CEITON is a

web-based A web application (or web app) is application software that is accessed using a web browser. Web applications are delivered on the World Wide Web to users with an active network connection. History In earlier computing models like client-serve ...

software system for facilitating and automating

business process A business process, business method or business function is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks by people or equipment in which a specific sequence produces a service or product (serves a particular business goal) for a parti ...

es such as planning, scheduling, and payroll using

workflow A workflow consists of an orchestrated and repeatable pattern of activity, enabled by the systematic organization of resources into processes that transform materials, provide services, or process information. It can be depicted as a sequence ...

technologies. The system is used by several media companies such as

MDR MDR may refer to: Biology * MDR1, an ATP-dependent cellular efflux pump affording multiple drug resistance * Mammalian Diving reflex * Medical device reporting * Multiple drug resistance, when a microorganism has become resistant to multiple drugs ...

, Yle, RAI, Red Bull Media House and also by public financial institutions such as the Development Bank of Saxony. In December 2018, the first CEITON User Group Meeting took place in Leipzig, Germany.

Architecture

The software runs on a server (on premises) or in the cloud and is scalable on parallel servers. Data security is warranted by

role-based access control In computer systems security, role-based access control (RBAC) or role-based security is an approach to restricting system access to authorized users. It is an approach to implement mandatory access control (MAC) or discretionary access control ...

(RBAC). The software is used via web-browsers and not dependent on particular system software.

Structure and Features

CEITON combines the two classical approaches of production planning and control and workflow management.

Project Management

The scheduling system plans, manages, bills, and analyzes projects or tasks. It manages human and technical resources, material, and locations on a single GUI. The system uses a

gantt chart A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule, named after its popularizer, Henry Gantt (1861–1919), who designed such a chart around the years 1910–1915. Modern Gantt charts also show the dependency relationsh ...

Thomas Hafen
EAI - Schneller auf kritische Ereignisse reagieren
(EAI - Reacting Faster to Critical Incidents), com!professional 9/2015, retrieved September 16, 2015 to assign tasks to be done to available and eligible resources (i.e. staff), automatically or by

drag-and-drop In computer graphical user interfaces, drag and drop is a pointing device gesture in which the user selects a virtual object by "grabbing" it and dragging it to a different location or onto another virtual object. In general, it can be used ...

. The

scheduling A schedule or a timetable, as a basic time-management tool, consists of a list of times at which possible tasks, events, or actions are intended to take place, or of a sequence of events in the chronological order in which such things are i ...

module includes material management,

resource management In organizational studies, resource management is the efficient and effective development of an organization's resources when they are needed. Such resources may include the financial resources, inventory, human skills, production resources, or i ...

human resource management Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultur ...

, integration of freelancers, clients and suppliers, long-term budget planning, time-tracking, shift scheduling,

quality management Quality management ensures that an organization, product or service consistently functions well. It has four main components: quality planning, quality assurance, quality control and quality improvement. Quality management is focused not ...

, delivery and

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

document management A document management system (DMS) is usually a computerized system used to store, share, track and manage files or documents. Some systems include history tracking where a log of the various versions created and modified by different users is r ...

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual ...

, analysis and controlling, business reporting, as well as all accounting and documentation processes.Igor Šuba:
Project management in multi companies and products group
Master Thesis, Wien, Techn. Univ. u. Bratislava, Techn. Univ., 2014

Workflow

The

workflow management system A workflow management system (WfMS or WFMS) provides an infrastructure for the set-up, performance and monitoring of a defined sequence of tasks, arranged as a workflow application. International standards There are several international standards ...

module coordinates

es. Processes are defined once as a workflow and then repeatedly executed.

Human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...

are automatically assigned to steps (tasks) and integrated in workflow forms. Systems are integrated with an EAI/

SOAP Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are used ...

module, allowing data exchange with arbitrary external systems which are also involved in the business process. It also features a 3-D workflow overview in which the status of each project step can be determined by its color in the overview.

Process Management

For project and order processing management, business processes are designed as workflows, and coordinate communication automatically. Different user interfaces for staff, customers or suppliers can be created so each gets only relevant information. Different workflow forms are associated with different log-ins. The main application for the system is knowledge-based business processes, in which many people are involved and virtual results are produced, e.g. in research, or development of media products, such as TV and movies. Broadcasters and media companies such as

and Yle use CEITON to control their production processes for products and services and coordinate complex

s with all kinds of resources.

Integrations

An integrated EAI module allows CEITON to integrate every external system in any business process without programming, using SOAP and similar technologies. Aspera and FileCatalyst were integrated for faster data transfer, yet complex ERP systems and numerous

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...

modulesManfred Schiefers
Enterprise Application Integration und Person to System Integration
Hochschule Stuttgart, 9.6.2012, p. 7 have also been integrated, for example, to extract working times to payroll.

Mobile Working

Since Version 7, released in 2015, CEITON includes a time-tracking module allowing employees to enter their times from mobile devices such as tablets running Android, iPhones etc.

History

Expertplace solutions (SME tech firm), the company developing CEITON, was founded in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

in 2000. Under the name ''CEITON technologies'', staffing solutions for the

Bureau of Internal Revenue The Bureau of Internal Revenue'' ''( fil, Kawanihan ng Rentas Internas, or BIR) is a revenue service for the Philippine government, which is responsible for collecting more than half of the total revenues of the government. It is an agency o ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, were implemented in 2000 together with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit of the German government. The first version (1.0) of the software was released in July 2001. The product was originally developed for German

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

companies. ''CEITON'' is named after the Japanese concept ''

Seiton 5S is a workplace organization method that uses a list of five Japanese words: , , , , and . These have been translated as "sort", "set in order", "shine", "standardize", and "sustain". The list describes how to organize a work space for effici ...

'', one of the principles of Japanese workplace design methodology known as 5S. Since version 7, released in 2015, CEITON includes a time-tracking module allowing employees to enter their times from mobile devices such as tablets running Android, iPhones etc. In May 2005 CEITON won the ''IQ innovation award'', sponsored by Siemens, in the category ''Excellent innovation in the IT-sector''. Since 2007, CEITON has been present at the broadcast

trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...

s NAB in Las Vegas and IBC in Amsterdam. In 2020, the company celebrated its 20th anniversary.CEITON-Blog
retrieved January 15, 2021

References

External links

*{{official website, https://www.ceiton.com/ Project management software Film and video technology Proprietary cross-platform software Web applications Workflow applications Time-tracking software