AuCo Solutions: solutions and software for automation (PLC HMI SCADA SIEMENS WINDOWS)

We create software and complete systems for industrial automation of any process, test, automation, production control and quality control.
We provide complete solutions to complex problems especially in the field of automation.

1) Experience

Auco was founded in 1992 after a decade of experience in automation, electronics and software with numerous creations and publications at a national level.
Pioneers in the use of personal computers for automation since 1987, we have also created several solutions with digital I/O cards on PCI BUS designed and built by us.
Auco creates various automations in the petrochemical, automotive, mechanical, metallurgical, food, plastics, fire prevention and assembly sectors.
It also specializes in testing and quality control systems in the production of resins, light alloys, tractor axles, testing of high-speed train control electronics, electrical and mechanical tests on electric motors, etc.
It acquires several customers including ALSTOM, ABB, DANA, MARCEGAGLIA, PARIZZI, SIGE, SONATRACH, SONELGAZ

Automotive ALSTOM

Petrolchimico SONELGAZ

Metallurgico VERONA STEEL

Auco Solutions was founded in 2016 in Los Angeles and expands this experience by proposing itself not only in the purely software and hardware field of automation, but also as a supplier of solutions in broader areas by also introducing the section of architecture and urban planning in the broadest sense of the term.
Auco Solutions solutions are in the field of logistics, production and quality control, large works such as construction and monitoring of dams, electricity production, maintenance, etc. expanding and improving the experience acquired.
It acquires several clients including as FIVES, NIDEC, WEBUILD

Grandi opere WEBUILD

Petrolchimico SONATRACH

Dighe ENEL GREEN POWER

The new architecture and urban planning section is currently dedicated to the creation of studies for the development of larger projects.

2) What we offer

2.a) No plant downtime

During the installation and commissioning of a new control system, AucoSolutions software can run in parallel with the existing software, possibly even on the same CPU.
In this way, the software collects the data needed to learn the behavior of the current system, improve it and solve existing problems.
With this information, a new solution is created that meets the new specifications.
This is tested and commissioned on digital twins and also tested running in parallel with the existing system.
As the results validate the effectiveness of the new solutions, the new software gradually takes control of the plant on more and more functions without requiring any production downtime.
When the new system has 100% control of the plant, the old system can be deactivated and possibly removed safely.

2.b) Reliable simulations, rapid commissioning and testing

The new system is tested on digital twins and running in parallel with a possible existing system, without interfering with production.
A special programming methodology allows us to activate and deactivate the control of the new software on each specific functionality, even during production.
This strategy reduces to zero the possibility of problems during commissioning as the functions are tested first with parallel operation. Once activated, they can be deactivated on the fly by restoring control by the old system or by the functions of a specific previous version.

2.c) Reliable systems, both hardware and software redundancy

The careful design of the redundant system ensures the complete operation of all the functions even in the event of any failure.
We have created redundant solutions with these characteristics for various plants including the largest refinery in North Africa, located in Skikda.

2.d) Optimized redundant solutions with lower costs than non-redundant solutions

For some plants built for resin production, the implementation of our redundant system has increased the reliability of the system by allowing the complete elimination of manual controls, thus obtaining a 30% saving for the customer compared to a non-redundant solution.

2.e) Complete remote assistance also for remote design and commissioning

Our systems are tele-assisted, allowing us to perform remotely exactly the same operations that we could perform by going on site.
Therefore, not only diagnostics but also development, modifications, additions, new features, etc.
We have carried out some automation installations completely remotely in all their phases, from the study, specifications, design, construction, installation, commissioning and training of personnel.
This potential allows us to drastically reduce costs and timescales without replacing the traditional approach of on-site interventions, which always remain possible if the opportunity is assessed, but without being indispensable.

2.f) Connectivity also satellite and in remote areas or not covered by networks or satellite cellular

Connectivity is becoming more and more widespread but it can happen that in some situations a plant is not reachable by normal telephone or satellite connections.
Telephone connections are sometimes blocked to prevent terrorist attacks, for political or military reasons or for attacks, etc.
In some countries, governments can impose non-coverage by traditional satellite connections that use populations of satellites in medium-low orbits, such as those used for satellite cell phones.
In these cases, remote assistance on critical plants must also be guaranteed by geostationary connections that are not affected by all the problems mentioned.
We have been using these solutions since 1992, for example for isolated or mobile stations in the Sahara desert used in the petrochemical industry. These remain connected even when all other types of connectivity such as telephones, satellite phones, etc. are blocked for reasons of national security.
We use geostationary connections with complete coverage of the planet, excluding only the polar ice caps.

2.g) Simple, flexible, virtually unlimited software scalability

Our solutions are structured in arrays of polymorphic objects and arrays of functions.
Any change to the size of the system involves a simple resizing of the arrays.
Even adding new elements with different characteristics is possible without modifying the software as we use polymorphic objects that can assume different functions without having to intervene on the software.
All these operations can therefore also be performed by a simple user of the system, without requiring any specific knowledge and without requesting external support.
The operator only needs to activate a higher access level and can perform all the changes simply from the normal graphic page with which he normally interacts with the plant.
We have implemented these functions in the control of a section of the crashing plant for the construction of the GERDP dam of Webuild on the Nile in Ethiopia. The user of the plant can add or remove conveyor belts, modify their functionality and interdependencies, change the destinations, modify the paths and the origin of the materials.
All this can be done with the plant running and with simple clicks on the graphic page.

2.h) Standard HMI with all the most popular systems, and also customized and customizable

The standard HMIs provided by Siemens WinCC etc. offer a lot of features and are the best solution for all the situations that have been foreseen by the suppliers of these software.
However, there are some situations in which to interface with specific non-standard systems or to perform operations with very particular procedures, these systems become difficult to adapt.
In these cases it may be appropriate for us to develop some features or the complete dedicated HMI, created in more flexible and powerful environments than the HMIs available on the market, for example using IDEs and specific languages such as VisualStudio, LabVIEW etc.

2.i) Simple and immediate operator interface

A few pages from which to graphically access all the functions without getting lost in complex menus and dozens of screens.
Often other suppliers still create operator interfaces created by creating dozens of video pages in which the operator often gets lost.
Furthermore, the use of many pages drastically lengthens the time needed for staff training.
Our solutions use modern and intuitive graphic interfaces, based on a few graphic pages that represent the plant in a clear and immediately understandable way.
All the functions are available simply by clicking on the graphic representation of the part involved.
With a click on an object, such as an engine, a standard panel opens from which it is possible to interact with that specific type of object, alarm manager, power, graphs, etc.
With a higher access level, it is possible to intervene on the configuration of the engine control, the functions used, and also access the data for maintenance, any spare parts, etc.

2.l) Different access levels from HMI, from simple operator to maintenance and configurator

Depending on the access level, each interaction with the HMI can take on different potential and functionality.
From the same graphical interface used by the operator, it is possible to access additional functions to modify the structure of the system, the functions used, the type and quantity of objects managed.
All these operations can be performed by the end customer without requiring any programming knowledge.

3) CUSTOMERS

4) Software structure

4.a) Automation software (PLC HMI SCADA SIEMENS WINDOWS)

The creation of an automation software requires a great deal of experience and professionalism to obtain simple and effective structures.
Software is the key to a good control and process automation system.
On this page there are links to some of our customers.

4.b) PLC: software for programmable logic controllers

Many PLC software developers write their software as if it were an electrical diagram. This is a good solution only for very simple systems. In large and complex systems it is necessary to use object-oriented logic development, not only in terms of the organization of functions, but also in the organization of data.

Without an object structure the software becomes increasingly complex with each change we make to the point that the developer loses control of the software and can no longer remember and understand the behavior of the software.

4.c) Programming PLC, Computer, SCADA and HMI with Object-Oriented Logic

AuCo Solutions Process Automation software uses arrays of objects that are configurable individually or in groups of objects. Each single object in the array can have a different structure, characteristics and behavior.

Each type of object has specific control functions that interact with the object and control its behavior.

With this object-oriented programming structure, it is possible to create an automation application using less than ten functions, controlling several hundred different objects. For example, we have created a software for the control of a furnace with 90 burners (Marcegaglia, Italy) using only one function to manage the burners.

Auco Solutions Process Automation software uses arrays of objects and functions. Each element of the array can have a different structure and interact with physical objects of different types.

The software is so flexible that most of the functions are used in very different applications, such as industrial furnaces, crasching plants, logistics, etc.

The same object structure is used in the software that we install on PLCs, SCADAs and computers, making everything very simple, portable to other systems.
The front-end operator interface is so flexible that the same operator can be enabled to modify the structure and behavior of the system.

Creating an HMI or a SCADA is very simple with this structure. Normally it is sufficient to create a popup for each type of object and these will be opened automatically based on the object clicked.

Even on traditional HMIs and SCADAs such as WinCC, Cimplicity, InTouch, this strategy makes communication between SCADA and PLC much faster using much less data and fewer tags with significant savings also on licenses.

4.d) Industrial control and process automation: languages, SCADA and HMI

Our experience in automation began many years ago with languages such as Assembler, Forth etc. Now we use many different languages such as Ladder, SCL, Visual Studio with especially C#, LabVIEW and the various script languages as well as Java and derivatives.

HMI and SCADA operator interfaces are developed in Visual Studio and graphic software. We also create applications with the direct use of standard applications such as WinCC and also directly Siemens WinCC, Wonderware InTouch, GE General Electric Cimplicity and others.

5) Industrial Sectors

Test elettronici

Test meccanici ed elettrici

Produzione energia

Metallurgico

Auco Solution has experience in many sectors:
- Assembly Machines
- Automotive
- Chemical
- Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Testing
- Food
- Logistics
- Metallurgical Industries in both Steel and Light Alloys
- Petrol Chemical
- Plastic and Rubber Production
- Process Automation Solutions
- Quality Control
- Robotics
- Transport

Automotive

Crashing

Controllo dighe

6) Team Management

In every situation it is important to have a highly motivated team.

Every person on the team must be involved in the team's goals. The group's goals must become important and highly satisfying for everyone. Everyone must feel proud of having contributed to achieving the set goals.

The leader must be able to understand the specific skills of each person in order to use them to the best of his or her ability. He or she must also understand what each person needs to work motivated, with commitment and great satisfaction.

When work becomes intense it is essential to understand everyone's needs. Sometimes small things like an extra break for a phone call to the family are enough, rather than big things like financial incentives.
Each person must feel appreciated, esteemed and important.

The exchange of energy and availability between the leader and the team members is an excellent strategy.

Often the leader meets the workers on site and has little time to understand the dynamics of the group and the energy of the team.

But the strategy of managing the team well is the key to success. The ability to create a close-knit team makes every goal possible.

The experience with WeBuild in one of the largest construction sites in the world with more than 8,000 workers has demonstrated the importance and effectiveness of cooperation within our team and with the other teams present on the construction site.
Thanks to the commitment and professionalism of everyone together, we have managed to become world champions of RCC productivity in 24 hours three times.

Now we are preparing a new international team for a large project with which we hope to become champions again.

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