SmartSignal Joins with Indus to Deliver Industry's First Real-Time, Proactive Work Order Maintenance Solution

    CHICAGO--May 7, 2003--SmartSignal Corporation, the leader in predictive technology for asset management, today announced it has joined forces with Indus International Inc. to deliver the industry's first real-time proactive work order maintenance solution. The combination of SmartSignal's Equipment Condition Monitoring(TM) (eCM) software with the Indus CBM Connector(TM) product will deliver an integrated solution that provides more accurate, proactive maintenance planning based on actual real-time asset conditions.
    Customers using SmartSignal, Indus' ActionPoint Management(TM) solutions and the CBM Connector will achieve significant performance improvements and cost savings. The solution will provide access to real-time equipment health, which enables operators to make crucial maintenance decisions leading to improved customer service and reduced maintenance costs. Furthermore, Indus ActionPoint Management solutions will be able to generate work orders based on SmartSignal incidents, which identify deteriorating equipment conditions and increasing cost savings by allowing operators to more efficiently use resources and plan logistical support.
    "SmartSignal and Indus enter this relationship with great strategic alignment. Both companies have an excellent track record of helping companies optimize maintenance and repair operations, and we're both focused on applying best-in-class solutions to deliver world-class performance and breakthrough cost savings for our customers," said VP of Manufacturing Solutions Ian Wray of Indus International. "Our joint solution will enable companies to most efficiently utilize overhaul and maintenance procedures, resulting in greater return on assets and increased customer satisfaction."
    The CBM Connector leverages industry standards such as XML and the Machinery Information Management Open Systems Alliance's (MIMOSA) CRIS Schemas to provide a host of benefits including simpler integration and deployment, lower software maintenance cost, and a flexibility for future integration of new monitoring technologies. The CBM Connector product will be available in May 2003.
    "The new CBM Connector(TM) using MIMOSA standards represents an inflection point for the condition-based maintenance industry in general and predictive condition monitoring solutions in specific," noted Gary Conkright, President and CEO, SmartSignal Corporation. "Clients using Indus ActionPoint Management solutions with the new CBM Connector and SmartSignal eCM(TM) will be able to automatically transform reactive maintenance strategies using emergency work orders into proactive maintenance strategies using planned work orders in real time. Doing so will decrease downtime, increase asset availability, reduce maintenance costs and improve return-on-assets."
    SmartSignal's eCM solution is the first in the industry to integrate advanced diagnostic functionality with early warning information, enabling companies to determine the reason for a potential equipment failure long before failure occurs. As such, eCM maximizes asset availability and improves ROA in any industry by reducing unplanned downtime and enabling planned downtime to be more strategically used.

    About SmartSignal

    SmartSignal, based in Lisle, IL, is the leader in Predictive Technology. The technology, available as an enterprise software solution--Equipment Condition Monitoring (eCM(TM))--or as a predictive platform for OEMs, helps companies gain unprecedented insight into the health of critical business assets. Through real-time monitoring and prediction, companies are able to avoid catastrophic failures, increase capacity and improve overall return-on assets. SmartSignal was recently named one of the top 50 emerging technology companies in Chicago by I-Street magazine. In addition, the company recently won the Business Ledger's "Annual Award for Business Excellence," Control Engineering Magazine's "Editor's Choice" new product award and a Best of Sensors Expo new product "Gold Award."