Software Update 2009

What's new and what works: EP invites you to share your experience

• By L.K. Williams, EPonline
• Mar 02, 2009

The Royal MD100 Media Destroyer shreds compact disks, among other things.

Software tends to make work easier -- if it works correctly and/or if the user has been trained in the proper way to use it. But once trained, users often find that something is lacking so companies respond with upgraded versions or new versions that incorporate another regulation.

Here is a short list of computer tools that were brought to our attention over the last year. Environmental Protection editors have no way of testing these products, however, our medium can help share your experience to determine which applications have proven most useful. With your thumb rating or comments, we might be able to develop a software exchange. You probably have experience with software programs not listed here; how have they fared? Perfect for your needs or not worth the money? Sharing your insight can bring about appreciation, and in some cases, lighten the financial load...

ESS of Tempe, Ariz., released Essential Suite™ 7.1 and spotlighted its Carbon Management Solution™ at a trade show. The former is the company's new enterprise sustainability software platform, which is scalable from plant level to global deployments. It addresses a full spectrum of sustainability challenges, with a focus on greenhouse gases and global climate change, worker health and safety, environmental compliance, emergency planning and response, and corporate social responsibility reporting. The latter is an integrated solution that reduces complexity, risks, and costs by addressing GHG information for products, supply chains, and facilities. It also offers the flexibility for organizations to take a phased approach to long-term business challenges by implementing solutions that quickly establish GHG inventories, while adopting automated tools for complete verification over time.

Free for job safety
HASP Online of Agoura Hills, Calif., announced JSABuilder a free tool for conducting Job Safety Analysis (JSA). Developed by health and safety professionals, JSABuilder allows users to quickly enter information through a series of screens by selecting from preprogrammed lists and entering text specific to the user’s job or project. The worksheet is printable for use in pre-job safety meetings, training sessions, or to store for future reference.

HASP Online is the first commercially available online health and safety plan development and management tool for HAZWOPER sites. HASP Online is a joint venture between EnviroSolve Corporation and Safety Unlimited, Inc.

“We feel strongly” said Jules Griggs, “that by sharing this free health and safety planning tool, we’re helping safety professionals, managers, supervisors, foremen, and task leaders to prevent injuries. We’re pleased to be able to give this away as a service to the safety profession.” Griggs is president of Safety Unlimited.

VUEWorks, Inc. has expanded its business by partnering with Springbrook Software and separately with InfraMetrix. The idea in the first case is to integrate GIS-enabled asset and work order management with accounting and continuous improvement software. In the second case, VUEWorks is offering its portfolio to enable InfraMetrix clients to use data from buried asset inventory and condition assessment (water, wastewater sewer, and stormwater systems) to prioritize maintenance, assign risk, and assess consequences of asset failure.

According to the company's press release, the integration is already delivering labor-saving benefits to a mutual beta customer -- Northstar CSD, a California Special District located near Truckee. Northstar reports that VUEWorks collects a substantial amount of its departmental cost and payroll information, which is then keyed into Springbrook.

Bill DiTullio, president of InfraMetrix, said, “Our mission is to deliver data in a usable easily accessible form to help our clients economically prioritize the maintenance and capital investments needed to provide consistent and reliable services. However, the data by itself is only half of the equation – our clients need an asset management solution like VUEWorks that makes the data readily usable by staff and contractors who need it.

MYNAH Technologies of St. Louis, Mo., released MiMiC v3.1.0 Simulation Software for operator training and automation system testing. This release includes greater simulation dynamics, performance and ease-of-use, according to the company's press release.

The new MiMiC Server provides multi-user support to a single MiMiC application based upon Microsoft's Server 2003 Remote Terminal Services. This option allows up to 10 users access to the same application from a standard Microsoft Windows XP or Vista desktop. It allows remote access for simulation development, large-scale automation system testing, or multiple operator training instructor stations.

The enhanced MiMiC Operator Training Manager is a complete redesign that simplifies the development and execution of operator training sessions while providing additional flexibility and capabilities. This software allows the user to configure training scenarios, take Process Snapshots, and run operator training sessions directly from MiMiC Explorer.

Web-based service
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), based in Arlington, Va., offers a subscription-based Web service called EIATRACK. It delivers information on product-oriented environmental compliance for the electronics sector in more than 100 global jurisdictions, including each of the United States.

TIA recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Consumer Electronics Association that allows its members a steep discount on EIATRACK subscriptions.

Onset Computer Corporation of Bourne, Mass., released a free, 30-day trial version of HOBOware® Pro, the company's graphing and analysis software package for HOBO® data loggers.

The software, which runs on PC and Mac computers, combines fast logger launch and readout functions with data-plotting capabilities, making it easy to analyze environmental and energy data recorded with the loggers.

An intuitive, graphical user interface allows users to select environmental parameters to display, format graphs, perform analysis, and save projects for future use.

Last summer, Onset updated HOBOLink, the company's Web-based energy and environmental monitoring software. Users can access data, set alarm notifications and relay activations, and manage and control systems from a central station.

Compatible with the company’s HOBO U30 GSM and Wi-Fi-based Remote Monitoring Systems, this software provides Web access to energy usage and environmental data. The new version expands data scaling, enhances rainfall graphs, and displays signal strength.

Wonderware of Orlando, Fla., has introduced Industry Application for Facilities Management as part of its Wonderware Industry Solutions for Facilities Management offerings. The new application features a library of templates, graphics, faceplates, and symbols for the development of consistent, open applications across the facility enterprise.

Through partnerships with other leaders in the facilities management industry, Wonderware offers data access servers for BACnet®, LonMark and the Echelon i.LON® SmartServer, with utilities specifically addressing application development and automatic network, device, and object creation services built in for system integration simplicity.

The facilities management solution is provided through an open distribution model, which is supported by multiple independent systems integrators – offering more competitive choices to customers.

3E Company® just introduced Ariel Data Manager™, a data solution that helps users manage their vendors' global inbound material safety data sheets within the SAP EH&S platform. The press release said the new solution reduces the time required to manage inbound vendor raw material MSDS documents and data in SAP EH&S.

3E Company's researchers continually monitor and manage MSDS revisions to ensure that the most recent version is available for loading into SAP EH&S.

This company also released MSDgen 6.01, which now includes information related to such global regulatory obligations as Europe's Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) regulatory framework for chemical substances.

Numerous translations have been added to the graphical user interface repository to better support the French, German, and Japanese languages as well as support for Unicode data (such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean characters) throughout the database.

Yet to come
IHS Inc. of Englewood, Colo., recently added the ability to manage CAIR (Clean Air Interstate Rule) nitrogen oxides (NOX) allowances to its ecoAsset Manager in a version 10.2 release set for August. The earlier version offered management operations for the U.S. acid rain and NOX budget programs.

CAIR, which took effect on Jan. 1, is a regional air pollution reduction program developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It covers 28 eastern states and the District of Columbia. The rule provides caps on sulfur dioxide and NOX pollution, primarily through a cap-and-trade system monitored by EPA. Under this program, each state is allotted a set of emissions allowances for distribution to power plants. If a power plant does not have enough emissions allowances, it can buy them from other sources or take steps to lower its emissions.