Real World ThinManager | Part 6

Manufacturing in a Dusty Environment


PROBLEM:
• As many as 3 PCs failing each week requiring IT and maintenance support.

• Up to 6 hours of lost production time for each failure.

SOLUTION:
• No moving parts mean that ThinManager Ready thin clients are more reliable.
• Failures can be replaced by operator in 15 minutes or less..

A manufacturing plant had PCs in a dusty environment. The fans sucked in dust and debris causing overheating and failure after about a year. Since the company had 200 PCs, several had to be replaced each week.

Replacement required the services of a computer technician to build and setup the computer, and then the services of a floor electrician to swap the hardware and connect the cables – a process that took several hours at best. [...]

Real World ThinManager | Part 5

Power Generation


PROBLEM:
• Critical remote auxiliary gas turbine is rarely used but must be ready immediately when demand arises.

SOLUTION:
• Turbine area now controlled from main control room.
• Redundancy and Instant Failover make sure it’s always ready to be put into action.

A coal-fired power plant added a gas turbine generator to help meet power demand during peak usage periods.

The gas turbine generator has to be ready at all times but is used infrequently enough that it is unmanned. [...]

Real World ThinManager | Part 4

Chemical Processing

PROBLEM:
• PCs scattered throughout a multi-acre site made routine maintenance a major hassle.

SOLUTION:

• ThinManager Ready thin clients are managed in the central control room.
• Thin clients no longer need to be visited for maintenance.

A chemical plant had PCs all over a huge refinery, including some located in towers that were up 10 flights of stairs. Maintaining and patching the PCs took hours of walking and climbing.

ThinManager and terminal servers were deployed, allowing the PCs to be replaced with ThinManager Ready thin clients. [...]

Real World ThinManager | Part 3

Cheese Manufacturing

PROBLEM:
• Humid environment causing frequent PC failures.

SOLUTION:
• Replaced PCs with thin clients
• Thin clients are more reliable and less sensitive to harsh environments than PCs.
• Small form factor allows thin clients to be placed in a protective panel to combat humidity.

Part of the cheese making process requires a saltwater rinse to cure newly made cheese as it passes through an extruder. The mist from the process coats the entire room with a thick condensation. Because of the requirements of the food manufacturing process every surface is hosed down each day with strong cleansers to maintain sterility. Even though bags of silica gel were stacked in the panels to try to protect the PCs from the moisture, the elements were still affecting the PCs as fans circulated air through them for cooling. [...]

Real World ThinManager | Part 2

Chemical Plant

PROBLEM:

• Outmoded paper strip charts were a hassle and did not give instant real-time trending.

SOLUTION:
• Replaced strip charts with thin clients.
• Collected I/O in SQL server and backed up and archived.
• Archive gave operators the ability to see trending patterns in a more efficient manner.

Emission monitoring charts are critical to pollution control. Before their thin client installation this company captured this data on paper strip charts printed on machines that require oiling, inking, and paper refills. [...]

Real World ThinManager | Part 1

Distribution & Logistics

PROBLEM:
• Shipping company needed real-time information from 30+ remote sites.

SOLUTION:
• Deployed ThinManager at each remote site.
• Set up a “war room” with 30 thin clients.
• Connected each thin client to a remote site via WAN.
• Single operator able to t view activity of all remote sites.

A global company with distribution centers around the world was having trouble getting real-time information from the sites to the headquarters.

The company standardized on ThinManager and deployed ThinManager and terminal servers at each site, setting up a “war room” at the headquarters with a thin client for each remote location. These thin clients boot locally and then connect to a remote terminal server via the corporate WAN. [...]

ACP Announces Version 4.1

ACP announces version 4.1 of their award-winning thin client and terminal services management software.

New version will include support for managing virtual machine environments and an iPhone app

Alpharetta, Georgia, January 2011

ACP’s ThinManager version 4.1 release is scheduled for March 21, 2011 and will be demonstrated live at our TMUG User Group taking place in Atlanta March 29-31. (Register for TMUG2011)

ThinManager 4.1 will include the much anticipated support for virtual machine environments. Users who currently enjoy ThinManager’s ease-of-use when managing their terminal servers and thin clients will now have that same capability when it comes to virtual terminal server and desktop management. VM resources will appear in the ThinManager tree along with other sources currently available. [...]

Old School for New Technology

Jordan Engineering Builds a ThinManager Thin Client Solution “One Brick at a Time” for Canadian Precious Metals Company

There just aren’t many companies that run their businesses on old school principles. Regular face time with customers, doing a job right the first time, and giving back to the people around them to name a few. Jordan Engineering does all this and more. Giving indeed seems to be the secret ingredient for this integration company’s success.

CEO and founder, Sandra Murre has always worked hard to build success. Sandra and Jordan engineering share that success with their employees, their customers and the world around them. The profits from the business get split into thirds; one third is returned to the employees through profit-sharing, one third goes back into the business to improve customer service, fund growth and business performance and yet another third goes to charity. [...]

Automation Control Products, ThinManager Move To A New Office

Alpharetta, Georgia, October 5, 2010 

Automation Control Products and it’s flagship software, ThinManager, have moved to a new space that allows for exponential growth in the coming years. The new office has expanded many areas that make ACP’s ThinManager the elite terminal server management and thin client software, such as a state-of-the-art Tech Support Lab, Webinar Room, Marketing & Education Departments and our award-winning support staff.

Tech Support Lab
With the new space comes a 400 square foot Tech Support Lab. This lab is designated to work on specific issues that our users face while integrating the software into their applications. Equipped will terminal servers, thin clients and ThinManager, ACP’s support staff will help tackle any issues that arise.

Webinar Room
ACP Education & Marketing personnel will man the Webinar Room. Each week, ACP’s Todd Garmon will conduct an overview and demo of the software. Director of Education, Paul Burns, will also give introduction and training webinars.  The webinar room is equipped with a MultiMonitor setup, a terminal server, thin clients and several IP cameras. Click here to view upcoming webinars.

Marketing & Education Departments
ACP understands the importance of solid marketing techniques and education should work side-by-side. With that philosophy in mind, our new office has expanded these departments and will continue the effort to make ThinManager a regular B2B name in the industry. Along with Paul Burns, VP of Marketing Tom Jordan is ramping up the marketing side by hiring new talent to help in the effort.