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This month we interviewed Dennis Runo from Custom Automation about his experience with Inductive Automation software. Dennis Runo is the owner of Custom Automation and has been delivering systems since 1983.
IA: Tell us a bit about your company - do you have a focus on any particular industry?
Dennis: As a former aerospace engineer, I started Custom Automation 26 years ago to pursue my true passion - industrial control systems. Carrying forward the aerospace principles of tight specifications, hardened equipment, and an unwavering insistence for quality has differentiated Custom Automation from many other integrators.
We have designed and implemented many water/wastewater SCADA systems because there is such a demand for them in the southwest. We have enjoyed taking on challenging industrial control and monitoring projects in a wide range of industries - like radioactive waste for instance. That's why I named the company Custom Automation!
IA: Why did you choose Inductive Automation software over competitive products?
Dennis: I've been around long enough to see the rise, and in my opinion - fall of major SCADA software purveyors. Custom Automation has used them all with success, but we wanted a fresh approach. I call the major SCADA market share holders the "Old Guard".
The Old Guard (OG) designed their products back in the 1980's, and they were fresh and very capable for that timeframe. Then as new technology emerged, they had to adapt their software while maintaining backward compatibility for their customers. I visualize a bicycle tire - patching and patching until your can't see the tube anymore - just patches! Experience has shown me that OG software updates can be an exercise in frustration stemming from backward compatibility compromises, bugs, and complacency.
On the other hand, Inductive Automation products were designed breathing in the rich resources of the WEB, SQL databases, Java, Python, Linux, and other open source inventiveness. IA doesn't carry the baggage of the Old Guard, so it is much freer to excel.
IA: What FactorySQL features do your customers need that you can provide using Inductive Automation products?
Dennis: Nearly effortless connectivity to OPC data sources and SQL databases makes my job a pleasure rather than drudge work when client asks for new capabilities. Straightforward and reliable historical logging , alarming, and redundancy are all important to our 24/7 mission-critical sites.
IA: What FactoryPMI features do your customers need that you can provide using Inductive Automation products?
Dennis: Unlimited FactoryPMI client licenses puts a smile on clients faces and opens the site to unprecedented system visibility. Before, information was limited to the "select few" because of licensing costs. No more!
The pictures above shows petroleum products being transferred from a ship to storage tanks, while FactoryPMI screens monitor progress. Anyone on the company intranet can view it if they want. It keeps the "When's this ship transfer gonna be done?" phone calls to a minimum.
The FactoryPMI design tools are well thought out and make me more productive, so I can offer more features with less funding.
IA: What have you and your customers found to be the main benefits of the software?
Dennis: Connectivity is by far the leading feature. Being able to hook into real-time data as well as interact with SQL databases opens the possibility of enterprise-level visibility and control that used to be the sole domain of high dollar Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and other software vendors.
IA: How do you plan on using IA software in the future?
Dennis: As our clients embrace the abilities of our initial IA SCADA implementations, we fully expect to expand the reach of IA-based software into more operational and management aspects of their businesses.
We also have budgetary planning going on with our many long-term clients that have been with Custom Automation for decades, using Old Guard software that we installed way back when, to install IA at their next major update cycle.
IA: Is there anything else you can say regarding your experience with Inductive Automation?
Dennis: Something the Old Guard competitors have long abandoned is great technical support. IA has been extremely generous with their time getting Custom Automation up to speed. Since IA software is such a departure from the systems we have supported for decades, it took a little getting used to, especially general "what would be the best architectural approach to ..." questions. Kudos to Travis and Carl, and all the contributors on the IA forum willing to share information and tips.
I sense a feeling of community that, if maintained, will give IA and their integrators a huge advantage over the competition.
Integrator Highlight: Custom Automation
03/11/2009 - IA: Tell us a bit about your company - do you have a focus on any particular industry?
Dennis: As a former aerospace engineer, I started Custom Automation 26 years ago to pursue my true passion - industrial control systems. Carrying forward the aerospace principles of tight specifications, hardened equipment, and an unwavering insistence for quality has differentiated Custom Automation from many other integrators.
We have designed and implemented many water/wastewater SCADA systems because there is such a demand for them in the southwest. We have enjoyed taking on challenging industrial control and monitoring projects in a wide range of industries - like radioactive waste for instance. That's why I named the company Custom Automation!
IA: Why did you choose Inductive Automation software over competitive products?
Dennis: I've been around long enough to see the rise, and in my opinion - fall of major SCADA software purveyors. Custom Automation has used them all with success, but we wanted a fresh approach. I call the major SCADA market share holders the "Old Guard".
The Old Guard (OG) designed their products back in the 1980's, and they were fresh and very capable for that timeframe. Then as new technology emerged, they had to adapt their software while maintaining backward compatibility for their customers. I visualize a bicycle tire - patching and patching until your can't see the tube anymore - just patches! Experience has shown me that OG software updates can be an exercise in frustration stemming from backward compatibility compromises, bugs, and complacency.
On the other hand, Inductive Automation products were designed breathing in the rich resources of the WEB, SQL databases, Java, Python, Linux, and other open source inventiveness. IA doesn't carry the baggage of the Old Guard, so it is much freer to excel.
IA: What FactorySQL features do your customers need that you can provide using Inductive Automation products?
Dennis: Nearly effortless connectivity to OPC data sources and SQL databases makes my job a pleasure rather than drudge work when client asks for new capabilities. Straightforward and reliable historical logging , alarming, and redundancy are all important to our 24/7 mission-critical sites.
IA: What FactoryPMI features do your customers need that you can provide using Inductive Automation products?
Dennis: Unlimited FactoryPMI client licenses puts a smile on clients faces and opens the site to unprecedented system visibility. Before, information was limited to the "select few" because of licensing costs. No more!
The pictures above shows petroleum products being transferred from a ship to storage tanks, while FactoryPMI screens monitor progress. Anyone on the company intranet can view it if they want. It keeps the "When's this ship transfer gonna be done?" phone calls to a minimum.
The FactoryPMI design tools are well thought out and make me more productive, so I can offer more features with less funding.
IA: What have you and your customers found to be the main benefits of the software?
Dennis: Connectivity is by far the leading feature. Being able to hook into real-time data as well as interact with SQL databases opens the possibility of enterprise-level visibility and control that used to be the sole domain of high dollar Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and other software vendors.
IA: How do you plan on using IA software in the future?
Dennis: As our clients embrace the abilities of our initial IA SCADA implementations, we fully expect to expand the reach of IA-based software into more operational and management aspects of their businesses.
We also have budgetary planning going on with our many long-term clients that have been with Custom Automation for decades, using Old Guard software that we installed way back when, to install IA at their next major update cycle.
IA: Is there anything else you can say regarding your experience with Inductive Automation?
Dennis: Something the Old Guard competitors have long abandoned is great technical support. IA has been extremely generous with their time getting Custom Automation up to speed. Since IA software is such a departure from the systems we have supported for decades, it took a little getting used to, especially general "what would be the best architectural approach to ..." questions. Kudos to Travis and Carl, and all the contributors on the IA forum willing to share information and tips.
I sense a feeling of community that, if maintained, will give IA and their integrators a huge advantage over the competition.