Company Announcement - Industrial operations in South Africa can remotely control numerous machinery functions without having to invest in large capital-intensive programmable logic controller technology, thanks to the innovative new i-Commander control and telemetry device locally manufactured and distributed by Enviropower.

Enviropower chief operating officer Stewart Blanckensee reveals that the i-Commander is a smaller, more affordable solution to a traditional PLC, which allows the user to control the required equipment or functions from a cell phone. “It is the ideal solution for smaller systems that may not be covered by a PLC, but have certain aspects that need to be monitored, such as temperature, pressure and oil analysis,” he explains. The i-Commander allows the user to set the parameters that it functions within, setting off an alarm if the system operates outside of those parameters. “Through 24/7 control of a system through i-Commander, users will be aware of issues within the system before they become bigger problems. This provides the user with tremendous safety and efficiency benefits,” adds Blanckensee. According to Blanckensee, the i-Commander is not designed for any specific application, and can be used in a variety of industries, including mining, agriculture and power generation. “It is best-suited to smaller operations, however, if an operation expands and the user requires a larger system, it is possible to add multiple i-Commanders to the system.

In addition, the i-Commander sends alerts directly to any number of cellular phones and not just to a controller in an operations centre.” A unique aspect of the i-Commander is its cable theft monitor feature. Blanckensee observes that cable theft is a major challenge for farmers and other industries, as it is costly to replace the stolen cable. He continues: “The cable theft monitor function allows the user to constantly monitor their cabling, setting off an alarm if any predetermined parameters are breached.” The i-Commander uses a SIM card and can be run off of multiple cellular networks. It allows the user to enter numerous contact numbers for the most effective communication. For example, if there is a power failure where the device is being used, the i-Commander will send selected users a message indicating the time and date of the initial incident, and when the power is restored again.

Predetermined command features also enable more effective communication between the user and the device. Blanckensee states: “By sending the word ‘status’ to the i-Commander, the user will be instructing the device to check all aspects of the system and send a report. It is also possible to enable or disable certain tasks by sending a message to the device. The user can also set a pattern of events to take place one after the other, when certain conditions are met.”

In addition, users are able to log the performance of the equipment over an extended period, allowing them to determine if there is a problem in the system, or identify where maintenance needs to be carried out. “Through proper management of the system with the i-Commander, there can be a drastic increase in productivity,” Blanckensee concludes. Initial set-up of the i-Commander is quick and simple. As part of its value-added service, Enviropower pre-sets the device for its clients, thereby ensuring that the user simply has to select the parameters that the i-Commander is required to operate within.