Darrell,
Thought I'd share my response to you (Y2K Discussion thread) with the group here:
<According to a poster named CalculatedRisk: "there persists a strong misunderstanding of embedded systems and TAVA's capabilities on this thread."> ______________________________________________________________________
Calculated Risk wants people to think that TAVA thread participants are poor misguided creatures who don't understand what TAVA does and does not do. People who have been around for a long-time, and people who take the time do do the research before they invest ... do understand. Day and probably lots of short-term traders don't have full grasp. It takes a lot of time and effort to understand all issues related to Y2K in manufacturing and process control. And, there are many problems well beyond ONLY stand-alone embedded systems.
<It seems that TAVA's software product simply inventories the Y2K problem in embedded systems, while PTUS's Y2K remediation and testing products resolve the problem.>
VERY SIMPLISTIC. It's the integration of customized embedded systems from a multitude of vendors/manufacturers that's the REAL problem. Not just a stand-alone embedded system. Also, TAVA's software product does more than ONLY inventory. It provides solution/direction (if available) for remediation and/or replacement.
Here's a small sample of what you find in the database:
Message 3329630
You need a team of people (lots of electrical, systems and control engineers) working on these issues inside and outside a company. There are many layers of technology. (I don't feel like listing them here cause my post will be long enough. But, if others post simplistic stuff that distorts issues ... guess I'll pull out my PowerPoint presentation and then cut & past relevant portions.) Won't do it here. Would do it on the TAVA thread.
Only a few offer software that can deal with factory problems. Among them are Raytheon Engineers & Constructors, Fluor-Daniel, and Peritus Software Services of Billerica, Mass., as well as the service operations of companies that sell industrial controls, such as Foxboro and Honeywell.
DARRELL - here's what immediately followed that excerpt from the FORTUNE article you posted above:
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One of the most imaginative and useful approaches comes from Tava Technologies. Its Plant Y2kOne software includes a database on 10,000 (NOW 30,000) microprocessors, related control devices, and software from more than 1,000 vendors that is used on the factory floor.
Among other things, Plant Y2kOne can check out software in robots, PCs, and PLCs; operating systems such as Unix, DOS, and Windows NT; and embedded software such as a program used to guide automated vehicles.
After compiling an inventory of microprocessors and software, a client company can access Tava's database to determine whether the maker of each item can supply a year 2000 update--or whether the equipment should be replaced.
Tava will train a client's technicians to look for noncompliant items or send in its own team.
Vice president Martin Fallon describes how a typical quest proceeds: "The team is on the plant floor. The team member with a headset says, 'I see an Allen-Bradley PLC.' His colleague, walking alongside with a laptop, scans down through the Tava list, finds Allen-Bradley and a list of PLCs, pulls it up, scrolls down to the particular model number and checks on it, and it's added to the inventory of machines in this plant."
Back in the office, the technicians click on the Plant Y2kOne icon and submit the inventoried items to Tava via the Internet. The client can now see what's on a suspect list, vendors' statements, and Tava's own advice on the item. Tava's response on one device indicates that it can be kept: "Each intake node requires upgrade; system upgrade will take you approximately two hours per node."
A different fate awaits a factory production monitor that Fallon brings up on his screen. The screen tells him it's a noncompliant product using the 00 date. Tava's advice: Contact the vendor and get a new model.
Software evaluation can be called up in the same way. In a demonstration, Fallon runs nearly 2,000 lines of code from a suspect program through a Tava "filter" and locates 22 examples of year dates. He looks at each line, and after finding the keywords related to date, lets the program determine if there's a year 2000 glitch and then changes the year digits from two to four. Tava also produces a printout for a client that shows noncompliant equipment in red, suspect in yellow, and "clean" equipment in green.
What the Plant Y2kOne program cannot do is calculate the relative risk inherent in all the interconnections among software in the machines. That still has to be done visually by skilled programmers. [CK SIDEBAR: NO tool can do this or will ever be able to do this. Too much customization on plant floor.]
It typically takes three of them two weeks to sift through a million lines of code, which contain as many as 50,000 year dates. Tava's search tool has other limitations. Gartner Group's Dan Miklovic cautions that users should be "prepared for surprises," because such tools can't always read programs added on top of a PLC's ladder logic.
DARRELL: This is true of ALL tools mentioned in the article ... even Peritus (saw you're a Peritus stockholder).
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I've mentioned on the TAVA thread previously that the Y2K Director for Shell was my lunch partner 1-2 months ago, at a Y2K Process Control Conference here in Houston. He sat across from my. On my immediate left was a guy from Peritus. The Shell guy and I were discussing rigs/pipelines/refineries and 10K disclosures. When the Shell guy asked how I understood so many of the issues, I mentioned that I've been researching "embedded systems" and owned TAVA stock. He mentioned he was talking with TAVA and had just received TAVA's White Paper.
When the Peritus guy (I have his card somewhere) heard TAVA mentioned, he told me they were either ... working with, talking to, or would be talking with TAVA. I can't remember which. I was more interested in finding out about Y2K problems with oil rigs, pipelines and refineries.
Download and read TAVA White Paper if you REALLY want to understand all Y2K manufacturing and process control issues:
tavatech.com
Cheryl
I'D RATHER BE IN THE POOL WITH MY NEPHEWS ... BUT, I'LL CONTINUE TO "HELP OUT" WHEN I CAN.
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