2010/07/14
Traditionally, we think of permits to work as a tool to protect employees, contractors and the assets that they are maintaining. Permits characteristically list possible hazards in the workplace and spell out how these are to be mitigated through isolation of energy sources and appropriate use of PPE.
In the context of a greater social awareness of the impact of industry on the environment and surrounding communities, we have seen changes to the type of instructions and conditions for work included on permits. An excellent example is the use of IntelliPERMIT to support Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) protocols in food processing factories.
HACCP is a requirement for FDA approval for certain food and pharmaceutical products. In short, it is focussed on making sure that your morning yoghurt is not flavoured with axel grease, that the number of bolts in your muesli is minimised and that there are no pigeon droppings in your sugar. (You can read more about HACCP here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazard_Analysis_and_Critical_Control_Points )
IntelliPERMIT assists permit issuers to identify work taking place in HACCP-related areas and ensures that the appropriate measures to be taken are acknowledged on the permits. Once the job is complete, the responsible team is prompted to make certain that hygiene guards have been replaced and maintenance debris such as iron filings or grease have been cleared. These steps are signed off by the appropriate HACCP authorities in the specific work area (as verified by their competencies in IntelliPERMIT.) The benefit of this approach is that it streamlines the work approval process and eliminates the need for dedicated HACCP-related forms to be completed and signed off. Furthermore, the system provides a time-stamped audit trail to help with the investigation of any non-conformances.
The benefits of a well planned and comprehensive permit system needn’t stop at the factory gate: they may be traced through the supply chain right onto the shelves of your local grocery store. 2010/06/24Delegates who attended the two successful OpSUITE™ Information Days in Johannesburg and in Durban gave the event an overwhelming “Excellent” rating based on the feedback received afterwards. The theme “Some things work better together” was illustrated through a series of interactive demos that showcased the OpSUITE solutions working in a typical control room environment. The integrated nature of plant operations requires that production logs, work orders, permits and SHEQ activities are all managed in a common system to improve productivity and operations performance. ApplyIT is actively working on combining OpSUITE with SharePoint and some of these concepts were illustrated at the Johannesburg information days, held appropriately at the Microsoft office. The recent launch of Office 2010 and the new version of SharePoint unlock great opportunities for manufacturing companies which are further strengthened with a powerful transactional system (OpSUITE) running on SQL Server. The underlying message was that when exceptional technologies from ApplyIT and Microsoft are combined with good people, plant performance can be improved dramatically, leading to improved throughput, less downtime, reduced waste, safer operations and ultimately improved profits. The networking and discussion opportunities at these events prove to be invaluable to customers, partners and ApplyIT’s product team. The overall consensus is that attending Information Days is time well spent and the event format should be repeated in future! 2010/05/26
Continuing on from the previous post in the “Feature Focus” series, I’ve decided to highlight another great feature within FlexiLOG that is not always used but can provide insight into the current data that is captured within the logs.
Trending, the way it has been implemented within FlexiLOG, allows you to create a template with a section that deals with manual numeric data entry. The data being captured will create a visual indicator as to whether the current value is higher, lower or the same as the previous value captured. Below is an example of this is action.
But we do not stop there. Showing an indicator from the previous values captured is all good and well, but would it be more useful to have a trend over time of the data captured?!?
By clicking on the actual indicator (coloured arrow), a chart is generated which will show the previous ten values captured. Below is an example of this in action.
Having all this additional information at hand, would definitely provide any user with context to make better decisions on running his plant or any other situation that they might find themselves in.
It should be noted that the “Extended Validation” is part of Operations Suite 5.0, which is currently undergoing final development, and will be available during 2010. 2009/12/31
Version 5.0 of IntelliPERMIT includes a number of subtle enhancements to the underlying workflow and rules engine of the system. These enhanced capabilities will not disrupt the functioning of existing systems, nor require any re-configuration unless the site specifically requires the new functionality. While the technical details of these changes may seem slightly obscure, the intention behind them is to allow the system to more efficiently guide users through the permit process and allow them to produce permits that more accurately reflect the requirements of a task.
Here are four examples:
1. Precautions and Preparation questions may be configured to appear in the Permit Wizard even if not linked to a specific hazard. This is useful in a scenario where a question must be asked on all permits across site but is not necessarily associated with a hazard. Unless a hazard is linked to this question, no rule is applied to the given answer. However, the user is forced to supply an answer.
2. Authorisation questions may now be linked to specific hazards. If a question is linked to a hazard, then it only appears if the permit includes that associated hazard. A practical example of where this may be used is in gas testing where a question should only be displayed and the answer validated if a gas hazard is included on the permit.
3. The workflow actions may be optionally configured to only appear for specific permit types or if the permit includes specified hazards. If no hazard or permit type is specified in the configuration, then the action will be visible for all permit types and for all hazards. Again, this is useful to more closely tailor the workflow to the requirements of the specific permit and ensure that users are only presented with relevant actions to perform.
4. Question rules now support the "NOT" operator. This allows a rule to be set that allows any answer except a specific response. For example, a question may have 3 options in a dropdown: Yes, No and N/A; and a rule set to "NOT No". This means that both "Yes" and "N/A" will be valid responses to this question. 2009/12/29
The set of rules supported by IntelliPERMIT continues to grow.
Rule #33 states that a permit acceptor may not suspend more than one permit at a time. This rule is useful in scenarios where isolations are being removed for testing or commissioning of equipment that has been worked on. The rule should be enabled in order to control this process and ensure that the responsible person deals only with a single commissioning activity at a time.
Rule #34 is designed to limit access to particular operations to the person who initiated/applied for the permit. For instance, this is a useful control to ensure that only the original applicant can edit a permit (even prior to it being issued.)
Both of these rules will be published for general release with version 5. (Hotfixes for version 4.3 SP4 are available on demand)
A more general enhancement also included in version 5 is the opening up of the permit editing process to allow for additional rules to be added without making changes to the core software. 2009/12/03
The ApplyIT product team has been hard at work building the new version 5 of OpSuite and preparing for general availability in 2010. This version includes several functionality enhancements that have already been deployed at early adopter customers during the course of 2009. However many more enhancements are in progress and will be delivered within the next couple of months.
In summary
Version 5 is a major release of OpSuite with most of the changes taking place in the underlying technology. However the requirements of users have not been ignored and a significant effort is going into enhancing the Version 5 user interfaces while making the software more responsive, more user friendly and intuitive to use.
OpSuite 5.0 will focus on enhancements to the Foundation Server, FlexiLOG and IntelliPERMIT. Upgrades to OptiRUN and SmartSURE are planned in the subsequent version 5.1 release cycle shortly afterwards.
Design goals
The design intent of OpSuite 5.x is to extend the product reach through mobile technology, Microsoft SharePoint (MOSS) integration, improved workflow, new biometrics and security capabilities and integration points into third party systems such as SCADA, site access control etc. Furthermore the capabilities of all four modules will be leveraged to provide a comprehensive operations management and SHEQ system that will cover all aspects of operations and safety, from sustainability management and reporting right through to the plant operations themselves (e.g. permit to work and maintenance work orders). The overall capability is only available in OpSuite.
Module enhancements
IntelliPERMIT version 5 will including improvements to competencies, user management, isolation management, dual signature capability, enhanced editing capabilities and several user interface improvements based on leading technologies.
FlexiLOG version 5 will include improved data capture and validation capabilities, improved control of duplicate entries, improved linking and moving of information between logs, spell checks and enhanced templates. A major design goal of FlexiLOG 5.x is to deliver pre-packaged solution accelerators that fast track configuration and deployment of proven solutions for improving production processes. These solutions might include contractor management, enterprise level incident reporting and investigation to compliment and further enhance SmartSURE, surveys, workplace and job observation capabilities, risk assessment methodologies etc.
Overall the OpSuite foundation improvements include enhancements to reporting, KPI metrics and relevant dash board presentations.
Technology refresh
OpSuite version 5.0 introduces a full technology refresh with improved administration tools and several enhancements to facilitate deployment. The new version is built on new technology (Microsoft’s .NET) while maintaining compatibility with the underlying SQL server 2005 or 2008 database. Deployment will be enhanced through “click once” deployment technologies which will make administration of rich client installations and upgrades significantly more efficient.
To improve the user interface and enable rapid addition of new features going forward, the version 5 FlexiLOG and IntelliPERMIT applications will be delivered through a combination of Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) technology and ASP.NET applications.
The underlying reason for the technology refresh is to future proof OpSuite and benefit from the new technologies from Microsoft. Once our development environment is completely migrated to the latest Microsoft Visual Studio 2010, new capabilities and features will be built and deployed very quickly.
There is a tremendous amount of work being done to ensure that when Version 5 reaches general availability it will impress customers with a range of new capabilities that will continue to provide benefits into the future. 2009/11/20An often overlooked feature of the reports in Operations Suite is that they may be exported to a number of alternative formats such as PDF, TIFF and MS Excel. Accessing this feature could not be easier: select the required format from the dropdown in the toolbar, and click <Export>. You will be prompted to either save the file, or open the file in the relevant application - Voila!
2009/10/28 Our “Feature Focus” series of blog entries will try and highlight those features that can make a big difference in the way you would interact with Operations Suite on a day to day basis. We will look at all aspects of Operations Suite, the first being the “Extended Validation” feature in FlexiLOG. This feature provides additional validation functionality when manually entering data. The benefit is that the system knows what range of values to expect. This is normally within a specified range or ranges. In real live production environments however, frequently the data being captured is out of range. To not inhibit productivity the extended validation feature can be configured to either warn you, or to explicitly discard the suspect data. So that in a nutshell is “Extended Validation”. So the question now is, how and what is the end result. The following images will illustrate the how. To enlarge the image, simply click on it. The first thing you would have to do when setting up validation checks is to edit an existing template or create a new one. It should also be noted that the extended validation currently only works with “Numeric” values. These are usually captured within a “Question & Answer” section. Once you have identified or created a “Question & Answer” section, we can add a new question. As illustrated below, ensure that the “Answer Type” is “Textbox – Numeric”. The extended validation is set in the “Expected Answer” field. 
The options available to you are “>”,”<”,”<=”,”>=” and the actual value. To create a range for instance, you would start with the lowest value in the range and then comma (,) separate the subsequent range highest value in the range. If you want to have a specific value, you should just type in that value. By ticking the “Enforce Validation” checkbox, you are telling the extended validation to NOT save the value if it does not adhere to the validation rules. Now that we have configure a single question with some extended validation, let’s see what it does. Well, if the values does satisfy the validation rules, the answer will be saved and you would never be any wiser. It is when the answer does not meet the validation, that the user is presented with the following notification. 
As you can see the user is notified that validation has not been met, but also tells you what the validation rules are. This makes this feature invaluable when capturing information where tight controls have to be in please to ensure optimum efficiency within the affected areas. Checklists and questionnaires are also greatly enhanced by this feature, ensuring that there are no unexpected variances when providing statistical reports based on data captured. It should be noted that the “Extended Validation” is part of Operations Suite 5.0, which is currently undergoing final development, and will be available early 2010. 2009/10/22With Windows 7 only 1 day away from being released to the public, we thought it apt to provide our customers with some details regarding Operations Suite and Windows 7 compatibility. As many might already know, we are hard at work finalising Operations Suite v5.0 for early 2010, which will be fully complaint with Windows 7. But what about the current version of Operations Suite out there? The good news is we have verified that using the XP Mode feature, that will be available with Windows 7 (Only certain versions), Operations Suite 4.3 SP 4 will run with now reduction in functionality on Windows 7. Good news for the early technology adopters out there. We will be releasing a document detailing the procedures on how to enable the XP Mode in Windows 7, as well as the procedures to follow during the installation of the Operations Suite 4.3 SP 4 Client . 2009/06/18
FlexiLOG includes a powerful mechanism to record and classify events as they occur. As well as allowing a user to rapidly record the details of a log entry, they are able to progressively classify what has happened using dropdown lists.
This method has several advantages. Firstly, it provides a means for those of us allergic to keyboards to make an entry without typing! In the process, typos are avoided.
Secondly, the classifications are hierarchical in nature and this allows for progressively narrowing the scope of classification from the general area, down to a specific item of equipment and a list of possible failure modes. Not only does this improve the accuracy with which events are logged, it may also help operators to diagnose problems based on the reported symptoms. So one of the submersible pumps at the reservoir is tripping: electrical fault? water levels low? broken impellers? sheared drive shaft? eels got through the corroded guards? Of course, there is a time overhead in putting together this level of system configuration. However, in a global economy short of skills this tool helps to capture the knowledge of experienced operators and provide continuous training to new recruits.
Thirdly, the standardised event classifications allow for easier searching through the log: just how many ways are there to describe a busted piece of equipment? In the age of Google there is just no excuse for not being able to retrieve the relevant information.
The classification hierarchy has another interesting feature: it can generate its dropdown lists from database queries. There are innumerable exciting uses for this dull-sounding feature. A simple example: Opsuite includes a Standby Roster that records what individuals are on standby duty for listed positions at any point in time. The log entry classifications allow an operator to navigate the hierarchy of departments and positions to identify the person to callout and extract their contact details - all without leaving their log and simultaneously recording the reason and time of the callout.
It doesn't stop there either. Using the "Linked Server" feature of SQL Server with the correct security credentials, the log classifications can generate dropdown lists from 3rd Party databases. The possibilities are virtually endless: raw material usages, stock levels, equipment status… | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /opsuite/opsblog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XsnLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xsn | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /opsuite/opsblog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /opsuite/opsblog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document.2 | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /opsuite/opsblog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document.3 | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /opsuite/opsblog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document.4 | 255 | | View in Web Browser | /_layouts/images/ichtmxls.gif | /opsuite/opsblog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&DefaultItemOpen=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsx | 255 | | View in Web Browser | /_layouts/images/ichtmxls.gif | /opsuite/opsblog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&DefaultItemOpen=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsb | 255 | | Snapshot in Excel | /_layouts/images/ewr134.gif | /opsuite/opsblog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&Snapshot=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsx | 256 | | Snapshot in Excel | /_layouts/images/ewr134.gif | /opsuite/opsblog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&Snapshot=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsb | 256 |
|
|
|
|