsoft supplied AD documentation is vast and can be quite unwieldly to use, this document was a crucial enabler to helping support personnel monitor, manage, and expand their domain system.

Furnished customer extensive provisioning/setup documentation for Thin Client/RDS installation – which was a major component of a large HMI system. The documentation supplied the precise instructions on provisioning new RDS servers in the event the customer needed to scale out. Given the large number of detailed tasks required to successfully complete the provisioning process, the check-list based documentation offered invaluable guidance to effortlessly complete the setup – while limiting the potential of misconfiguration.

In addition, detailed instructions were also included for setting up and testing out-of-the-box HPE thin clients used to ultimately provide operators access to HMI screens running on the customer's deployed RDS servers.

In support of custom Persistent Technologies supplied EAF scrap delivery management solution, furnished PPT based documentation for operators, process engineers, and administrators on proper system usage.