GE Fanuc Automation, Inc., a unit of GE Industrial, announces the availability of Proficy HMI/SCADA - iFIX 4.0, a premier industry solution for the comprehensive monitoring, control and distribution of plant-wide data. A key component of the Proficy automation software platform, this new release of iFIX 4.0 delivers enhanced functionality including third-party PLC integration, productivity enhancements and the ability to handle one of the world's largest SCADA systems.
iFIX 4.0's extendable architecture is capable of discovering PLC information delivering new levels of developer productivity, efficiency and error proofing. The iFIX 4.0 release features innovative device discovery and automated configuration capabilities supporting the Siemens S7 PLC immediately, with support for Rockwell (Allen-Bradley) PLC networks and other OPC sources announced in the near future.
GE Fanuc is investing in interoperability to make it easier for our customers to leverage their existing environments while upgrading their applications, said Proficy Product Manager Roy Kok. iFIX 4.0 targets all users. It is the ideal choice for migrating FIX users, delivering the ability to reuse legacy technology while extending it with Terminal Services and iFIX capabilities.
IFIX 4.0 delivers great new features to the iFIX installed base with new tools for discovery and auto-configuration, enhanced graphics and integration and additional Proficy modules for greater visibility to all aspects of the enterprise. The tight integration with Proficy Change Management, delivering file versioning and application disaster recovery is an industry first, Kok continued. We are continuing to focus significant development effort on our core HMI/SCADA products originating from both Intellution and GE Fanuc. We continue to deliver advanced functionality through integration with our Proficy components: Historian, Real-Time Information Portal, and Change Management, among others.
iFIX 4.0 delivers on Operator Productivity by offering canned functionality to drill into tag details, instantly trend variables, view enterprise data through hosted portal displays and deliver thin client connectivity to SCADA nodes through terminal services. Graphic tools deliver a variety of drawing productivity tools and advanced capabilities for 3D Piping and connected object management.
iFIX 4.0 also supports the latest technologies in:
- Security
- Biometric connectivity for 21CFRPart11 Electronic Signatures
- Encrypted networking between clients and servers
- Authorized client connectivity
- Microsoft Products:
- Integrated Microsoft VBA version 6.4
- iFIX iClient support on Windows XP Tablet Edition
In addition, GE Fanuc is working with CH2M HILL, a multinational engineering firm and designer of Singapore's Deep Tunnel Sewerage System, on one of the largest integrated SCADA systems in the world. One of the project's first centralized water reclamation facilities, the Changi plant, is configured with approximately 500,000 tags across an architecture of 50 nodes and will be running the newly-announced Proficy iFIX 4.0.
CH2M HILL has had considerable success with iFIX on previous projects and it was the obvious choice for a project of this magnitude, said Jim Black, CH2M HILL's Information and Controls Systems Technology Discipline Director. The iFIX SCADA application empowers the user towards operational excellence across the entire range of functional areas of the plant including the deep tunnel system pumping stations, treatment process, solids removal, etc.
