Information Management System - ProActive

ProActive is an innovative database system for managing, summarizing and reporting all collected information pertaining to pipeline integrity. The system is ProActive in the sense that the summary screens and reports focus on maximizing pipeline integrity by eliminating problem areas, and identifying and reversing deleterious data trends. A complete inventory of all devices arrayed along a pipeline is maintained, complete with important specifications and contact information, as well as device-specific ancillary information, a history of readings, and an audit trail of all changes. Certain pipeline features such as anomalies, spans, coatings and sleeves are also tracked within the database.

With the Client-Server version, a ProActive database is installed on a customer’s server machine and multiple users, having access to the customer's network, can access the ProActive database. ProActive supports the following server platforms: Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Firebird/Interbase, IBM DB2 and Informix.

ProActive Users have the ProActive Client software program installed on their PCs or laptops. ProActive Client supports Windows® 2000 or later operating systems.
(Windows Vista is not currently supported.)

In addition, with the ProActive Client-Server system, users can operate in Briefcase mode, which is an off-line (from the server) mode of operation. In this mode, they will have a copy of a relevant portion of the database locally on their PC (or laptop) with which to work, while avoiding issues arising due to network traffic, etc. Users can also work with their portion of the database in the absence of a network connection, performing such functions as route building, route data downloading to the G1 data-logger, posting newly-collected data to their sites (in the local copy the database) and generating reports. ProActive users would typically only to go online with the server in order to update the database with newly collected data.

APPLICATION LICENSING

The ProActive Client-Server system requires server and user licenses. There are two options regarding licensing, the annual lease option and the outright purchase option.

With the annual lease option, the server license fee and the user license fees (each named user requires a license) are renewed on an annual basis. With this option, database support and user support are included free of charge.

With the outright purchase option, a lifetime license (for the server and a specified number of named users) is granted to the purchaser (additional users can be added at the specified user license cost (outright purchase fee) at a later date, if necessary). Database support and user support subscriptions can be purchased with this option on an annual basis.

See the “System Pricing” section for more information.

HOST SYSTEM SECURITY

ProActive provides a Security Manager that is charged with granting (or denying) access to sensitive application functions. The application security mechanism is functional in nature. That is, actions deemed sensitive are subject to a security check. If a particular user is an identified member of a group that has the right to perform a particular function, access is granted. A superuser (someone who is granted all functionality rights) can create several classes of users (with member lists), with each user class (for example, CP Managers, Engineers, Technicians etc.) having specific rights to perform certain functions, based on ProActive user IDs.

A superuser can also limit the viewable portion of the database and/or the changeable portion of the database (which would include the ability to post new readings data), on an individual user basis.

All changes made with regard to sites are audited and user-viewable in a last-in, first-out list for each site.

The auditing system is object-oriented and tracks both the username and time/date of each change to the database.

HOST SYSTEM INTEGRATION

ProActive has numerous facilities for integrating information from foreign databases into its calculations, graphical reports and risk assessment systems, including seamless, direct connection to foreign databases.

A number of import/export facilities are also available.

On the export side, we can be called upon to develop any sort of view or bridge software to facilitate use of ProActive data in outside applications. Our software development rates are highly competitive.

We have also successfully integrated ProActive with a pipeline-oriented database, which in this case was an ISAT Model database, via table integration and code-list sharing. This type of “tight” integration eliminates the need for heterogeneous queries and associated middleware, which might otherwise be required for pipeline data exchange. A schematic of this type of system is shown below.

HOST SYSTEM REPORTING

ProActive has extensive capabilities for the generation of both graphical and textual reports.

Graphical Reports:

When site surveys have been completed, ProActive acquires the readings data (via an ActiveSync connection to the G1 data-logger) and posts them to the appropriate sites in the database, where they are integrated with historical data. Once stored in the database, a multitude of graphs can be generated, based on the readings data, including reading type data (for example, rectifier volts and rectifier amps) plotted versus survey date, or reading type data plotted versus location, for example, annual pipe-to-soil readings versus site location (station number or milepost). In addition, such data can be graphed on a year-over-year basis.

Custom graphical report formats (report templates) can be designed and saved in ProActive, for repeated use, using a “Graphical Reports Designer” function. For instance, any site readings data in the database can be displayed either on a single graph (if the units are the same and are in similar ranges) or on multiple (stacked) graphs, for a given line segment.

Furthermore, if GPS position data (site location data) have been posted to the database, these data can be employed by ProActive to generate reports that can include topographical, photographical or street maps with the sites suitably arrayed along an overlaid pipeline. Such mapping is possible since ProActive is a consumer of web services for GIS-related purposes. So, for example, you could design a report format to include a graph of pipe-to-soil readings (perhaps a bar graph) stacked with a map showing the sites displayed on the overlaid pipeline.

Once graphical report formats (templates) have been custom-designed, it is a simple matter to drag and drop sites (or entire line segments) into a report field from the database upon which to base your report.

Graphical reports can be exported to an image file (an enhanced metafile) or can be printed via a printer connected to your PC (or laptop). If you have “Acrobat PDF Writer”, you can print to a PDF file.

Textual Reports:

ProActive is delivered with a number of textual report formats that have been included as “standard” formats from which you can make your selection or, you can design and save your own textual report formats using the Ad Hoc feature.

Custom textual report formats (templates) can be designed and saved in ProActive for repeated use. Again, to generate a report, based on a saved report format, it is a simple matter of dragging and dropping either individual sites, or line segments containing the sites in question, upon which the report is to be based, into the report field.

During the report template design process, a variety of constraints can be selected, depending on the nature of the data to be reported. For example, regarding “survey date”, a date-range constraint can be applied and you can elect to be prompted to enter a date-range for the report prior to the report being generated. In the case of pipe-to-soil data, for example, you might want to exclude all “Instant Off” potentials in a certain range, eg, -0.85V to -1.2V, so that only “suspect” data get reported.

Textual report data are exported to an Excel spreadsheet file, when a report is generated, and you can save the Excel spreadsheet files on your PC and print the reports from Excel as required.