Industrial Control Software Ltd has been awarded the 2006 Innovation Award by NOF Energy, one of the UK’s leading business development organisations for companies involved in the oil and gas and related energy sectors.

NOF Energy has more than 200 member companies who supply goods and services to the oil, gas, marine and renewable energy industries. The capabilities established by NOF member companies in the harsh, demanding environment of the North Sea are highly respected by the developing oil and gas nations around the world.

ICS won the award for an innovative new software product they have just released which will revolutionize the way alarm overrides are handled in the Control Room by eliminating the need for paper logbooks. The product, IMAC Custodian will be a valuable addition to ICS’s already comprehensive suite of process alarm management software tools.

Sean Herring, Sales & Marketing Manager at ICS said, “Having put years of man effort into the development of IMAC Custodian, Industrial Control Software Ltd are pleased to have won the NOF Energy Innovation Award. This award is particularly special as we feel it represents an endorsement by our peer group to the innovative nature of this new product.”

ICS believe that on many sites, the problem is not the process of overriding alarms but the use of paper logbooks for recording what action has been taken.

Here are some reasons why paper systems are not sufficient:

• Paper logbooks can not be organised and viewed in a way that ensures continuous
  clarity to the operator.
• Paper logbooks make it difficult to manage and impossible to prove that the procedure
  is being followed correctly.
• Paper logbooks can only be viewed in one location i.e. the control room.
• Paper logbooks are easier to modify and forge.
• Paper logbooks are inefficient; you have to continuously enter the same information
  each time.
• Paper logbooks have limitations with regard to the amount of information recorded
  i.e. they try to do everything on one line.
• Paper logbooks do not record a detailed audit trial of people who have reviewed
  the logbook and each time they review it.
• Paper logbooks are not secure; they can be destroyed by the incident or on purpose.
  IMAC Custodian can be installed in a secure location away from the plant.
• To provide KPI information from a paper logbook is extremely time consuming.
  IMAC Custodian can provide the standard KPI information and much more
  with the click of a mouse.
• Paper logbooks are a dead end. IMAC Custodian offers a far better solution now
  and will continue to be developed to offer even more functionality in the future,
  with the addition of communications and optional override risk assessment integrated
  into future Custodian control room products.