Product category:
Process Control: SCADA, ERP, MES and networks
News Release from: MatrikonOPC | Subject: Tecsult ITS system
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 11 December 2006
Universal OPC driver for NTCIP devices
Tecsult of Canada has integrated Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Control using MatrikonOPC expertise in OPC techniques, developing a universal OPC driver for NTCIP devices
One of Canada's most important engineering firms, the Tecsult Group earned its reputation in the energy sector, meeting the huge challenge of developing hydroelectric facilities in Quebec in the 1960s Tecsult has grown rapidly by diversifying its operations in consulting engineering and other related activities
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 9 Jul 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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Tecsult is a leader in the transportation sector, for implementing, modifying, rehabilitating and maintaining infrastructures.
And finally, Tecsult has an international reputation in the engineering and integration of innovative Intelligent Transportation System solutions.
The Tecsult Group employs more than 1,200 people.
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The Tecsult Group is a leader because of the quality of its services and the partnership it builds with its clientele.
In a project funded by jointly by the Ministry of Transport for the Province of Quebec (MTQ) and the federal government, Tecsult was contracted to simplify the integration of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) using the NTCIP protocol.
Commercial, off-the-shelf software was to be used as much as possible in order to control development and implementation costs.
While NTCIP protocols have addressed standardisation of field equipment communication, they do not provide standardisation of data exchange between configuration applications and NTCIP field devices.
A new NTCIP driver is needed for each application, driving up costs.
Also, the lack of a universal driver means a customer is captive of the very few ITS software suppliers who develop specific NTCIP drivers for their application.
This Babel of applications and drivers created inefficiency and increased cost at the operations level, as well.
Operators and technicians needed to be trained on and familiar with a control room involving dozens of pieces of proprietary software running on multiple stations.
MatrikonOPC project manager Chris Robinson sums up the situation bluntly: "It's a royal pain for these guys.
They've got hundreds of signs, and they're running around this control room changing these signs at these different terminals, trying to manage their traffic system".
Tecsult developed the concept of taking an off-the shelf Human-Machine Interface (HMI) package (or any COTS software with an OPC client) and applying it to ITS by designing custom configuration screens and having one unified configuration solution for any device that comes into the system.
The only problem was, nobody in the world offered a unified configuration solution for NTCIP.
Enter Matrikon.
As the world leader in the development of OPC drivers, Matrikon was the top candidate to partner with Tecsult in the development of an unprecedented product: a universal OPC driver for NTCIP devices.
"The industrial world had already solved this problem," Robinson says, referring to the growing prevalence of OPC solutions in industries such as manufacturing, refining and power-generation.
"We took an industrial solution and applied it to traffic control.
OPC is completely, 100 per cent customisable for their application".
The NTCIP protocol is multilayered, a collection of many specifications for many modes of electronic communication - TCP/IP, PPP, serial and so on.
Developing a driver to accommodate the complexity of NTCIP "involved a lot of R and D," says Tecsult automation and ITS director Michel Savard, "because it was a new product with no direct references".
In July 2006, after eight months of intense development, the first implementation of MatrikonOPC server was successfully rolled out in Trois-Rivieres, PQ, a pilot installation controlling 14 Variable Message Signs at the Laviolette bridge in Trois-Rivieres via phone and direct connection.
"The expertise of Matrikon in driver development and their strong knowledge of OPC standards, combined with the expertise of Tecsult in ITS systems and the NTCIP standard, largely contributed to the success of this project.
Also, since our mission is to provide independent services to our customers, we wanted to be associated with an OPC world leader and transfer them all the commercial rights for the product to ensure its continuity" says Savard: "People involved in the project were professional even when times were difficult and problems encountered were not easy to fix," he continues: "MatrikonOPC personnel were very knowledgeable, stayed engaged in the project, and wanted to deliver a high-quality product".
The primary benefits of having all devices in an ITS system controlled and configured under a single OPC client application (such as a HMI or a SCADA system) are obvious and immediate: increased simplicity, efficiency, and responsiveness of the control system.
Rather than "running around the control room," operators have central, simultaneous access to the entire system.
And by using a universal driver and off-the-shelf software, the cost of integration of ITS systems is substantially reduced compared to the cost of numerous proprietary solutions.
Another benefit lies in the flexibility and scalability of OPC itself.
With a universal OPC/NTCIP server in place, new devices can be quickly added in expanding the system.
And since off-the shelf software is used, the solution is eminently portable to new sites; since the success of the Trois-Rivieres project, it has been used in other ITS projects and plans have been put into place for the application of Matrikon NTCIP/OPC server to integrate a much more elaborate ITS system in Montreal.
"We've built the bottom end," says Robinson, "but we can extend this to support these other specifications pretty easily.
We can also integrate Actuated Traffic Controllers, Environmental Stations, CCTV camera control, Ramp Meter Control and any other ITS object definitions released by the NTCIP organization - whatever's needed, by using a single OPC / NTCIP driver".
Perhaps most importantly, the R and D invested in this project will be of enormous benefit to the global ITS community.
By allowing ITS applications to be fully interoperable and interchangeable along international open standards, the OCP/NTCIP server can facilitate the full integration of ITS systems worldwide.
"We are very proud to have been involved in the development of this innovative technology, and we feel it will be most beneficial for the greater ITS community".
Quebec Ministry of Transportation engineers Jean Douville and Anne Pelletier commented: "The partnership with Tecsult and Matrikon was excellent and, even though it was a very challenging project, the OPC/NTCIP driver meets our expectations and was successfully implemented. Request a free brochure from MatrikonOPC ...
We are planning to implement the new driver in other applications in the near future.".
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