start magazine, in cooperation with Microsoft Corporation, recently held the 1999 Technology and Business Awards in Chicago, IL to honor companies who implement Windows-based solutions. Rockwell Software was named as a T&B Technology Enabler for the second consecutive year, this award goes to hardware and software companies who helped make end-user software solutions possible. The recipients are suppliers that provided the technical solutions that helped the end users achieve their objectives and goals.

Colorado Springs Utilities received a Technology and Business Vertical Market Solutions Award (Utilities) for their application that included Rockwell Software and Microsoft products. The Technology & Business Vertical Market Solutions Awards are awarded to end-user companies for their commitment and dedication to implementing leading-edge Windows-based technologies within their organizations. The annual T&B awards recognize superior technical solutions for their creativity and effectiveness in using Windows-based technologies. The Colorado Springs application runs on a Microsoft platform and includes Rockwell Software RSLinx, and RSView32 Active Display Human Machine Interface (HMI) software.

"It is an honor for Rockwell Software to have been named a T&B Technology Enabler for this application," said Rich Ryan, Rockwell Software, President. "This is a great opportunity to demonstrate the exceptional solutions that can be developed by combining Rockwell Software programs with Microsoft operating systems and technologies. As a leader in implementing Microsoft solutions, this award shows how developing strong relationships with companies such as Microsoft can help create state-of-the-art solutions for customers in any industry."

The Colorado Springs Utilities Plant in Colorado treats industrial and residential wastewater, and is responsible for serving over 100,000 area customers with a combined annual flow of 17 billion gallons of wastewater. Implementing a new process control system and operator interface products to control, monitor and automate the treatment of water at this facility allowed the plant to improve plant efficiency, monitor systems from remote locations and lower overall customer costs.

The RSView32 Active Display System software package allows users to securely control and monitor plant floor applications from local and remote locations. Users can interact with, change and view automation system data using either the RSView32 Active Display Station or a Web browser. At the Colorado Springs plant, the Active Display Clients are located on desktops throughout the facility, providing direct access to wastewater treatment data via the plant Intranet.

Through RSLinx, real-time data is communicated and stored in the Excel spreadsheet, giving Colorado Springs a cost-effective way to store and monitor data, given the limited functionality required by this application. Due to the automated data collection, done through RSLinx on a fixed frequency, the accuracy of the data has improved through the elimination of manual recording and double entry.

Because of these improved conditions and cost savings, Colorado Springs is able to offer customers lower water treatment costs. Colorado Springs currently offers an average cost for residential customers at 33% lower than the national average, while industrial customers realize a 60% reduction in cost compared to the national average.

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