A large utility company needed a system on which their workforce supervisors could record and report safety observations. Business drivers included: OSHA compliance, reducing incidence of accidents, and minimization of safety violations. The company's core applications and future architectural direction are web-based, but the requirements for the safety application dictated that much of its functionality must be available when users are disconnected from their corporate network. The company also required that the components and sub-systems developed for this application be reusable on other applications with company-wide deployment. Additionally, all safety observation data collected would have to be stored in an enterprise data warehouse for business intelligence and reporting with required audit and safety controls.
Solution:
CapTech designed, built, and tested a the system using open, web-based technology. The system supports web-based access but also allows data collection by users who are temporarily off-line. The system is comprised of a JavaEE based server that supports centralized data collection and reporting, and a front-end application within a web framework. Information from the front-end is synchronized with the central data store via a web service tier developed by CapTech. Secure access to the front-end application handled by an authentication system that provides cryptographically secure authentication data from a central enterprise directory that is used while the user is detached from the network. To support the quick entry of safety information, the system implemented a means to quickly locate any of the thousands of company employees or contractors with only a few keystrokes. The creative use of Ajax and web technology allowed the developers to reduce a process that had previously required working through dozens of web pages down to a single compact, highly-interactive page.
Tools:
WebLogic Workshop
Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
Eclipse SWT
JavaScript
Oracle
Derby
Cognos ReportNet
Embedded Tomcat
Struts
Web Services
Spring Framework
Hibernate
Public/Private Key Encryption
Results:
The application was ready for deployment to hundreds of satellite connected PCs within three months of project kick-off
The project facilitated compliance with OSHA safety requirements
The design provided advanced business intelligence reporting with Cognos ReportNet