Engineering News spoke to Futuristix general manager (sales) Justin Tweedie and Crusader Systems MD Derick Moolman – the initiators of the agreement that was formalised in February this year.

With Futuristix’s Wonderware Industrial SQL unit, which affords pro-cess companies and manufacturers the opportunity to capture real-time data and provide a single point of access for historical process data, and Crusader System’s CSense software for rapid process troubleshooting, industry can now improve the efficiency of its pro-cesses, they explain.

There is often a great deal of information which is not effectively used by companies in the processing industry, Moolman reports.

Futuristix is the sole Southern Africa distributor for the Wonderware range of industrial automation and plant intelligence software products, with a client base that boasts several industry leaders.

Crusader Systems enables end-users, both locally and abroad, to make sense of their production plants, through the use of CSense.

Moolman describes CSense as a desktop tool which enables process engineers, human-machine interface users and other production staff to rapidly identify and troubleshoot pro-cess problems.

The CSense software has been verified on several large-scale projects in the petrochemical, mineral sands, pyro-metallurgical, food and beverage and mineral-processing industries.

Two of the most significant benefits of the CSense trouble-shooter are ease of use, as well as the fact the product brings substantial value to process industries, Moolman adds.

Moreover, existing Wonderware users will be able to use CSense software directly with their existing software base.

By integrating the offering of Wonderware and CSense, there are benefits for the user as well as for the providers.

CSense enables the user to identify and solve problems from the data captured within the historian.

“This is really aimed at a broader user base,� says Moolman.

Internationally, Industrial SQL is recognised as a market leader and has more than 400 installations in Southern Africa alone, adds Tweedie.

The aim of the integrated offering is to use the relationship between the two companies to further expose the value of the two product offerings.

“In other words, the integration of this technology will provide the customer with a more complete solution,� Tweedie enthuses.

Troubleshooting enables the process engineer to identify and solve the problems of a production plant.

For example, a mill has many different process variables, but the challenge is to understand the relationships in order to drive process improvement, Moolman elaborates.

Not knowing the relationships makes it essential to have historical access to all process variables and hence the use of Industrial SQL.

The integrated product offering can also be used in a batch process, enabling batch recipe troubleshooting.

Moolman told Engineering News that in this way the batch can be optimised to produce, for example, more consistent quality in situations where raw material qualities may vary.

Both Moolman and Tweedie are confident that these two products provide the customer with a well-differentiated offering.

For the typical user, there is often much useful information that is not efficiently used, while, for the top-end users, such as metallurgists and engineers, CSense now provides them with a tool which enables them to make decisions.

Therefore, Industrial SQL historian makes the information accessible and CSense now enables users to convert the data into useful information.

Ultimately, CSense provides the user with knowledge, says Moolman.

CSense provides the user with a better sense of understanding the process.

“It’s like an Excel spreadsheet for the production engineer,� says Moolman.

Interestingly, the Industrial SQL historian was originally developed in South Africa and, after some initial success, was bought by Wonderware in California. Today, the historian is one of Wonderware’s most successful international products, Tweedie emphasises.

CSense is an additional client tool for the market, says Moolman.

Futuristix has had success locally, as well as positive feedback from clients.

Crusader Systems is confident that it will hold a leading position in the South African process industry.

The company is also in the process of opening another regional office in Breda, in Holland.

The Crudaser and Futuristix partnership is set to expand to other Wonderware distributors throughout Europe. “The winning combination of people and product will no doubt be bringing significant value to users in Southern Africa and internationally,� Tweedie notes.