Released on: May 27, 2008, 8:41 am

Press Release Author: Thomas R. Cutler

Industry: Software

Press Release Summary: GainSeeker Suite OPC Profiled in AutomationMedia.com

Press Release Body: In the current issue of AutomationMedia.com manufacturing
journalist Thomas R. Cutler, profiled that OPC drives overall equipment
effectiveness. "In a data driven society, automated data collection is a must,"
says John Foley, Network Administrator for Engineering Systems, of Pollak-APD
(Actuator Products Division), a Stoneridge, Inc company. "The quicker we get
information in hand, the better-off we are."

With this concept in mind, Hertzler Systems added new functionality to GainSeeker
SPC (statistical process control), specifically support for OPC (Object Linking and
Embedding for Process Control). "OPC is the standard computer protocol for
communicating with machinery and process controllers," noted Byron Shetler, Chief
Technology Officer for Hertzler. "Supporting OPC creates great new opportunities for
collecting data from production equipment in real time, performing statistical
analysis on the data and then feeding information back to operators, engineers or to
the equipment itself."

Support for OPC came about as a request from several leading manufacturers in recent
years, including Pollak-APD. Pollak-APD designs, engineers, tests and manufactures
world-class work-enabling devices for the transportation industry based on efficient
electro-mechanical actuation technologies. About five years ago, Pollaks' Foley
started automating data collection after noticing a secretary hand-keying thousands
of data points into a spreadsheet. Foley made it clear: "Talk about non-value added
activity and error-prone! You can't rely on that data." Foley recognized that there
had to be a better way, and so he purchased some software to import the information
automatically into a spreadsheet. That effort wet his appetite to do more.

Following this initial efficiency effort the company began to evaluate software that
enabled them to talk directly to PLCs ("Programmable Logic Controllers", process
controllers common in factory automation.) Meanwhile, Dave Cappucci, Director of
Total Quality Management at Pollak-APD, was searching for shopfloor software for
tracking product quality. He had used Hertzler's GainSeeker SPC at a prior
professional position and knew it was a powerful and reliable system for product
data. When he made his decision to purchase GainSeeker, Cappucci was aware of
Foley's desire to capture process data from PLCs. Together they reasoned that they
could find or write a middleware product to move process data from OPC to Hertzler's
database, thus realizing Foleys' vision of truly integrated SPC on the factory
floor.

Foley was also impressed with the speed of deployment commenting, "If we had written
this interface ourselves, it would have taken us 3-4 man months of intense
programming and in the end we would have had a system that solved one problem.
Additional solutions or modifications would have taken more time. With the
GainSeeker solution we got it running in a few hours, and we have the ability to
modify it quickly and easily."



Pollak-ADP is a Six Sigma/Lean shop and has put a lot of emphasis on OEE (Overall
Equipment Efficiency). They have one particular product with a sub-four-second cycle
time. This equates to about 17 parts per minute, 22 hours per day, six days a week.
By analyzing downtime with GainSeeker, they were able to boost OEE from 65% to 75%,
representing more than a $130K increase in throughput. This has enabled them to keep
with up with increased product demand without increasing production capacity (no
capital investment) or staffing.

The complete article may be read at
http://www.automationmedia.com/TRCutler.asp?ID=%2054.



Hertzler Systems (www.hertzler.com) provides seamless, accurate data acquisition
solutions that drive business transformation. The company provides the leading
real-time data acquisition and analytics software, the GainSeeker Suite. This
powerful and flexible system is best used by lean and progressive companies.
Gainseeker Suite allows companies to connect with devices and other information
systems, collecting data and alarming key personnel when problems arise; this
technology allows organizations to analyze data for root cause problems, converting
data into knowledge.


Hertzler Systems Inc.
www.hertzler.com
Adrienne DePew
Communications Manager
info@hertzler.com
800.958.2709



Web Site: http://www.hertzler.com

Contact Details: Hertzler Systems
2312 Eisenhower Dr. N.
Goshen, IN 46526
800-958-2709