Back to Basics -- On-Site DBDOC Training

After a lengthy hiatus kicked off by the pandemic, we at GMCL are back to providing in-person classes and training for DBDOC users.  That being said, over the last four years we have become quite expert at providing online training as needed -- typically through Teams sessions -- and that is also a very effective way of providing one-on-one support and even introductory sessions for multiple DBDOC users.  But fundamentally, nothing compares with being on-site and in-person, in terms of the quality of interaction which is possible

In late April, Geoff and I were delighted to present an on-site Hyperview course to participants at Merck in West Point, Pennsylvania.  The day-long course was run three times, with about half a dozen students on each day.  There was a good mix of attendees -- mostly operators and technicians. but also engineers, managers, and contractors, all interested in getting a better understanding of how DBDOC could be useful to them.  Our contact Joe was a tremendous resource in organizing the sessions, and took an active role in helping to relate Hyperview's capabilities to areas of practical interest at the plant.

Speaking as lead Hyperview developer, teaching a class like this one is an exceptional opportunity for us as well -- our team is constantly trying to improve the usefulness and usability of the software, and there is no better reality check than observing a group of fairly novice DBDOC users getting off the ground with respect to basic functionality -- what works well, and where might there be opportunities for improvement.

This class was actually a lot of fun.  To begin, we introduced DBDOC, and how it fits into the context of the Harmony INFI 90® DCS system -- not everybody attending was familiar with the configuration layer (function blocks, CLDs), so understanding the framework of how DBDOC connects graphics to the hardware via the logic was essential.  We then introduced the DBDOC applications and how they work together, and then proceeded to teach basic Hyperview functionality interactively.  Participants had laptops with Hyperview installed, and were able to try for themselves the techniques being demonstrated.

Probably the best and most meaningful part of this particular class was the "quiz" that Joe had put together for the participants.  It consisted of practical questions about operations that could be answered quickly and easily using DBDOC -- this was an invaluable contribution to the group and to the effectiveness of the training.  Here are a couple of the questions:

• If boiler feed water pump 9 is yellow on the graphic, what are the 4 feedbacks that could be causing this?
• How long will the waste neutralization tank discharge if the pH is too high or too low?

Halfway through the day, the attendees worked through these questions and others, individually at first, and then collaboratively, using the DBDOC approaches they had just been introduced to.  Joe, a highly experienced DBDOC user, reviewed each question with the group afterwards, and the ensuing discussions with us and within the group were extremely effective at relating DBDOC's capabilities to the kinds of  tasks and questions that come up in practice.

In the latter part of class, we presented some of the more advanced Hyperview capabilities, and engaged in question & answer and discussion with participants. All in all, it was a very productive three days. It was also quite a wonderful leap forward into spring.   Up in the Great White North, April is still pretty much winter, but in Pennsylvania, it was green and stunningly beautiful -- blue skies and flowering trees of every description. 

DBDOC Visits the Peak District

Geoff and I are visiting clients in England for the next two weeks. On Monday we visited our first client, a cement works (Hope Works) in the Hope Valley, Derbyshire, a very pretty place. The villages are beautiful, set among large hills and occasional rock outcroppings rather than mountains. Of course, there are sheep everywhere. The weather was warm, approaching 28 degrees C with blue skies and sunshine as we started work in the morning.




The stone house is the B&B where we spent Sunday night. At several hundred years old it is an historic site, as the oldest of many similar ones are in the village. The ceilings are supported crosswise with large thick oak beams. In all very charming for our first night in England.

The sunshine, however, was not to last. By afternoon clouds had come up, and as we drove away in the late afternoon the rain started. Fog blurred the landscape and a picture of the rock outcroppings was not possible. The rain followed us to our next stopping place, Happy Guest Lodge at Warrington, Cheshire. Here we are today, with a day off, until we start visiting with clients for the rest of the week. Next week we will be visiting clients in the London area.

News from New Zealand

Since arriving Sunday evening we have had a very busy week. Monday was spent driving from  Auckland to New Plymouth by roads that twisted, turned and climbed. There are other highways that go more directly but we enjoy the challenging ones, if there is time. The scenery was spectacular, as you can see from some of the pictures. From a historical view point, many (if not all) of the green treeless hills (mountains) you see were treed in about 1850.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we worked with contractors and clients. We will have a good relationship with the three plants in the future.  On Thursday and today we have had great touring days. We are a couple of 100 km from New Plymouth, but have not started going north. Again, the scenery has been spectacular.   Next Monday and Tuesday we will spend two days doing DBDOC workshop and training sessions at client  sites. 



The "Cabbage Tree."  Geoff commented that this
must be the tree made famous by Dr. Suess.

Sunday driving on the eastern coastal highway 35 from Gisborne to Opotiki we saw miles of sandy beaches. The British explorer, Captain Cook’s cabin boy, Young Nick, sighted a piece of land (now called Young Nick’s Head)  near Gisborne in 1769. This was the start of Britain’s relationship with New Zealand. We travelled north-east along  the coast towards Opotiki. Noon lunch was a picnic overlooking a wide, sandy beach with rolling surf and bright blue water.

Inland there were many farms with thousands of sheep, cattle and occasional herds of horses. The countryside was covered with lush green grass and occasional groves of trees. There were large volcanic shaped hills everywhere, an the occasional plateau of grass. An interesting tree is the cabbage tree, which has clumps of leaves that look like  cabbages on their branches.

As part of the day we met on the road two steers and a cow. Our car came to a stop. The cow gingerly walked by on the other side of the road. The steers took a second look, thought for a while and then decided to follow her lead.

As they passed by, we slowly moved forward.


A short time later we met a herd of 50 or 60 sheep. We moved slowly forward. Then we saw the source of their movement, a small truck was slowly moving behind them, herding them down the highway. Hopefully, the procession did not have far to go.

An hour further down the road we met two spirited horses, who had just opened the latch on their pasture gate and were enjoying a run down the grassy ditch. Next, we were treated to great seaward views over The Bay of Plenty. It is a natural U-shaped harbour.

The rest of the drive was less eventful, and by evening we arrived at our B&B. Here we were treated to a great steak supper to complete the day. Tomorrow will start two days of DBDOC workshop and training sessions at Tasman Paper.

Lamb, Kangaroo and Pavlova

Charlton Fuentes and Geoff Michaels at DBDOC
training session at Queensland Alumina.

We have just finished two days of DBDOC advanced workshop sessions at Gladstone.

Children have been enjoying their spring break from school this week and next. I was just offered and ate a delicious ripe tomato. As spring turns to summer, the tomato season is over in Queensland just as it is in southern California six months earlier. The summer season is too hot for plants like tomatoes to thrive.

Last night we visited with friends, and had a lovely home prepared meal of lamb and kangaroo. The meal was finished with a delicious Australian dessert of Pavlova and fresh fruit. I also found out there are several snowboarding and skiing resorts in southern Australia, open in their winter season (May to August).

Tomorrow is a driving day as we go further south. Geoff enjoys driving. Driving on the other side of the road seems to come naturally for him. We will be traveling through kangaroo country, so we are looking forward to see one or more as we drive by.

Sugar Cane Train

It is Saturday noon, and we are in Bowen. 

As we drove south from Cairns we passed from tropical bush to Gum trees, dried grass and large fields of sugar cane. The sugar cane is in bloom and ready to cut. Often along the road are railway tracks. Sugar cane trains are used to transport the cane to the mills.

Tony Porter at Airlie Beach

Sugar Cane Train

We spent a lovely day on Friday with long time DBDOC customer Tony Porter as we looked around Bowen and then we went for a late lunch at a nearby beach. For supper we went to a Chinese restaurant, The Cove, on a beach facing the Pacific Ocean. It was lovely to watch the sun dip under the horizon as we had supper.

This afternoon we started down the coast to Mackay for another night's stay before we get to Gladstone on Sunday night. On the way we passed many more fields of sugar cane, and finally a sugar cane train. See the pictures with the cane mill in the background.

People here do not seem to drive these distances often, although the roads are paved, two lane roads with frequent passing lanes. The people are very friendly, and it reminds me of rural communities in western Canada.

A Change from Canada

We are finally in Australia and enjoying the beautiful weather. Our flight from Guam was delayed five hours. We were scheduled to leave at seven in the evening and arrive in Cairns, Queensland at midnight. However, a violent storm at Saipan (an island forty-five flight minutes from Guam) pinned the plane down and it returned to Guam at midnight. Hence, we arrived in Cairns at five am, arriving at our hotel at least three hours before our ten am checkout time!

However, from there things started to look up.

We moved Friday afternoon to a beachfront apartment on Trinity beach. Here we have remained on Friday and Saturday nights. During the day on Saturday we drove to and visited the tropical rain forest north of Cairns -- a great day. Now Sunday we are preparing for our flight to Gove and out first week of DBDOC workshops and training.


A picture only an engineer could love. We crossed a large river as we approached the Daintree Tropical Rain Forest.  The ferry winched itself across the river and back.  This is a picture of the cable mechanism.



A look out view over the forest as it extended down the slope towards the ocean.

Rain in Guam

Today we are in Guam. Yesterday, we flew from Vancouver to Tokyo and spent about six hours in the United Airlines lounge. A meal on the plane was typical Japanese, a nice introduction to Japan. The lounge was an extremely large and pleasant place, where I enjoyed a three hour nap, all the sushi I wanted, chicken fingers, and a delicious vegetable soup. All the staff were very helpful. Internet connections were easy and good. We were able to keep in touch with the office and our clients.

After a good night /morning at Guam we are waiting to go to Cairns Australia this evening. A significant rainstorm rages outside our hotel. We have just found our flight is an hour late but going. We will soon take the shuttle to the airport.

We are at the airport. As we drove along, there was lots of water on the streets. The storm is supposed to last for two to three days. This is still the northern hemisphere and winter is coming. Nice looking place, but a good place to be leaving, given the weather. Tomorrow morning starts our stay in Australia. We have heard from many clients, and we are anxious to start that part of our trip.

No Jet Lag

Worked out beautifully.  We arrived here at Guam at 2 AM and negotiated late checkout at 2 PM.  I just went to sleep for another couple of hours, in fact.  We will have no jet lag when we get to Australia. 

Raining here, so our plans to wander about and find something interesting collapse to Plan B - chill, sleep and go on at 6 PM to Australia. 

DBDOC Around the World

DBDOC has taken us traveling than once over the past fifteen years or so, but it's rare for us to be in both Australia and Europe on the same trip. However this is an exceptional three month round the world adventure, about three parts DBDOC training and consulting and one vacation.

We are getting ready to leave Canada for Australia and New Zealand. Tuesday morning we leave through Vancouver, for Japan and then Australia. We have a challenging and enjoyable schedule ahead of us.

We will be starting in Cairns and Gove, and then moving down the coast to Gladstone and Pittsworth. We look forward to working with clients in these places.

Before we leave the Cairns area we will have the chance to spend a day in the Daintree area, a tropical reserve. There will also be a weekend at the beach. And visits with several friends.

By October 8th, we will be in the Sydney area for a week, ending up with spending Sunday and Monday (October 13 and 14) with friends in Canberra, the capital of Australia.