Operator solutions for water/wastewater
Recently released software interactively guides operators to improve effectiveness by up to 15%.
GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a unit of GE Enterprise
Solutions, has adapted its Proficy Workflow for use in the water/wastewater
industry. The release is designed to enable an environment of information-rich,
circumstance-based workflows that operators follow to understand what’s
happening around them and how to react in a sequenced procedural and repeatable
manner.
With a Work Process Management system, plant managers have
the opportunity to improve quality, reduce operational costs and secure
operations for a sustainable advantage. They can decrease the variation in
operator performance, making operations more predictable. Proficy Workflow
guides operators with step-by-step instructions for each task during the day
and automatically walks them through corrective action to prevent or fix
problems. For example, an alarm from the SCADA system will trigger Proficy
Workflow to instruct the operator exactly how to work through the problem,
provide the information that he/she needs and possibly plays a video on how to
resolve the issue with a piece of equipment.
This combination of technology and human interface allows
operators to better understand the information at hand – and take action,
improving effectiveness by up to 15%. Proficy Workflow can also connect to many
existing databases in water and wastewater treatment plants – both GE Fanuc and
third party. This architecture connects to different databases and pulls
information back into video, portal or HTML screens. The software prompts
operators for manual data entry, as needed, and the validated data becomes part
of the facility’s permanent databases. Functionality of Proficy Workflow for
Water/Wastewater includes:
Enables operators follow the right work processes
Coordinates data across systems
Enables corrective action to improve operations
in real time
Triggers Workflows to act on alarms and prevent
additional downtime
Captures knowledge of expert workers to reduce
effects of employee attrition
Automatically triggers QA based on events or
elapsed time
Records and tracks work processes and
operational data to ease compliance
Manages both automated and manual processes.
“Sometimes having too much information is as bad as
not having any information at all,” said Alan Hinchman, GE Fanuc Intelligent
Platforms’ Global Water Industry Manager. “In a water treatment plant, managers
and operators need to filter through complex situations and sets of
circumstances, managing the data from many sources and understanding what the
next steps should be. Management can count on the best operators – but these
operators can’t handle every situation, every day, every year. With Proficy
Workflow, you can make every operator an expert.”
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