Oct.20.2011

In this issue... CCS-Inc. Helps Client Decrease Device Failure Rates 75% New Product Spotlight: ADDAX-i Fanless Workstation Developing Long Lifecycle Systems Meet the CCS Team CCS is Hiring Newsletter Archive

News from CCS-Inc. In this month's newsletter, CCS is pleased to announce the debut of its newest case study. Read below to learn how Warren Rogers Associates utilizes a fanless PC solution from CCS to control theft and monitor usage at fuel stations across the country. Then, learn about how CCS develops long lifecycle systems by reading a technical article authored by CCS Computer Design Engineer, Ian Bacon. As always, if you have suggestions for future editions, or if you would like more information on one of the topics below, please let us know. The CCS Team

CCS-Inc. Helps client decrease device failure rates 75%

Situation
A pioneer in the fuel management business, Warren Rogers Associates (WRA) designs and develops end-to-end fuel profitability solutions for a wide array of major oil and truck stop clients. The company works with high-traffic fuel stations across the country to control fuel theft, monitor usage, identify leaks, and determine when meters go out of calibration. WRA products and technical support services have been specially designed to minimize the manpower and monetary requirements of compliance to guidelines for storage tank owners. To provide these services, WRA runs its proprietary software on industrial computers placed inside the store rooms of each station. This software allows the company to perform statistical analyses at each station to determine whether any areas need attention.

Back in 2009, the company began experiencing issues with the industrial computers being used in the store rooms. These units were equipped with fans for cooling, but due to the harsh environments the devices were exposed to, their fans kept becoming clogged. This caused the computers to overheat and fail. Unable to rely on its old industrial computers, WRA started looking for a new vendor. After finding CCS-Inc. in an initial search, representatives from WRA contacted CCS for more information.

Solution
In response to WRA’s request, CCS provided WRA with information on the company’s background and capabilities. Impressed by what they heard, WRA decided to meet with the CCS team to discuss the project’s parameters. Due to the limited amount of space available in fuel station store rooms, the replacement device needed to be as compact as possible. In addition to the space constraint, WRA was looking for a rugged computer that could function in extremely harsh conditions. These requirements were put in place to ensure that the device would be more reliable than the previous units. After hearing the project’s specifications, the CCS team determined that a fanless PC (FPC) would be the best solution.

Capable of withstanding temperatures ranging from -20 to 55 °C, the FPC recommended by CCS supports solid state and hard disk drives and runs on an Intel® Atom processor. It has a rugged aluminum chassis that disperses heat so that no cooling fans are necessary for operation in extreme temperatures. Being fanless reduces internal airflow, which prevents dust from being drawn through the system, possibly damaging components. The space that would have been used for airflow is thus condensed, creating a smaller footprint and allowing the unit to be deployed in spaces not available to traditional PCs. Since the device has no moving parts, the amount of time and money WRA would have to spend repairing the system and dealing with downtime would decrease. These characteristics make the unit more reliable and a good fit for WRA’s application.

Improved Reliability
Mr. Bill Jones, Executive Vice President of WRA, describes WRA’s thoughts on the FPC selected by CCS: “When transitioning from our old industrial computers to the new CCS platform, we had both types of units deployed in the field at the same time. While this occurred, we were able to see how much more reliable the CCS units were than our old industrial computers. Almost two years later, the new FPCs are being deployed in a variety of different environments, and their performance continues to impress us.” Mr. Jones expanded by explaining that, “Since implementing CCS’ FPCs, our device failure rates have dropped nearly 75%. Thanks to CCS, we have saved countless hours and dollars that would have been spent creating and installing replacement units."

Why choose CCS? Mr. Jones states that, “The company’s willingness to serve its customers is unrivaled. With CCS’ assistance, we were able to develop a control unit that allows us to shut down a facility if theft is detected or if there is a catastrophic leak. After receiving some helpful suggestions from the CCS team, we were also able to improve our manufacturing quality control procedures.”

“The thing that most impresses us about CCS is its ability to customize the solution provided to fit our exact specifications. They made the adjustments necessary to ensure that the unit had the right configuration to function with other equipment we had already deployed on our site,” said Mr. Jones. He continued by sharing that “We would definitely recommend CCS to others, and are looking forward to working with them in the future.”

"The thing that most impresses us about CCS is its ability to customize the solution provided to fit our exact specifications." - Bill Jones

Want to learn more about how other companies have benefited from working with CCS? Click here to view more case studies.
 

New Product spotlight: ADDAX-i fanless workstation

Built on Intel® Core™ i5/i7 technology with up to 8 GB RAM, the ADDAX-i offers workstation class performance in a rugged and compact chassis. It is ideal for harsh industrial environments where extreme temperatures, air particulates, and vibration can wreak havoc on standard commercial computers, as well as tight spaces too small for these systems.

The ADDAX-I Fanless Workstation is available now. For more information, please visit www.ccs-inc.com/portfolio/computers-profile/addax-i or contact the CCS Team for help determining the most suitable feature set.

 

Developing long lifecycle systems

By: Ian Bacon, Computer Design Engineer

In the constantly changing world of computer technology, configuring systems that will last more than a few years can be quite a challenge. Long lifecycle systems, essential to some applications, require special design and commercial considerations to ensure availability for a specific, extended period of time. In these situations, CCS uses a variety of methods to design long-lasting configurations that work consistently for their intended purpose.

The easiest and most effective means to produce a long lifecycle system is by using components that are guaranteed to be available for the entire project scope. One way CCS does this is by choosing to work exclusively with manufacturers who have the same commitment to product lifecycle. Having formed long-term partnerships with many industrial vendors, CCS has a number of reliable sources from which to specify long lifecycle components.  If a suitable product or supplier is unavailable, CCS may choose to design a part in-house to ensure availability and provide more control over the entire system. Although specifying long lifecycle components is the preferred way to control a system’s lifecycle, it is not always possible. Certain requirements of the project may dictate the use of specific elements, or an extended lifecycle component may not be available for a variety of reasons.

Regardless of the lifecycle of the components, all technology will eventually go EOL, or end of life. To mitigate the effects of an EOL part, CCS can often replace an end of life item with something similar enough that it causes only acceptable minor changes in the end product. Even with complex components, it can be possible to switch to a new item that uses many of the exact same or similarly functioning internal parts. Changes like these usually allow for a smooth transition for the project, and in many cases there is no effect to the system’s function. Depending on the project and the customer, sometimes changes are not acceptable at all,  or there are no new options that are equivalent to the EOL item. In these instances, CCS works with its vendors to bring enough stock into its own warehouse to increase the lifecycle of the system beyond the life of the individual components to meet the customer’s needs.

Creating long lifecycle systems requires a great deal of planning, work, and experience, which increases significantly as the desired system life increases. CCS provides this service because it values its relationship with its customers and realizes the importance of creating systems whose lifecycles match the necessary requirements of the customer’s project.

If you have a long lifecycle project to discuss, contact CCS today.

Interested in reading another article authored by Ian? Click here to view a white paper written by Ian and colleague Anderson Peeples on the advantages of Fanless PCs.

Meet the CCS Team

Name: Jason Kirkner
Position: Shipping Specialist
Years at CCS: 3
Responsibilities: I oversee Shipping Department operations, am the primary inspector of all outgoing products, maintain department documentation and processes, and troubleshoot all items related to shipping. 
Qualifications: Over seven years of experience in warehouse and product control, shipping, receiving, and quality control.
Favorite Part: Shipping is an extremely fast paced and high energy job, which has helped me to be more flexible and adaptive to any situation. I also enjoy being able to work with various departments.

 

CCS is Hiring! Know someone that would be a great fit for CCS? Located in Christiansburg, VA, CCS is always looking for talented people to add to its team. Click here to view a list of current job openings.

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