Software solution continues to facilitate good manufacturing practices

Advanced functionality enables lower cost of ownership, regulatory compliance and faster development

GE Intelligent Platforms has announced the availability of an upgrade to its industry standard Proficy software CIMPLICITY, version 8.1, a visualization and control solution used in variety of industries including Oil & Gas, Discrete Manufacturing, Power Generation, Marine and Energy industries. The new solution features programming enhancements, regulatory compliance tools and an innovative alarm association feature, in addition to full compatibility with GE’s CIMPLICITY GlobalView allowing web access to this powerful HMI/SCADA solution.

“With more than 25 years in the field, CIMPLICITY customers are always pushing for lower costs of implementation,” said Gimmi Filice, Product Manager for GE’s Proficy CIMPLICITY product. “This new version delivers key new additions to CIMPLICITY’s objects and classes, enabling programmers and engineers to develop faster and maintain complex systems easier achieving a sustainable competitive advantage and ultimately a lower cost of ownership.”

CIMPLICITY 8.1 introduces enhancements that enable more flexible classes to speed new product development and lower the total cost of maintaining large-scale systems. “Classes are powerful components when developing,” Filice continued. “They are basically the blueprints programmers use when creating templates for CIMPLICITY, and the enhancements we are introducing today further extends the ability to use templates in applications so they can be deployed more quickly. Classes also enable users to accomplish mass updates across an entire system, driving down maintenance costs.”

Standards compliance, regulatory penalty avoidance and good manufacturing practices are supported as CIMPLICITY 8.1 introduces a new change approval feature that enables an electronic signature before allowing setpoint changes, recording results to an audit trail, with commenting capability. A change approval system, or e-signature, enables it to be used in a wider variety of applications and is commonly used for helping meet 21 CFR part 11, NERC and FERC regulations. In addition, the package brings a new ability to perform root cause analysis enabling instant alarm analytics for quick operator resolution.

CIMPLICITY 8.1 also delivers full compatibility with GlobalView enabling a full-featured client within a browser providing expanded application usage and mobilization of workforce enabling support for hundreds of simultaneous users and expanding the application within the plant or across the globe. In addition, the new product offers compatibility with the legacy Microsoft platforms and applicable Proficy products.

“Proficy CIMPLICITY 8.1 is another example of GE’s ongoing commitment to the CIMPLICITY HMI/SCADA platform,” said Claire Cerrato, General Manager Automation Software for GE Intelligent Platforms. “We are consistently bringing this solution forward to address the ongoing needs of the current and future user communities.”