The St. Louis plant of a Global Consumer Products Company used more than 15 PC-based InTouch HMI workstations in its liquid soap production area. As the installed base of these systems increased, so did the maintenance costs for ongoing version upgrades of operating systems, application software and virus protection. Located in areas with harsh conditions, the PCs were prone to hardware failures. This not only became an expensive maintenance issue, it led to potential production outages. Maintaining current backups of programs also created a problem.

The Solution

McEnery Automation converted the existing PC-based system to a more robust thin client-based system with four servers. PCs were replaced with thin client “boxes,” and the applications moved to redundant application servers running ACP ThinManager software. This software allowed for redundancy, load balancing between the servers and quick switch-over should one server fail. A third server was added to provide thin client sessions to non-HMI users, and a database server was implemented with a tape backup system to provide weekly safeguarding of PLC and HMI programs. Anti-virus updates would be automatically distributed among the four servers and all sessions running on them.

The Results

The thin client system was implemented successfully and anticipated results were achieved. McEnery Automation specified all system components, and loaded and configured all software. The entire system was tested offline before implementation on the production floor. Our engineers further ensured a smooth transition by working with the site MES leader to develop training materials and assist in installation.

 
©2001 McEnery Automation