Several years back, Pendant took big steps towards adding software development to our core competencies (that will be the last of the consultant speak for today). If you have been following us for a while, you have heard frequently about Revolution Street WXS (now on version 2.0).  Stories about how it gets rave reviews, and its continuing development path. For this post and the next, we want to share with you developments of other kinds. Things that, based on our growth in software development, benefit you and increase your return on investment without you even knowing. Today we’ll start with something we call PR017.

PR017 – What is it?

PR017 is a software application we developed for use in executing projects, starting with the design process. When we start the design process, the first and one of the most important steps is the creation of the layout drawing.

Snippet from a layout drawing

When one of our controls engineers creates a layout drawing, they take the conveyor layout from the conveyor integrator, and add all the required controls elements, using our standard CAD blocks. These elements include things like:

• Photo Eyes
• Beacons
• Zone controls
• Limit switches
• Safety devices

How do we use it?

Once the engineer completes the first iteration, they run a CAD extraction of the critical information. This includes information like component tags, part numbers, parts manufacturer, parent/child relationships, among other items. The extraction is processed through the PR017 application. PR017 audits the information and identifies inconsistencies and errors.  The engineer takes the results from the program, corrects the mistakes, and submits a new extraction. The engineer follows through iteratively until everything is correct. At this point we have an approved layout drawing and all the associated information used to proceed through the project. The engineer hands off the layout to the design team to complete the rest of the design process.

So far so good.  It may not sound too exciting to you, but I can tell you it excites our team (and gets you to your return on investment faster).

Why should it interest you?

But what does it mean to you?

Once the layout drawing is complete, PR017 works more magic.

• The elimination of errors this far upstream keeps errors from propagating through the entire process. These are errors that could ultimately affect the operation of the system once it’s up and running.
• PR017 produces the one-line power distribution drawings automatically and quickly so we can get those to you faster.
• Creating the field device labels is streamlined and accurate. We are sure of the match between the labels and the drawings used for electrical installation.
• We get the FLA calculations automatically from the program to specify the required power feeds.
• Spare parts lists are generated automatically.
• And perhaps most importantly, we can begin ordering parts for your job much earlier in the process.  The big benefit of this is that our panel shop can start working on the panels earlier.

We continue to develop PR017 such that it’s value will be seen further downstream in the execution of a project. For example, eventually we will use it in creating the control drawings for panel assembly.

At a high level, accuracy and speed are the two biggest benefits to you.  And that means your system will start to build your return on investment sooner and more consistently than ever before. Coupled with other measures we are taking to reduce time until you have beneficial use of your system (more on those measures in future posts), the implications for profitability and ROI are huge.

I like accuracy and speed – let’s talk some more!