Public facilities automation

Ken Roach · Aug 3, 2018

I owe you guys who work in theme parks and amusement parks and public-facing automation projects a tip of the hat.

Most of my work is heavy industrial, but I recently worked on a tourist attraction.

We discussed the password-protection needs with the client. They asserted that the staff needed to be able to start and stop and change speed without a passcode or password or ID card or key, and were confident that public fussing with the touchscreen was not going to be a problem.

This morning the attraction opened to the public.

Three hours later I got a message from the general manager: "How quickly can you come put a password on the speed control screen" ?

Now I know why she didn't deactivate my construction access badge !

dogleg43 · Aug 3, 2018

Ken Roach said:
I owe you guys who work in theme parks and amusement parks and public-facing automation projects a tip of the hat.

Most of my work is heavy industrial, but I recently worked on a tourist attraction.

We discussed the password-protection needs with the client. They asserted that the staff needed to be able to start and stop and change speed without a passcode or password or ID card or key, and were confident that public fussing with the touchscreen was not going to be a problem.

This morning the attraction opened to the public.

Three hours later I got a message from the general manager: "How quickly can you come put a password on the speed control screen" ?

Now I know why she didn't deactivate my construction access badge !

Aaarghhh!!! You did just like You were told! LOL

Reminds me of a time when the customer wanted some conveyors programmed. A typical Manual-Off-Auto circuit right? When I asked what type of safeties they wanted in the Manual circuit the HMF in charge stamped his foot and screamed: “Dammit, quit making things so complicated. Manual means manual.”

Ok, if you say so. After 3 fully functional truck engines ran off the end of the conveyor and crashed on to the floor he came back and changed his mind.

First rule of business: The customer is always right.

Toine · Aug 3, 2018

Ken Roach said:
We discussed the password-protection needs with the client. They asserted that the staff needed to be able to start and stop and change speed without a passcode or password or ID card or key, and were confident that public fussing with the touchscreen was not going to be a problem.

That is funny. I have often had the opposite experience, of clients demanding out of proportion measures even during construction (by our own well trained and experienced staff). In terms of harm to humans and exposure risk the tourist industry should be way more strict than some industrial environments.

sparkie · Aug 3, 2018

So how do you guys handle it when a customer says that they absolutely do not want something like that and then something happens and they change their mind? Is it a time and materials thing, change order, etc?

rupej · Aug 3, 2018

Change order, unless it's an insignificant amount of work/time to change.

dmroeder · Aug 3, 2018

sparkie said:
So how do you guys handle it when a customer says that they absolutely do not want something like that and then something happens and they change their mind? Is it a time and materials thing, change order, etc?

In my microcosm it's common to fold like a lawn chair.

thingstodo · Aug 3, 2018

sparkie said:
So how do you guys handle it when a customer says that they absolutely do not want something like that and then something happens and they change their mind? Is it a time and materials thing, change order, etc?

Time and material if it has to be done yesterday. This is typically what is demanded.

Change orders take more time, as you need to find out what they want now, and get the various people who need to deal with it gathered together to discuss, before you can quote, and then get a Purchase Order. Most times, any number that you give is too high for the client, and ends up being way lower than what it actually takes for you to do it.

A couple of times, someone realizes that this is a bigger thing than it looks like, and we should maybe slow down and make sure that we get what we want. That is more time, more effort, and a proposal for .. essentially .. a new project with funding next year.

cardosocea · Aug 4, 2018

Ken Roach said:
We discussed the password-protection needs with the client. They asserted that the staff needed to be able to start and stop and change speed without a passcode or password or ID card or key, and were confident that public fussing with the touchscreen was not going to be a problem.

I take it there are some kind of standards or this sort of thing, no?

janner_10 · Aug 4, 2018

cardosocea said:
I take it there are some kind of standards or this sort of thing, no?

He who pays the piper etc etc

saultgeorge · Aug 6, 2018

I did a job for a company that made parts in molds and the machine I programmed had 2 hydraulic cylinders and a lot of valves, etc. They wanted certain parts of the program to be accessible from the HMI to "force" things when they wanted to. The old 500 program had that.

I told them I put all the manual controls on a password protected screen, no forcing capabilities and when they get the program and the HMI program they can go on line and do anything they want. Not a peep out of them.

They just bought a second machine. Go figure. (I now have canned logic)

Public facilities automation

Ken Roach

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dogleg43

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Toine

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sparkie

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rupej

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dmroeder

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thingstodo

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cardosocea

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janner_10

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saultgeorge

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