Softek Yazılım: Software, Endüstriyel Otomasyon, Nakliye, Lojistik, Stok Kontrol, Ticari

History

Softek was established with the vision to provide Enterprise Applications in 1996. In the first years we developed enterprise level applications towards transportation and logistics industry. The leading transportation and logistics providers in Turkey are our customers. Later, we added accounting, financials, stock management and human resources management applications into our solution portfolio.

In 2005, we made partnership agreements with Mega Makina and Sistek Elektronik. Mega Makina is one of the leading manufacturers of machinery and equipment for Feed Industry in Turkey. Sistek provides industrial automation services and is the major solution partner of Siemens. The aim of these agreements was to combine technical expertise of three companies to provide best automation solutions for feed industry.

We have realized two complete feed plant automation projects with Mega Makina and Sistek. At present we are developing two other complete feed plant automation projects.

Development Methodology

No feed plant is exactly the same as the other. The challenge for the software developer is to develop a system that satisfies customer demands fully while keeping the costs of development at acceptable level. We developed an automation framework for feed industry. We use this framework as a base and we customize it to achieve a system that fully meets the requirements of each new project.

We use the following steps to realize a project:

Together with the customer we analyze the hardware requirements of the plant. Motor list is prepared. Motor list contains type, rating and starting method (direct online, star delta or soft starter) for each motor. Input-output list is prepared. Input-output list contains every digital or analog input/output signal to/from from sensors, motor circuitry and other hardware elements. Sensor list is prepared. Sensor list contains type and rating of each sensor in the system. At the end of this step Hardware Requirement Specification (HRS) report is obtained. We use HRS to prepare electrical project of the MCC and PLC panels.
Together with the customer we analyze the requirements of the plant. All the processes analyzed and documented. We use Mealy State Machine representation to describe each process. Reporting requirements are also determined. Integration requirements of the system with other systems (ERP and/or equipments with their own automation systems) are determined. At the end of this step Software Requirement Specification (SRS) report is obtained. We use SRS to customize our framework for the requirements of the project.
We test software in simulation environment. We prepare test cases covering every possible scenario. Software is tested against these test cases. At this stage customer is able to see how the system will work in real life and he/she can get involved in shaping up the project.
System is commissioned, configured and parameters are set.
Maintenance phase starts. We are aware of the fact that disruption in the production schedule has severe consequences. We design the system so that disruption due to process control system is an exception. We have online connection to the system and we can take action immediately.

We know that the software continually evolves as the business evolves. We are prepared to revise our software upon our customer’s request in a reasonable time frame.

We completely document the system. Documentation language could be English or Turkish as requested by the customer. The following documents are produced:

Software requirement specification.
Hardware requirement specification.
Electrical projects of MCC and PLC panels.
Software design report
Test cases report
User manual

Softek Feed Process Control Framework

Softek feed process control framework is used as a base and it is customized to fulfill the requirements of new projects. The framework consists of the following modules:

Motor Control

Motor control involves following:

Starting of motors
Monitoring feedback and protect signals
Alarm handling
Manual/auto mode management
Single/sequential starting/stopping
Speed control

Slide/Diverter Control

Slide control involves the following:

Closing/opening slides
Monitoring feedback signal
Alarm handling
Manual/auto mode management

PID Control

In a feed plant there is a group of processes which requires regulation. For example electrical current of pellet mill motors are kept at a set point by adjusting feeder motor speed. Similarly temperature of the meal is kept at set point by adjusting steam valve. Framework contains modules for PID handling.

Weight Control

In a feed plant there are processes in which weight of raw materials/products need to be measured. Dosing process is an example of this. Weight control involves the following:

Speed of intake into the weighing bunker should be adjusted so that fast and precise measurement can be achieved.
Weight of in-flight material should be taken into account.
Different physical properties of materials should be taken into account.
System should auto-correct itself.
Measurement tolerance could be specified.

Routing

In a feed plant it is necessary to transfer raw materials/products between silos, bunkers and process elements. Chain conveyors, elevators, slides and diverters are used for this purpose. Given a route system adjusts routing elements and starts the transfer. Routing involves the following:

Route elements and paths can be defined.
Paths could be activated/deactivated.
Only materials suitable for destination should be transferred.
Blockage should be monitored.

Batch Control

In general feed is processed in batches. A batch contains the following information:

Recipe
Amount
Destination

Production plan consists of batches and number of batches to be produced. Batch processing involves the following:

State of each batch should be visible
Batches should not be mixed in any of the transfer or processing elements.
Unprocessed batches could be modified or canceled

Silos

Each silo in the system is defined by given a number and a name. System keeps track of content of silos. The raw material name/product name and amount in each silo are shown. It is possible to block a silo for dosing or give priority among silos.

Raw Materials

A database of raw materials can be defined. There is no limit for the number of raw materials.

Recipes

Recipe definition contains the following information for each raw material in the recipe:

Raw material
Percentage of raw material in recipe
Raw material source (dosing silo, hand tipping, liquid pump)
Tolerance

The name of recipe and mixing time is also included in the definition. There is no limit on the number of recipes defined.

Alarm Event Log

Important events are logged. These events could be motor failures, slide/diverter failures and batch start stop times.

Integration

Customer might have an ERP system or special applications that are required to be integrated with process control system. For example batch process data might be required to be sent to the ERP system. Similarly, customer order information from ERP might be required to be sent to process control system. Framework is able to send/receive data either online (as procedure calls, database access etc.) or offline (text files, xml etc). The integration requirements and methods are very project specific and needs to be studied at the analysis phase of the project.

Reporting

Frame work uses standard relational database systems like MS SQL Server, Interbase or Oracle. Therefore, if a new report is required it is possible to create it using standard reporting tools like Crystal Reports. Framework contains the following standard reports:

Production report contains

date and time of batch
recipe
amount

Raw material usage report contains for each raw material:

Date and time
Used amount
Recipe

User Account Management

Users are given user name and password. Users are authorized for each operation in the system.

Enterprise Application Development Capability

We have expertise in the following technologies:

C++ and C# languages and object oriented programming techniques.
.Net platform
Relational Database Management Systems and SQL language. We mostly use MS SQL Server or Interbase.
Enterprise applications like financials, stock management, human resources management and accounting.

Industrial Automation Development Capability