|
|
 |
 ALERT version 3.6
The 3.6 version of ALERT software, beyond the refreshing of its user interface and some new interesting features, implements important structural evolutions which extends its internationalization capabilities (Unicode, multilingual management) and increase its capacities (number of manageable tags and users).
The main new features given by this version are the following:
• Management UNICODE (-> Chinese version)
• Extension of the multi-language management
• Synoptic visualization of alarms
• Call overview
• On-call schedule management
• User duty schedule
• User availability management
• Control state of connection of the data servers
• Alarm synthesis
• Improved management of service messages
• Vocal announcement of alarms on client stations
• Management of RSS feed for alarms
• Extension of the maximum number of tags and users
• New communication drivers
• UNICODE management (-> Chinese version)
The ALERT software has been entirely revised to be compatible with the UNICODE standard (extension of character encoding from 8 bits to 16 bits). This important evolution allows all existing languages to be supported, for data input and message display, and for the translation of the user interface in idiomatic languages or in languages based on a non Latin alphabet (Chinese, Russian, Arabic…). For this occasion, the user interface of ALERT, already available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch, is now proposed in Chinese (Mandarin).
• Extension of the multi-language management
The multilingual management introduced in version 3.5 of the software has been revised and extended to be completely operational in this new version. This functionality allows:
sending messages and alarm consultation in the respective language of the recipient operators,
switching the interface completely to another language, including labels and displayed messages
simultaneous utilization of the user interface in different languages from client stations
• Synoptic visualization of alarms
A new functionality of alarm supervision has been integrated to generate and animate HTML synoptic views of the supervised installation, for a better visual control and a graphical localization of alarms detected on the installation. This functionality includes the supervision server module (derived from Visual Access) for the animation of synoptic views, the Web browser plug-in to display the synoptic views on the Alert screens (server and clients) and the VAEdit synoptic editor to edit the synoptic views.
This functionality is particularly interesting when the installation does not integrate a SCADA application.
• Call overview
A call overview functionality has been added, allowing the call cycles triggered by an alarm to be supervised in real time (to know who is warned) or later controlled (called groups, operators and numbers, call reports). Reports on call cycles can be printed. This new functionality, attached to the data base export option, requires that option to be activated.
• On-call schedule management
The scheduling now distinguishes between preprogrammed periods (initialized from the on-call program of the corresponding group) and periods forced by direct assignment of a team at a given date. The preprogrammed periods are displayed in a light color. The modifications of a group program directly affect the preprogrammed periods of the group schedule. The forced periods remain unchanged, except if one forces the reinitialization of the schedule (button « Copy program »). In the same way, the definition of public holidays directly affects the preprogrammed periods for the corresponding days. When a team is forced in the schedule, it can be removed to be replaced either by the preprogrammed team (choice program) for the corresponding range, either by no team (choice no team).
• User duty schedule
For each operator a duty schedule can be defined to program off-duty periods and substitutions, according to the planned unavailability periods of the operator (vacation, training, trip…).
This schedule can be defined from a weekly programming (week + public holidays) and calendar (forcing of periods over some calendar days). It can be read either as an on-duty schedule (on duty periods), or as an off-duty schedule (off-duty periods).
• User availability management
Various service statuses can be defined giving in real time the availability status of each operator to be called for alarms. By default, two statuses are predefined: “available” and “unavailable”. Additional statuses can be defined (“Meeting”, “Intervention”…), with the possibility for each status of specifying the precise availability status of the user: available or not to treat the alarms, only available as relief user (called if no other active user of the group can be reached) or for important alarms, available to receive service messages.
• Control of the connection status of data servers
The connection status of each data server can be controlled from an external application by DDE or OPC by reading the "status" variable attached to each server. This variable can be self-monitored by ALERT to automatically trigger an alarm when a data server is disconnected.
• Alarm synthesis
The alarm status of a functional group (presence of an alarm in the group) can be controlled from an external application by DDE or OPC by reading a "status" variable attached to each functional group. This variable can be self-monitored by ALERT to generate an alarm synthesis of the tags assigned to the group.
• Improved management of service messages
The function of message diffusion has been improved:
selection of the recipient operators: possibility of filtering by station and by group, possibility of limitation on the on-call and on-duty operators,
possibility to specify the media to be used for sending the message (fax, email, SMS …).
• Vocal announcement of alarms on client stations
Alarms can now be notified vocally on each connected client station (according to a specific option for each client station).
• Management of RSS feed for alarms
A functionality of RSS feed management has been introduced to exploit the possibilities offered by this new technology. This functionality makes it possible to transmit the current state of alarms present on the installation via FTP protocol to an external Web server as a XML file compatible with RSS 2.0. It is then possible to subscribe to the feeds corresponding to the generated XML file from any RSS reader (Google, Yahoo, Internet Explorer 7...), in order to be automatically informed of the present alarm state on the supervised installation. To be implemented this functionality simply requires an outgoing Internet access.
• Extension of the maximum number of tags and users
The identifiers of the objects "tags" and "users" have been extended from 15 bits to 24 bits, deferring their theoretical limit to a little more than 16 million.
• New communication drivers
New drivers have been developed and are integrated into version 3.6 of the software, in particular:
- Driver “Winpager”: transmits alarms and messages to a Windows paging emulator. Alarms are displayed on the screen of the receiver and can be acknowledged. They can also be announced vocally, with option of repetition.
- Driver « Extreamer » to broadcast vocal messages (alarm and service messages) on a public address system through the TCP/IP network. Each subset of the public address system can be directly addressed to diffuse specific messages by area (place, workshop …).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Updates
