Continuous Improvement Tools Web Application

• Detailed planning and implementation of a suite of business-related applications for a mid-size manufacturing company.   more...
  
  This customer was looking for an integrated web application that would provide the user with many of the business-specific tools that may be required. It was also to be used by the customer's sister plant in Germany, so it needed to be multilingual. It consisted of multiple modules:
  • Production Change Request
    A detailed form to allow marketing personnel to request specific changes to existing products or ideas for the creation of new ones. It allowed users to specify desired testing parameters and product characteristics. Once submitted, the request was routed by email to the appropriate management and production individuals for approval and implementation.
  • Customer Complaint Issue Tracking
    A set of forms that followed a complex algorithm for handling customer complaints. The path of notifications and statuses could follow multiple routes based on the data entered in prior steps. The goal was to use the process to ensure that all appropriate personnel were aware of the issue and that the customer was satisfied with the resolution.
  • Product Quality Tracking
    A form utilized by the production and quality departments to denote product runs that required additional inspection due to incidents that occurred during manufacturing. Emails were used to notify supervisors and managers in the correct sequence.
  • Employee Attendance Tracking
    A method of keeping the Human Resources department informed of employee tardiness and absences, through email notifications and reports.
  • Meeting Minutes Form
    A form that was used to automate the dissemination of information from all types of company meetings. Topics and discussion items could be entered into the form while the meeting was in progress, then automatically emailed to all participants and other recipients once the meeting was complete.
  • Administrative forms for specifying form-level and field-level permissions, along with notification actions and reminders. Also an audit trail query form.
  • We also provided on-line documentation for operation and administration of each module.
• Technologies:
  • Oracle 9i, later converted to MySQL 5.0
  • Microsoft Internet Information Server
  • VB.NET/ASP.NET (1.0 later converted to 2.0), HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Web Services
  • Visual Studio Resource files
  • SMTP for automatic email notifications and reminders

Environment of Care (EOC) Database Web Application

• Design and development of a relational database and web interface to allow data entry and reporting for pre-construction safety and environmental assessments for construction and maintenance projects for a large medical university.   more...
  
  This customer needed an application to allow them to more easily comply with government healthcare regulations. It consisted of the following:
  • A general project form to define the details and contact information for a project.
  • A pre-assessment form which allowed the project manager to specify the questions that should be addressed for each type of assessment and measures to be taken.
  • A form for each type of assessment in which personnel from the responsible departments could respond to the predefined questions, list additional measures to be taken to ensure safety and compliance, and specify documents that should be referenced by the project. Each assessment form could be digitally signed by the responsible party with revision tracking.
  • A construction permit with pertinent information for each type of posting could be printed and digitally signed.
  • Reports for tracking the progress of project assessments and printing out permits and other documents.
  • Administrative forms for maintaining lists of assessors and predefined assessment questions and measures. Also a query form for the audit trail.
• Technologies:
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008
  • Microsoft Internet Information Server, Apache Tomcat
  • Jakarta Struts 1.2 framework with Java, JavaServer Pages (JSP), JavaScript, HTML, CSS
  • SMTP for automatic email notifications

Surplus Assets Give-away Web Application

• Database design and programming for an internet interface to allow former employees of a failed company to apply to "win" surplus assets.   more...
  
  When this company was forced to go out of business, management decided to give away certain assets, such as computers, printers and furniture, to their departing employees. In order to be as fair as possible a lottery with random drawings was implemented. Employees could register on this website and specify the item categories they were interested in and see which items were currently available in each category. An application form allowed management to select a random winner and automatically send a notification email. Each winner was then able to select the item that he or she wished to receive.
• Technologies:
  • MySQL 5.0
  • Apache web server
  • PHP 5, HTML, JavaScript, CSS
  • SMTP for automatic email notifications

Batch Production Logs

• Creation of a database and web-forms to allow easy entry of batch-related parameters associated with the manufacture of various chemical products, along with a reporting interface to provide management with a simple overview of the production cycle. A windows service was implemented to perform automatic transfer of corresponding data from the quality testing system.   more...
  
  This project was a typical web-based data entry application, but with the following interesting additions:
  • Since some of the forms may be open for long periods with only intermittent user interaction, we developed a method to save the form contents whenever new data was entered.
  • At various points during the manufacturing process of each product, samples are taken and analyzed. The results of the analysis are entered into a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), which resides in an Oracle database. Since the customer wanted to display the results for the operators once they were entered, we created a windows service to periodically check the appropriate Oracle tables for new entries and transfer them to fields in the MySQL database.
• Technologies:
  • MySQL 5.0, Oracle 9i
  • Microsoft Internet Information Server
  • Classic ASP for web forms
  • VB.NET 2.0 for Windows service

SAP R/3 Integration

• Complex programming and configuration to interface SAP R/3 to a material handling control system, process data historian, laboratory information management system, and manufacturing recipe management system.   more...
  
  This was a very challenging project to interface the SAP R/3 MM, QM and WM modules to custom business applications. It consisted of custom Fortran programming and SAP Business Connector configuration to pass data between the relevant databases:
  • When a new product is created in the SAP Material Management module, the relevant material data is automatically transferred to the recipe management database and the laboratory database.
  • When a production order is released in SAP, it is associated with the appropriate material parameters in the recipe management system, which makes the material available to be manufactured. Once the manufacturing process has begun, the material data is transferred to the material handling system database.
  • When the material is produced, the information is sent to the SAP MM and WM modules as a finished goods receipt. Corresponding quality test results are also sent from the laboratory system to the SAP QM module.
  • Sales order information is sent to the material handling system for order fulfillment. Shipping confirmations are passed the other direction.
  • A "bump" report is run daily to allow inventory reconciliation of the SAP and material handling system databases.
• Technologies:
  • SAP R/3, SAP/WebMethods Business Connector, IDocs
  • Oracle 9i
  • Fortran 77 in OpenVMS
  • Biles & Associates AIMsupervisor Data Historian

Title V Deviation Monitor

• Development and implementation of an application to interface to a chemical plant distributed control system to monitor and log alarm occurrences on process parameters covered by Title V environmental regulations.   more...
  
  This customer was having difficulty maintaining records of Title V covered process excursions, because of the sheer number of event alarms that they had to deal with. In addition, they had a problem with operators ignoring important alarms, which could potentially result in a more serious event.
  
  We created an application that utilized OLE for Process Control (OPC) to monitor for specific alarms in the distributed control system. Every occurrence of each alarm was logged in a MSDE database for ease of reporting. Also, each alarm occurrence was timed for resolution. If a monitored parameter continued to be in an alarm state for longer than a configurable time period, it was re-triggered to initiate an audible alarm as a reminder.
• Technologies:
  • Microsoft SQL Data Engine (MSDE)
  • VB.NET 2.0
  • PROVOX Application Server (PAS), OLE for Process Control (OPC)

Projects Database Web Application

• Design and development of a relational database and web interface to maintain and report schedules, contacts, details, and accounting information for construction and maintenance projects for a university hospital construction and design department.   more...
  
  The emphasis for this project was to have access to all of the data for a project accessible in one convenient place:
  • General Project Information
    This includes project numbers and descriptions, cost centers, contact information for associated personnel, notes, costing estimates, etc.
  • Accounting Information
    Budgeting and funding data, project-related contracts and purchase orders, and vendor invoices.
  • Budgeting Tools
    Worksheets to allow project managers and administrative personnel to project costs over time.
  • Reports
    Predefined summaries and details with specifiable criteria for all aspects of the design and construction process.
  • Administrative Forms
    For maintaining system presets and the various "lookup" items, as well as specifying form-level permissions for users.
• Technologies:
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008
  • Microsoft Internet Information Server
  • Classic ASP, HTML, JavaScript, CSS