Press Release 2002 - Yokogawa Europe

Apeldoorn, The Netherlands - August 6, 2002

Release Yokogawa SCADA package FAST/TOOLS version 8.2

FAST/TOOLS version 8.2 introduces improved capabilities for the current released FAST/TOOLS v8.1, as well as providing a number of new strategic features and enhancements.

In Yokogawa's SCADA package FAST/TOOLS version 8.2 we extended the OPC interface of the FAST/TOOLS product with an OPC Alarm & Event (AE) server. With this new functionality OPC AE clients have the possibility to receive OPC Condition events from items (tags) switching to an "active" alarm state. Another feature is the possibility to acknowledge the condition events by an OPC AE client.

A distributed FAST/TOOLS system contains a host, either in a redundant or a non-redundant configuration, one or more front-ends and/or one or more HMI stations. In this release we improved the distributed environment functionality. Automatic source recognition and switch-over are now included in the standard package.

A Dynamic Link Library, or DLL, is a collection of routines (small programs) that can be called by FAST/TOOLS and by other DLLs. The code in a DLL is loaded once in the computer's memory. The concept of DLLs is the core of the FAST/TOOLS architectural design. The result of use DLLs is that it becomes easy to add service packs or "special" development functionality to a FAST/TOOLS environment. The customer only needs to replace the affected DLLs. Also the total installation size of FAST/TOOLS became smaller. Herewith the reliability and stability of the FAST/TOOLS product have been improved.

Python Language
Python is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented programming language. It is often compared to Tcl, Perl, Scheme or Java. Python combines remarkable power with very clear syntax. The pyTOOLS package writes the scripts for FAST/TOOLS SCADA environment, using the Python programming language. It's a kind of lightweight interface between FAST/TOOLS and the Python programming language.

The following enhancements have also been included in FAST/TOOLS version 8.2:

The archive features are extended to archive and retrieve historical information on a CD-R or CD-RW
Additional sample reports for alarming, item (tag) history & audit trail
Ability to define OPC items (tags) while the related OPC server is not connected to the FAST/TOOLS environment.

About Yokogawa Europe B.V.
The European headquarters were founded in Amersfoort, the Netherlands in 1982. Throughout Europe Yokogawa has its own sales, service and engineering operations. This dedicated network has been extended to Central and East Europe and Southern Africa to further enhance the coverage and support associated with serving the process control and automation market place. We develop and produce flowmeters at Rota Yokogawa in Germany, liquid analysers in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. Yokogawa System Center Europe B.V. based in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands offers total automation solutions, including manufacturing execution systems, distributed control systems, SCADA systems, safety systems, and Fieldbus Foundation instrumentation. Please visit www.yokogawa-europe.com .