unExternalLinks 1.0.2
User Manual

Purpose of this Document

This users' guide provides an introduction to the new External Links implementation provided with the "unExternalLinks" component. This feature allows the users to communicate with Infor EAM database, to introduce or modify existing equipment information from the EAM light interfaces, to process work orders, to check the location on the map of the equipment registered in Infor EAM, to perform different actions related with maintenance and operations, to register and add new entries into existing Logbooks provided by the CMMS group, or to read and extract meaningful data from them, by simply clicking on the new External Links option of the menu list of a particular UNICOS device.

The operators of UNICOS control systems as well as all users, engineers and developers of UNICOS applications and frameworks are the target audience of the new unExternalLinks component.

Definitions, Acronyms and Abbreviations

  • WinCC OA: WinCC Open Architecture, previously known as PVSS: commercial SCADA system used to implement the supervisory layer of UNICOS.
  • UNICOS: UNified Industrial COntrol System project developed at CERN to develop complex and highly integrated controls applications with industrial components and standardized processes
  • Infor EAM: Infor Enterprise Asset Management: software used by industrial facilities to track assets, digitalise maintenance operations and improve digital operations.
  • EAM Light: CERN-developed simplified user interface based in Infor EAM used for basic tasks linked to asset, work or parts management.
  • EAM LogBook: CERN-developed web interface based in Infor EAM case management for quick access and recording of an operational logbook.
  • Alias: Field or parameter from Infor EAM databases which can be associated to a UNICOS device. IMPORTANT! This field must be populated in the appropiate Infor EAM table with the corresponding UNICOS device name by the operator or administrator in charge, to make the whole implementation contained in the unExternalLinks component work. No connection can be established if there is not a link between the UNICOS device name introduced in the alias field and the functional position code associated to it.
  • Functional position: Location where a piece of equipment can be placed. Each UNICOS device installed has a functional position code associated that is used to access the equipment and work order information in EAM light, the location on the map in GIS, and the logbook record in EAM LogBook.

Motivation

The motivation for developing this component was a request from different UNICOS CERN groups to integrate, or be able to access, the information stored in Infor EAM database from the UNICOS framework, similar to what the Cryogenics' group have implemented in their system.

The main objective for this project was to obtain and edit the information related to the equipment, be able to create, edit, or view particular work orders, create logbook events, and open all logbook events related to a selected device with a simple single click from the UNICOS Human Machine Interface.

As a side note, the first version of the component does not include REST API calls to the Infor EAM Web Services. However, this can be integrated in the future depending on the users' needs, as extracting or prefilling information from Infor EAM schemas with REST API requests is possible.

Requirements

From the unicos-framework-8.6.0 release, the unExternalLinks component is included in the standard distribution of UNICOS. Some posible features and bug fixes might be available at the component downloads page much often than the whole UNICOS release after the first unExternalLinks version is deployed.

It is recommended to refer to the release notes of the UNICOS release for the up-to-date list of requirements, features, and possible compatibility related issues.

For the first version of the unExternalLinks, it is required to have:

  • WinCC OA 3.16 with patch P020 or later.
  • UNICOS 8.6.0 (in particular for the latest versions of the unCore and unCPC components)
  • unExternalLinks should work on supported version of operating systems: CentOs 7 Linux, Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019.

Configurations

Please, contact the administrator or administrators in your group, or refer to the Admin_Manual to have further information about what need to be configured before being able to make use of the External Links implementation.

(link to be changed to point to the latest version of the Admin manual)

External Links option

After the database and logbook configuration has been set by an admin, any user can access the External Links option in the menu list of a device in the HMI. The new options that are available are: Equipment Information, New Work Order, Location on Map, and LogBook.

External Links Device Menu List
  • Equipment Information: When clicking on this option, the web browser is opened automatically, and the user is redirected to the EAM light link for the particular device using the corresponding functional position code.

    CERN credentials will be requested to access the EAM light site. The user will need to use his/her user credentials or any other dedicated given user name and password to navigate through the EAM light implementation.

    The functional position code is obtained by calling the R5OBJECTS table from the CERNDB1 database using the value stored in the alias field as input. The alias field must have been previously populated with the UNICOS device name in Infor EAM, so the whole implementation can work as expected.

    When clicking on the Equipment Information option, if there is some issue with the database connection, user name, password, SQL query performed, etc., an error message will be invoked, so the user is aware of the problem.

    The EAM light webpage provides detailed information about the particular equipment, the parent/child relationship with other devices (equipment tree), and it also allows to make appropiate modification, or to be redirected to other external links.

EAM light Equipment Information
  • New Work Order: It has some similarities with the Equipment Information option, for example it uses the functional position code to access the EAM light site. The main difference is that the user will be redirected to the section where a new work order can be placed for equipment maintenance and operations. The history list of past work orders for the particular CERN user introduced when accessing the EAM light site is also shown in this webpage.

    Since the position code is needed, any error message will be displayed in case of an issue with the database when clicking on this option in the menu list of a device.

EAM light New Work Order
  • Location on Map: It also uses the functional position code to open the web browser with the corresponding link. However, the site that is accessed is the GIS map, which shows the CERN physical location of a particular equipment from a satellite point of view.

    CERN credentials are requested when accessing the GIS site and error messages are displayed if there is an issue as it happens with the Equipment Information and New Work Order.

GIS Equipment location on map
  • LogBook: When putting the mouse over this option, the user will see the list of logbooks configured by the administrator. It is important to point out that the responsability of configuring and chosing the appropiate logbook where the particular device information must be stored or modified belongs to the users and administrators. Once one of the logbooks has been clicked on, the user is redirected to the corresponding EAM LogBook webpage, which is different from the EAM light site for equipment.

    CERN credentials are required, and depending if the user is part of the group, i.e. he/she has the proper access rights, he/she will be able to access the logbook that has been clicked or not. In case of not having access, a message will be displayed in the EAM LogBook site indicating that either the logbook does not exist or the user does not have the rights to see it.

    The functional position code is also needed to be able to access the EAM LogBook webpage as it occurs with the previously described options. However, in this case, apart from having to call the R5OBJECTS table from the CERNDB1 database, the R5STRUCTURES table must be called as well, since there are some fields that will be retrieved from Infor EAM to automatically populate some of the fields that appear in the logbook event in the EAM LogBook site.

    If there is any issue when clicking on a particular logbook, an error message will be displayed in the screen.

EAM LogBook event