SCADA Systems

 Many companies in the early 1990s faced the challenge of managing a network of remote equipment without the cost getting out of control. This challenge led to the development of scada systems. At the basics of scada systems involves a central computer managing remote equipment. The central computer otherwise known as a server typically involves specific software for monitoring, controlling, logging, trending, and alerting of remote equipment.

SCADA Systems Are Used For Which of the Following?

SCADA Systems are used for water management & waste treatment, onshore and offshore gas and oil production, gas pipelines,  manufacturing, telecommunications, mining, metals and cement, life sciences and agriculture. In addition to those pillar Industries SCADA systems can be used in any industry you can think of using a single command center for SCADA IoT monitoring and controlling remote equipment. Let’s look into more detail of SCADA Systems and how to use it for your equipment.

What is SCADA Systems?

We covered this topic in a previous blog article titled “What is a SCADA? Here is a quick overview…

“SCADA stands for supervisory control and data acquisition, which is a type of computer system that is meant to gather and quickly analyze real-time data. These systems are commonly used within production facilities and industrial plants. When put in use, a SCADA system is designed to help with the control and monitoring of an entire plant or equipment that deals specifically with time-sensitive and critical events. For instance, when a leak occurs in a pipeline, the SCADA system that’s in place will help to detect the leak and transfer the information pertaining to the leak back to a central location.” IndustLabs, https://industlabs.com/news/what-is-scada (follow on twitter)

Where can I get a SCADA system from?

They’re many companies that sell SCADA Systems. One particular company that comes to mind is Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk® View SE HMI SCADA software which can communicate on Allen-Bradley ControlLogix® programmable automation controllers (PAC). If your equipment has an Allen-Bradley ControlLogix® programmable controller then this would be a great choice.  

The Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk® View SE HMI SCADA software consists of three major components which are the following:

1. Connect to your Equipment – FactoryTalk View Studio, you can create network distributed, network station, or local station applications that mirror your plant or process. 

2. Editor your program – Use the editors in FactoryTalk View Studio to create and test the application components you need. 

3. View your virtual HMI- Then set up the FactoryTalk View SE clients to let operators interact with the application after it is deployed.

Here are 3 ways you can get access to the Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk® View SE HMI SCADA software:

1. Contact Rockwell Automation direct via https://www.rockwellautomation.com/ or by using their technical support number at +1-440-646-3434. Please be advised that  you might be required to pay for technical support to Rockwell Automation if you don’t have a relationship setup with them.

2. Contact your local Rockwell Automation distributor via https://locator.rockwellautomation.com/Distributor. You will have to fill a form in order for Rockwell Automation to locate the proper distributor for your area. 

3. Contact IndustLabs via https://industlabs.com/contact-us or by using our support number at (469) 421-4211. Not only can we advise you on your SCADA Systems project but we can sell you all the parts and hardware to go along with your project. In addition, we can also take the project off your hands and do a full-turnkey SCADA system for your setup. Our prices are competitive and our support is next to none. 

With the Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk® View SE HMI SCADA software you can develop your human-machine (HMI) application for multiple sites location. This simply means that if your equipment is located at different locations with different network settings then these software packages would centralized all communicate with a central computer or server.