PC Dmis protect 2019

[Ncogneto]

so with 2019 we noticed in the "whats new" the pc dmis protect feature to track and lock program changes. Has anyone started to utilize this yet? we have a Phantom here that is "editing" programs and we are not sure if its the bugs and demon in the new version or if its an actual person making the changes but this seems to be an end all assuming we can get I.T. support. thanks in advanced

[bfire85]

I could be wrong, but I thought this was an add-on pay service to do so. In the meantime, use Operator Mode or Protect Mode.

[sealevel]

Barry, you're not wrong. That Hex-lock will cost $$$.

[bfire85]

Thanks Tom!

[Ncogneto]

our staff is too savvy for operator mode. They all know where to find the PCDLRN. that's why we are exploring protect.

we cant use protected mode because we loop programs and need to change the settings from time to time when we go back and forth between production and in-process inspection. Also Im too lazy to walk the 3 blocks from the offline office to the production room to input a password every time our staff needs to make adjustments. and there is no room in the production room for another workstation. (big a$$ machining space teeny tiny inspection space, as QA was an after thought when they set up)

I could be wrong, but I thought this was an add-on pay service to do so. In the meantime, use Operator Mode or Protect Mode.

sealevel are you speaking from experience?

Barry, you're not wrong. That Hex-lock will cost $$$.

looking for input from those that are using it please not speculation. as we have a few more questions that pertain to the usage as well.

like if I have 2019 on my offline station and I use protect and down save to 2018 and move to a station that has 2018 will protect still function? because it would be foolish to put the latest and greatest PC Dims into our production CMMs until we all know its stable.

[sealevel]

No. That wasn't speculation. Just a fact about it isn't free. Guilty as charged .... I haven't used it. However, here's just some free advice.
Go to the source. I'm sure Neil Kay can answer the questions you have. I believe he is the Hexagon Product Owner.
Personally, I can think of easier methods to tighten security. But what really confuses me is why protected mode not isn't an option?
Why do you need your 'lazy' self to go input a password so your 'staff' can make adjustments (I assume to the CMM program, not to a CNC program)
Isn't that the whole point?? To me it seems either your staff are programmers w/password or they aren't. And if you got employees sniffing in the Settings Editor for a password, that area shouldn't be available anyway. Pretty easy for IT to secure it from possible nimrods.
good luck.

[Kp61dude!]

our staff is too savvy for operator mode. They all know where to find the PCDLRN. that's why we are exploring protect.

we cant use protected mode because we loop programs and need to change the settings from time to time when we go back and forth between production and in-process inspection. Also Im too lazy to walk the 3 blocks from the offline office to the production room to input a password every time our staff needs to make adjustments. and there is no room in the production room for another workstation. (big a$$ machining space teeny tiny inspection space, as QA was an after thought when they set up)




sealevel are you speaking from experience?



looking for input from those that are using it please not speculation. as we have a few more questions that pertain to the usage as well.

like if I have 2019 on my offline station and I use protect and down save to 2018 and move to a station that has 2018 will protect still function? because it would be foolish to put the latest and greatest PC Dims into our production CMMs until we all know its stable.

If your folks are savvy enough to get around Operator mode then they're savvy enough to lock PCs down with their individual user name and password and work off the Public folder. That way each operator is held accountable. No more finger pointing (if that's what's going on).

Trust me they're going to hate the added steps to the madness and won't like playing the accountability game BUT eventually should get rid of the issue or narrow it down to your problem child (who is probably just trying to learn how I did - break shtuff in the process lol).

Most of these rules can be implemented in a windows environment by your IT that you already payed for to Microsoft (with the exception of savvy, 'star children', IT personnel's overpriced time that never have time for you).

[Ncogneto]

[QUOTE=Kp61dude!;n449186]

If your folks are savvy enough to get around Operator mode then they're savvy enough to lock PCs down with their individual user name and password and work off the Public folder. That way each operator is held accountable. No more finger pointing (if that's what's going on).

QUOTE]

we have very long running programs that run between shifts, also our cmms are on "cmm profiles" so that admin rights can be set and internet usage blocked along with a slew of other IT stuff . we all have individual profiles but they are not used on the cmm due to the nature of how we flow 100s of parts non stop thru 4 cmms daily. if we had to time our cmm run time to coincide with our work schedules we would years behind not months.

like I asked before we are looking for input from those that are actually using protect not speculation or work around fixes, as locking and tracking changes in the programs based on the "marketing in the what's new" will tell us exactly what's going on.

thank you

[louisd]

if you are listening with an open mind... these folks seem to be letting you know the answer.

per this link: (after you login to support) https://support.hexagonmi.com/s/article/What-s-New-In-PC-DMIS-2019-R1-Protect?ui-force-components-controllers-recordGlobalValueProvider.RecordGvp.getRecord=1&r= 7
it clearly states, at the bottom:

Additional Information

• Protect is a cost option.

Now, they are offering other suggestions, not as a workaround, but as an alternative.

Personally, we control all our routines locally on the PC's, with a simple "read only" status in windows explorer, and then put cameras on all the machines.
Video footage of any tomfoolery is grounds for immediate termination. We also upload every validated routine into the same doc control system that manages our whole company's quality system, also considered a "Disaster recovery" backup file. It takes over a week of red tape, to release a new revision with about 6 people reviewing the document and signing off on it before it gets released, and you are complaining bout just walking into a different building? I'd love to have that level of freedom and convenience!

I wonder how much Protect, which wouldn't work well with a shared PC login, costs, compared to someone installing a handful of cameras for you? Plus, I bet utilization rates go up once those cameras go in. :-D

[louisd]

Also, if you watch the video in that link, it appears using a common username to access that PC would isolate the individual accountability you would be getting if each person had a login and pw... so protect wouldn't work for you, especially with intra-shift measurement run durations.

[nkayWAI]

Actually, the Protect product owner is Troy Johnson - I'm the PO for Inspect and Universal Updater.

My understanding is that Protect will not protect in earlier versions than 2019 R1 - so you'll need all seats using that.

[sealevel]

Sorry about that, Neil. (well I was close )