Seamless access to plant data and documentation

A Rebis product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Apr 27, 2001

Rebis has announced the launch of Autoplant Navigator, which provides seamless access to plant data and documentation through an easy-to-use interface and a modern Internet architecture

Rebis, the market leader in plant design and management software, announced today the launch of Autoplant Navigator, a plant knowledge management application.

Navigator provides seamless access to plant data and documentation through an easy-to-use interface and a modern Internet architecture, setting a new standard for plant knowledge management.

One of Navigator's main features is its unique tag tree interface, which allows users to quickly browse the equipment hierarchy, reducing the time required to locate and view critical plant data.

Selecting a vessel within the tag tree graphically displays all process lines connected to the vessel and selecting a process line displays the valves in the line.

With just a few mouse clicks the user is able to locate the information they need.

For each tagged component the design and operating parameters, parent P and ID drawing and any associated documents or drawings are automatically displayed.

The Add-ins applications interface of Navigator allows data from third party maintenance, inventory and document management applications to be seamlessly integrated into Navigator's graphical interface.

"Process plants often contain islands of redundant plant information," stated Dr.Jeffrey Hollings, President and CEO, Rebis.

"Users are forced to search through multiple, non-intuitive, application interfaces to retrieve critical plant operations and maintenance data, often not finding the information they need.

With AutoPLANT Navigator users are able quickly locate and view plant data stored on multiple systems through a single, user-friendly interface.

Navigator is further enhanced with its ability to derive all plant equipment hierarchy information directly from the Rebis P and ID application, eliminating the need for time consuming and error prone information take-off." All changes to the Rebis P and ID are automatically reflected in Navigator.

A conversion utility is available to convert standard, non-intelligent P and ID's into an intelligent Rebis format.

Navigator includes a file based document management utility that provides document revision control and access restrictions by user and group.

All document revisions are saved to the Navigator archive, which ensures the latest revision is always available for on-line viewing.

The Add-ins applications programming interface (API) supports integration with third party document management solutions including Documentum, Cyco and SmartTeam.

External data sources that provide standard access methods such as SQL and ODBC, can be integrated directly into the Navigator interface for viewing or editing.

Using the Microsoft Visual Basic programming language, add-ins can be quickly developed to provide a view into maintenance, inventory and bills of material associated with individual plant components.

"A key advantage of Navigator is its ability to manage data for the entire lifecycle of the plant," said Sam Migliore, AutoPLANT Navigator Product Manager, Rebis.

"All documentation and data developed during the design process is seamlessly imported into Navigator when the plant is commissioned.

Design documents including data sheets, instrument loop diagrams and piping orthographic and isometric drawings are available on-line to support plant operations.

Documentation required for plant revamp activities can be checked-out to EPC contractors and re-imported in with their associated intelligent data when the work has been completed.".