The International Society of Automation has recently announces the launch of InTech Plus, a new mobile app for the Apple iPad that enables automation professionals to rapidly access, scan and digest a diverse range of technical and educational content—and utilize valuable tools and calculators—through a highly interactive and inviting format.

“The InTech Plus mobile app has great new content delivered in a new and engaging way,” declares Peggie W. Koon, Ph.D., ISA President. “Downloadable free of charge, InTech Plus connects automation and control professionals to all things automation. It’s interactive, intuitive, fresh and fun. From the latest technology news and ‘how-to’ videos featuring ISA subject matter experts to Q&As, quizzes and calculators, our new mobile app delivers added value to automation professionals on the go.”

Because InTech Plus provides on-the-go access—whenever and wherever—to an extensive array of automation content and functionality, Dr. Koon says it supports the ISA mission of better connecting automation and control professionals with the information they need and want.

“In addition,” she says, “InTech Plus represents our commitment to innovation, and to pursuing the ongoing development of new tools, products and programs with the “coolest delivery” available to our members and the automation community at large.”

As users move through InTech Plus, they will immediately notice they’re engaging in a totally new way to view and digest information. Highly colorful and visual in approach, the pages feature intuitive navigation that will guide you to captivating success stories, to best-practice overviews, and to “quick-read” call-out boxes and sliders—all of which encourage you to learn more and dig deeper.

“ISA is extremely excited to introduce InTech Plus to the automation community,” says Susan Colwell, Manager of ISA Publications Development. “There is so much to discover and explore. Useful information and tools are on display right at your fingertips. Tap on a button to read about a hot topic or view helpful conversion tables, or get a refresher on a specific area of automation fundamentals, such as how to select field instruments. Polish up on wireless devices, HMI, pressure transmitters, level, temperature, batch and so on. Take a quick quiz on CCST® or CAP® certification. A slide of a finger will lead you to the next feature, video, fun fact or news item. Download a calculation or scientific app on the go, when you need it most. You can even learn about the history of automation.”

InTech Plus content, which will be updated on a regular basis, is derived through a variety of authoritative sources, most significantly through the insights and perspectives of ISA’s world-renowned subject matter experts. In addition, the entire spectrum of ISA’s products and services—including its automation standards; education, training and certification programs; technical symposia; publishing resources and leadership development capabilities—is represented.

While InTech Plus is currently only formatted for the iPad, Colwell says additional formats are under development.

ICONICS, a Microsoft® Application Development Partner of the Year Finalist, Gold Certified Partner and provider of Web-enabled, OPC-based HMI/SCADA Visualization and Manufacturing Intelligence software for Microsoft Windows® operating systems, introduces its Oil & Gas app: a new way to visualize how MobileHMI™ can benefit the Oil & Gas industry. ICONICS MobileHMI for Oil and Gas is the must-have solution for any smart device to monitor and control one's enterprise. The new Oil & Gas app is devoted to showcasing the specifics of how MobileHMI addresses various challenges that end users face every day in the Oil & Gas industry.

ICONICS’ Oil & Gas app shows how industry users can securely visualize oil fields, offshore rigs, pipelines and refineries and respond to alarms and alerts in real time. Users can utilize natural multi-touch gestures to swipe through their utility assets and zoom or drill down into equipment to see all relevant information to support their maintenance tasks and achieve instant, one-touch access to operational KPIs. With MobileHMI, users are made immediately aware of critical alerts (notifications) that are delivered to mobile devices and displayed on the Start screen via MobileHMI Smart Tiles.

The MobileHMI app utilizes EarthWorX™, a geographical information technology that provides real-time visualization to widely dispersed assets such as pipelines or offshore rigs. With ICONICS' unique SmartPin™ technology, innovative drill down capabilities enable users to quickly view alarm conditions and status for any location around the world. Within seconds, that asset can be identified and located through integration with Microsoft's Bing® Maps, as well as other popular GIS services.

The development of this unique app, designed specifically for the Oil & Gas industry, was centered on issues of greatest importance to Oil & Gas producers. With their needs in mind, "ICONICS’ Oil & Gas app exemplifies a tailored experience of MobileHMI to the Oil & Gas market," explains Alec Pinkham, ICONICS' MobileHMI Product Manager, "and it allows users to understand how MobileHMI can improve their operational efficiency."

MobileHMI apps are fully secure and can install on top of your existing HMI/SCADA system, or with ICONICS products such as GENESIS64™, AnalytiX®, Hyper Historian™ and others. MobileHMI integrates with OPC, OPC UA, BACnet, SNMP, Modbus TCP/IP, Web services and more, helping to ensure that data from any plant, building, equipment or system is immediately viewable on the selected mobile device. ICONICS offers a total solution that can integrate with almost any control network or automation system network to make it accessible to mobile field workers.

"ICONICS can help Oil & Gas customers take advantage of the latest technologies including integration with a wide variety of mobile devices and visualization and control based on geographically dispersed assets," said Russ Agrusa, President and CEO of ICONICS.

With the new Oil & Gas app powered by MobileHMI, ICONICS continues to demonstrate its strategy of configuring once and publishing to 'AnyGlass'. Visualizations, including dynamic animated graphics, real-time and historical trends, real-time grids and much more, can be defined once and then published to run on the app for Windows 8 devices and will soon be expanding to include all mobile devices.

Kepware Technologies, a software development company focused on communications for automation, was presented on Friday, February 21st with a Bronze Stevie Award for Customer Service Department of the Year in the computer software category for companies with up to 100 employees.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service recognize the achievements of call centers, customer service, and sales professionals worldwide. Several hundred executives judged the more than 1,000 entries received this year in more than 100 categories.

"Exceeding our customers' expectations is critical to growing our business and maintaining Kepware's reputation for delivering the highest quality products and services in our industry," said Brett Austin, President, Kepware Technologies. "We're honored to have received the 2014 Bronze Award for Customer Service Department of the Year. The award recognizes the hard work and dedication of our Technical Support team, and challenges us to keep improving."

Kepware was recognized by the judges for its unique approach to customer service. While other organizations measure success by key performance indicators like time to resolution, Kepware concentrates on spending quality time with customers and building mutually beneficial relationships. Under the direction of Matthew Roy, Kepware's Director of Technical Support, the department doubled in size in 2014 and added a coordinator to triage cases efficiently. The additional resources have allowed Kepware to spend quality time with its growing customer base while still responding quickly to open cases.

"We couldn't be happier with this year's Stevie Award winners," said Michael Gallagher, President and Founder of the Stevie Awards. "Each year it becomes increasingly difficult for our judges to weed out the best of the best. We continue to be impressed, and believe this year's recipients are truly deserving."

Trophies were presented to honorees at a banquet on Friday, February 21st at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. A full list of winners can be found on the Stevie Awards website.

Invensys has unveiled a new version of its SimSci® advanced process control software. To be released this spring, SimSci APC 2014 will enable customers to shorten their plant testing and commissioning schedules, as well as improve plant operations and personnel performance.

This innovative offering has been built from the ground up to emphasize ease of use. It modernizes the graphical user interface while retaining the rigorous and robust calculation engine from the company's successful Connoisseur APC offering. The new SimSci APC 2014 software is structured around an enhanced, natural workflow that includes full support for model case file development and a connection wizard for faster integration to any distributed control system and programmable logic controller, including the company’s Foxboro® I/A Series® DCS and its new Foxboro Evo™ process automation system. The software will be even more tightly integrated in future releases of the Foxboro Evo system as well, providing enhanced simulation capability.

"Advanced process control can result in tremendous improvements in plant efficiency and performance, but it is largely underutilized, in part because some potential users find it too much of a challenge," said Peter Reynolds, senior consultant with the ARC Advisory Group. "Invensys addresses this issue head on, with new graphical interfaces, intuitive workflows and custom calculation engines. Making optimization easier will empower both seasoned APC users and the next generation of engineers and operators to address a wider range of process conditions and business challenges."

SimSci APC 2014 software greatly extends the capabilities of traditional APC offerings to garner more control over the process. Director, a powerful new feature, allows the control engineer to build custom calculations or add custom supporting controller functions that augment the user's experience. Natural workflows speed up model building, configuration and deployment, and additional features make the software suitable for a complete APC project implementation. These advancements help the transitioning workforce more easily build and maintain APC applications, and can cut implementation and commissioning time by up to 50 percent.

"We are excited about our new APC offering, which builds on our market-leading Connoisseur APC software to help our customers enhance quality, increase throughput and reduce energy usage," said Tom Kinney, vice president of Invensys' optimization business. "The software was developed with the end user in mind, and it includes several well-thought-out features that help achieve better and more sustainable control of the process. A built-in auto-discovery wizard captures the specific syntax of any DCS for even faster buildup of tag connections; its automated testing feature means faster, more flexible configuration; it's tablet ready; new click-and-drag functionality allows users to select the best models from many scenarios; and customizable user-defined functions improve how users can cope with changing process conditions. The end result is that SimSci APC 2014 provides a better, friendlier and more flexible user experience than traditional APC applications, making operators and engineers far more effective and productive."