Over 250 users at Alstom use the ALPRO software to design power plants. In this project, Zuhlke ported the Data Management of this software to .NET while improving the existing version.
A power plant with an optimum design saves its operator a lot of money. ALPRO is the software the power plant engineers from Alstom use for this task. It graphically records the power plant layout and physical parameters and calculates the station’s efficiency.
Alstom decided to have this software redeveloped based on the .NET technology, as the Data Management was outmoded and expensive to service. Zuhlke was familiar with this section of the program and was therefore contracted to handle the migration. Zuhlke engineers also further refined the existing software in line with customer specifications.
The reason Zuhlke was so familiar with AlpView, the CAD section of ALPRO, was that it had cared for this section of the software for years. Drawing on this technology and domain expertise, the team quickly created a .NET prototype of AlpView.
In close cooperation with Alstom, the team then completely reprogrammed AlpView within a year. Alstom was able to configure changes in the new software itself. Before, it had to have outsiders program do all the adjustments.
In parallel with the new advance, Alstom and Zuhlke were maintaining the existing software to handle a steady flow of requests for improvements from users unable to wait for the new version. The progress of work on both software versions was continually monitored. Alstom and Zuhlke periodically made agreements on which task each of them would perform.
