Wireless communication ensures interoperability for plant operations

Paul Boughton

A leading global provider of technology systems and software solutions to process andmanufacturing industries has announced that one of its mobile solutions has achieved enterprise mobility validation through Motorola's enterprise mobility validated solution programme.

Invensys Operations Management's Wonderware IntelaTrac is a mobile workforce and decision support system. Featuring configurable software and ruggedised mobile hardware, it enables better workflow, procedural and general task management focused on plant operations, maintenance management, production tracking and compliance applications (Fig. 1).

The mobile component of the IntelaTrac application can operate with a wide variety of hardware from Motorola, which is available through the Wonderware brand as a part of a customer's purchase of the system. These products include the MC55 and MC70 enterprise digital assistants (EDAs) and MC9090 family of mobile computers.

"Being awarded the Motorola enterprise mobility validation is a significant achievement because it assures Invensys customers and partners of system interoperability between Motorola devices and our IntelaTrac applications," said Jim Frider, mobile solutions marketing manager, Invensys Operations Management. "This will lead to faster solution deployment, lower cost of ownership and higher end-user satisfaction. There's no doubt that our success has been greatly accelerated due to our relationship with Motorola, which has helped us deliver the mobility solutions our customers are demanding."

Motorola's enterprise mobility validated solutions programme enables partners to test and validate their mobility solutions on Motorola products to help ensure interoperability and meet the application-specific needs of customers, as well as reduce risk and time to deployment. Invensys Operations Management successfully achieved validation by completing Motorola's programme - including joint testing at the Motorola Solution Centre located in Holtsville, New York.

The IntelaTrac solution is now permitted to use the Motorola enterprise mobility validated software logo, designation which will help assure customers and partners of system interoperability between Motorola devices and IntelaTrac applications.

Motorola's programme offers eligible PartnerSelect programme members the opportunity to co-validate the interoperability of their software solutions with Motorola EMS mobile computers, scanners, RFID devices, payment systems, wireless infrastructure and mobility management software.

This programme supports PartnerSelect members through faster time to market and reduced development costs. It also provides benefits that can be sold to end-user customers, including: streamlined solution evaluation; increased confidence in a solution's performance; and accelerated solution deployment.

Facilitated through the Global Solution Centers, a state-of-the-art testing facility, partners work side-by-side with Motorola engineers to co-validate their software solution's intended functionality under common customer usage scenarios.

Other partners who have successfully completed the validation include: Sky Technologies, Portable Technology Systems, Wipro Technologies, Adastra Software, MTech, EMSystems, MyMobility, SkillWeb, VSc Solutions and Aparc Systems.

However, for Invensys Operations Management, its validation is already paying off with the announcement that Chevron is to provide the Wonderware IntelaTrac mobile workforce and decision-support system. The mobile solution will support Chevron's upstream operations with configurable software and ruggedised mobile hardware solutions that enable workers to better manage workflow, procedural and general management tasks which focus on plant, production and field operations, maintenance management, production, inventory and logistics tracking and compliance applications.

Invensys will provide the IntelaTrac solution to assist operators, field engineers, technicians and supervisors in creating inspection and regulatory procedures. It also will assign, schedule and execute rounds and report findings that are prioritised based on the level of severity of the issue. IntelaTrac provides the capabilities for an organisation to create and define procedures based on best practices, as well as regulatory compliance rules and regulations. Procedures are re-usable across many operator and technician rounds to ensure that inspections are performed on a routine basis as mandated by overall corporate policies, as well as regulatory agencies.

"Chevron wants a mobile platform capable of supporting many business work processes and an 'out of the box' solution," said Eric Moorehead, Invensys Operations Management North America client care executive programme leader. "Our IntelaTrac solution has been used by Chevron in its downstream business process for several years. By extending the availability of IntelaTrac, Chevron anticipates being able to support many new business processes using a single mobile platform for operations, maintenance, reliability tracking, production data collection and safety inspections across the enterprise."

Chevron has been using Invensys solutions since the early 1990s for its downstream operations to standardise refinery process steps and deliver decision support to field workers. Invensys solutions currently deployed at Chevron include Triconex safety systems, Wonderware IntelaTrac, Wonderware InTouch human-machine interface, Wonderware System Platform, Wonderware Historian and Wonderware ActiveFactory, a trending, analysis and reporting application

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