'3 days of sharing knowledge with like-minded people'

The PCS Users' Club is an independent association of end users of the Siemens process control systems PCS 7 and Teleperm M. By uniting, members keep abreast of the latest developments in the field of process automation. By meeting regularly, they exchange experiences with other users. Whenever the opportunity arises, they visit the Siemens factory in Karlsruhe.

On 19, 20 and 21 October, the Siemens Users' Club visited Karlsruhe. Our software engineer Teun van Roosmalen was also there!

Knowledge sharing

"Usually Sandor Hoogveld, lead PCS7 and expert Siemens Online Support Forum, is our delegate at the Users' Club. This time the honour fell to me. It was the first time for me and I really enjoyed it," Teun says. "In short, it was three days full of knowledge-sharing with like-minded people!"

PCS Users' Club

The PCS Users' Club is a Dutch initiative, which was founded in 1987 as the 'Teleperm M Users' Club'. After Siemens introduced the SIMATIC PCS 7 automation concept, the name changed in 2000. The objective remained the same. They bring users of PCS 7 or similar Siemens systems into contact with each other. This keeps them up to date with the latest developments in integral process automation.

Future-oriented information

Teun: "Fifteen of us travelled to Karlsruhe by train. Wednesday was a travel day, but Thursday we attended a full-day programme! Employees of Siemens Germany gave presentations: we were treated to a lot of future-oriented information! Extra special, because we are already working with this future-oriented information and the latest technologies. On Friday, in an industrial environment, we visited the location where Siemens provides specific PCS7 training for students. There we experienced how the material is taught in practice."

Structural engineering

"At the moments that were not set out in the programme, we had a lot of mutual contact!" Teun continues: "That too was very instructive: people from different companies exchanging experiences in a very approachable, non-competitive way! It turns out that we run into the same critical issues. The great thing about such a trip is that we can also share these points directly with Siemens experts. People from Siemens Netherlands were also there and their German colleagues appreciate our direct form of communication. This creates structural and constructive criticism, which benefits the development of the system!"

Like-minded people

Teun, in conclusion: "The great thing about this trip was that all participants have their input. Together, we concluded, for example, that the speed of the systems was too slow. The added value, of course, is that the people from Siemens appreciate our user experiences and want to benefit from them. Apart from that, we also had a couple of very pleasant days, with all 'like-minded' people!"

Want to know more about the PCS Users' Club, or about PCS7 deployment in general? Then get in touch.