The Glosten Associates Utilizes Engineered Software’s PIPE-FLO SDK in its Innovative Product Offering

Lacey, Washington – Engineered Software, Inc., the leading provider of software used to design and simulate the operation of fluid piping systems, announced the first product offering made available utilizing its new PIPE-FLO Software Development Kit (SDK), the Glosten Ballast Management System.

The Glosten Associates, a full service marine consulting firm located in Seattle, WA, created the Ballast Management System in response to the growing need for large merchant vessels to track the intake, outflows and movement of water throughout their ballast systems.

Due to environmental implications, it has become increasingly important for vessels to track the movement of water through their ballast tanks as they move from port to port. As these vessels travel around the world taking in and discharging water, non-native marine species can be introduced into the environment with potentially damaging consequences.

In the Ballast Management System, Glosten knew it had an innovative product idea. However, they recognized a major stumbling block in the process of taking the project from the idea stage to the production stage. They would need to determine how to track the water movement.

“We knew we could install flow meters, but they are expensive and notorious for not being reliable,” said Kevin J. Reynolds, Senior Marine Engineer at The Glosten Associates. “We also thought about developing our own custom calculation algorithm internally.”

The cost of both of these options quickly became prohibitive. According to Reynolds, “it would have taken us six months of development time to create the interface internally and using flow meters would have significantly increased the capital and installation costs of the product.”

The PIPE-FLO SDK works in conjunction with Engineered Software’s PIPE-FLO Professional program. As current users of PIPE-FLO Professional, Glosten was already using the program to design fluid piping systems in their vessel designs. Understanding the power of the program, they wanted to utilize its capabilities to meet their specific needs. They needed to seamlessly transfer data inputs to PIPE-FLO and allow PIPE-FLO to perform calculations and share that information with the Ballast Management System. Using the PIPE-FLO SDK, they were able to make this happen quickly, effectively and with limited expense.

“Without the PIPE-FLO SDK, the cost of the project would have been so great that we would have scrapped it in the design phase,” Reynolds said.

“Using the PIPE-FLO SDK let us concentrate on the problem we were trying to solve because we didn’t have to invent a tool to track water internal movements,” said Reynolds. “The set-up is simple. Procedures are reliable and straightforward. PIPE-FLO is the engine, our program starts the engine.”

"We knew we had a product that would save time and money for developers,” said Ray Hardee, Vice President of Engineering at Engineered Software, Inc. “We were very pleased to have The Glosten Associates as our first SDK client and they were great to work with on this project. They have been outstanding clients of ours for years, and we are proud to be a part of their innovative Ballast Management System.”

“When we developed the SDK, this was exactly the purpose we had in mind,” Hardee said. "We knew the SDK would cut months off of development schedules by taking advantage of PIPE-FLO's well-established capabilities.”

“The SDK was designed to be extremely easy to use, and we are pleased that Glosten found this to be true,” said Hardee. “This was a win-win situation for everybody involved.”

“We look forward to working with many other companies to expand their product lines and grow their businesses utilizing the PIPE-FLO Software Development Kit,” Hardee added.

PIPE-FLO is used by designers and operators to gain a clear picture of their fluid piping systems. The program allows users to visualize their systems in a familiar format, calculate system operations, easily communicate the design with others and access supporting documents in electronic format.

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About Engineered Software, Inc. – Founded in 1982, Engineered Software, Inc. has created products that are known worldwide for high end-user satisfaction rates. The company has two award-winning product lines, PIPE-FLO and PUMP-FLO Solutions. Recognized as the best in the industry, the programs’ interface was developed and refined based on over 20 years of customer feedback. Engineered Software, Inc. has more than 5,500 clients worldwide across a variety of industries including aerospace and defense, chemical processing, engineering design and consulting, food and beverage, oil and petrochemical, mining and metals, pharmaceutical, power generation, pulp and paper, wastewater collection and treatment and education.

About The Glosten Associates – Glosten is a full service consulting firm of naval architects, marine engineers and ocean engineers. The company’s design experience includes tugs, barges, research vessels, cruise vessels, passenger/car ferries, and special-purpose platform design. Their consulting and design services include hull, structural, mechanical and electrical systems design. The Glosten Associates offer specialized expertise in hydrodynamic analysis, climatology, risk analysis, and marine consulting for civil, waterfront, and floating bridge projects.