2012

Zircon has recently gained a new client, a major systems supplier to the rail industry.  They are currently upgrading communication system hardware to overcome a problem with obsolescence.  The hardware is being supplied by a third party and Zircon has been contracted to write the device driver software for this new hardware.

The comms system links a host computer with outstations via 48 serial links.  The processor that controls the system is now obsolete but the client wishes to retain as much of their existing hardware as possible.  The processor will be replaced by an Intel chip mounted on a PCI Express Bus running Windows XP Embedded and Zircon has been asked to develop a device driver to make the 48 serial ports visible to the operating system.

Our customer is performing a significant upgrade of their rail  product.  They are planning to significantly change the architecture of the product by splitting the current software process into two separate processes, to be run on separate processors.

As a result, a significant amount of re-testing will be required to ensure that the changes do not adversely impact the system.   Zircon have been asked by our customer to support this Validation and Verification work, which includes peer reviews of code and module design documents, reviews of module test specifications and module testing.

Zircon will also be involved in specifying the requirements for a new interface to the  system.

Companies, like people, have their comfort zone. For people the comfort zone is defined by environment, activities, companions etc. For companies it really revolves around projects; the type of work, the size of contract, the relationship with the customer.

As a small company the projects that represent Zircon’s comfort zone are typically 2 to 4 engineers developing software for a rail or road application for a big player in that arena for 6 to 9 months. However, we are, as you know, Agile and Reliable so when one such customer asked us to field a team of eight for three months we thought that we had to step up to the challenge!

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Zircon has completed work on an upgrade to our client’s Data Preparation System.

Our client has an application that simulates a railway environment which is used with their Automatic Train Operation (ATO) and Automatic Train Protection (ATP) systems. The application requires data in order to drive it and this is generated by another of our client’s existing tools.

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Our website states that we recognise that whilst we solve a wide range of different problems for you, that, in itself, does not make us remarkable – countless other software companies tackle similar challenges on a daily basis.  However, the way we go about delivering those solutions is how we try to be different from those other software companies.

Our focus is very much towards providing a great experience for clients, from beginning to end.  Technical competence is of course a must, but the real differentiator for us is in how you feel at the end of the project.  The ‘Our Principles’ page on our website summarises our goals.  The client’s peace of mind is genuinely of paramount importance to us.  It is in our interest to create exceptional solutions and to deliver an exceptional experience that will facillitate the development of close relationships and ultimately for us, lead to repeat business and regular referrals.

It is very encouraging therefore when these efforts are recognised by others.  Following our recent Investors in People review, which zirconHayley recently posted about, the reviewer commented:

“Throughout the Review it was clear that everyone is totally focused on customer service and quality, and there is no doubt that these factors enable Zircon to enjoy high levels of customer retention. This culture is underpinned by solid well established business processes such as strong project control and quality management.”

We strongly believe that long lasting relationships that bring value to both parties can only be formed by addressing those areas beyond simple technical competence and price.  Quality, Project Management and Customer Service are so much more than simply buzz words to us, and it’s great to see that this has been recognised by those outside of the organisation.

We are looking for a graduate who has good aptitude for software engineering. Good verbal communication and the ability to document technical ideas in a concise and easily understood manner are essential. The company’s quality system is applied to all areas of the business and the successful candidate will need to follow the defined standards and working practices in a controlled environment.

Useful technical skills for this role include previous experience in Object Orientated Design/UML/XML, and programming in C/C++ and/or C#.

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Zircon has commenced work supporting our client in the upgrade of their condition monitoring data visualisation and analysis product suite. The application is used to synchronise data from various measurement or recording systems and spatially locate the information on a geographical map. The upgrade consists of a number of feature enhancements and improvements.

Zircon will also be developing an automated test process for the product suite. The main objective is to ensure that sufficient test coverage is applied prior to delivery to the end user. The test process will cover all aspects from installation of the product suite through to the processing, uploading and display of data.