Versatile – Tascomp managing director Ashley Tizard with some of the vast range of products that rely on the firm ’ s software .
STOCKTON-ON-TEES
WORDS : SARAH WALKER PICTURES : STUART BOULTON
TECH TRAILBAZERS
Billingham firm has been developing groundbreaking software for more than 40 years
While Teesside ’ s digital and creative industries are enjoying something of a renaissance , Tascomp has been at the forefront of helping businesses capitalise on advances in technology since 1981 .
The award-winning Billingham firm was formed in the same year the desktop PC was launched – and its own products have gone through as much of a continuous development process as that all-important piece of home tech since then .
From its core product , the Prodigy SCADA package that controls and automates industry , to its PAMS air traffic control monitoring system helping to make our skies safer – crowned best project at this year ’ s Tees Tech Awards – Tascomp is at the cutting edge of software products that deliver game-changing results , improving efficiency , quality and safety .
Ashley Tizard , managing director of Tascomp , said : “ Alan Robinson set up the company in 1981 when he left ICI and wanted to do something with computer systems . This was when the development of computerised control and monitoring systems was in its infancy .
“ Fast forward to now and we have a number of products that help businesses
Award – Tascomp ’ s PAMS air traffic control monitoring system was crowned best project at this year ’ s Tees Tech Awards . manufacturing everything from cakes and handbags to HGV trailers and steel . They improve the efficiency and the quality of their products by giving manufacturers information about the performance of their machines , lines and even manual operations in real time .”
The company ’ s core product is Prodigy SCADA , which provides supervisory control and data acquisition functions for production lines and entire plants , analysing variables such as temperature and pressure to produce consistently high-quality products .
Ashley says : “ Prodigy takes a supervisory role , allowing you to see what ’ s going on in real time and responding accordingly to the data it has received and recorded .
“ We have developed 890 programmes within that package , so it ’ s a very significant product for us and is at the core of what we do .
“ Fundamentally , it ’ s about taking data and making it easier to understand what ’ s going on within your production processes .”
In the case of manufacturing everything from aircraft parts to pharmaceuticals , Ashley says Prodigy is critical , as it validates the manufacturing process has gone according to plan , with the end product meeting appropriate safety and quality standards .
“ Having our systems controlling things and recording what ’ s going on enables you to confirm that the process you have set out to take has actually been achieved ,” he says . “ Our products provide proof of process .”
PlantRun is another Tascomp product that helps manufacturers improve efficiency by
giving real time information on how systems are performing .
It also eliminates the need for wasteful and inherently inaccurate paper-based data collection , with information instead presented on tablets and screens .
Ashley is proud to be working with the whole team at Tascomp at the forefront of improving systems in manufacturing at a time when , he says , “ there ’ s a realisation that we need more manufacturing in the UK ”. That said , its products are in demand globally . Tascomp has developed successful long-term partnerships – providing ongoing technical support that is always rated as very good or excellent – to global manufacturers who have been customers for more than 35 years .
“ We enjoy being able to tailor our systems and service to each particular client ’ s needs ,” Ashley says .
“ The fact that our customers , from so many different sectors , use the software we provide makes it a very interesting business to work in from my point of view .”
Tascomp is also very proud to have been at the forefront of Teesside ’ s digital revolution for more than 40 years .
Ashley says it ' s “ quite incredible ” how many companies on Teesside are operating in the digital technology arena now .
He says : “ Teesside ’ s burgeoning tech sector and all the news of companies setting up on the Teesworks former steel industry site paints a massively positive picture for the Tees Valley .
“ I think the next 10 years will show that the whole area has a bright future .”
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