SCADA

Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition

Automation Pyramid
The automation pyramid is a pictorial example of the different levels of automation in a factory
or industry.
Automation Pyramid
❑ Field Level
The field level is the production floor that does the physical work and monitoring.
Electric motors, hydraulic and pneumatic actuators to move machinery, proximity switches
used to detect that movement or certain materials, photoelectric switches that detect
similar things will all play a part in the field level.
Automation Pyramid
❑ Control Level
The control level uses these devices to control and “run” the devices in the field level that
actually do the physical work. They take in information from all of the sensors, switches, and
other input devices to make decisions on what outputs to turn on to complete the programmed
task.
Automation Pyramid
❑ Supervisory Level
The third level of the automation pyramid is known as the supervisory level. Where the
previous level utilizes PLCs, this level utilizes SCADA. SCADA is short for supervisory control and
data acquisition.
SCADA is essentially the combination of the previous levels used to access data and control
systems from a single location.
Plus it usually adds a graphical user interface, or an HMI, to control functions remotely.
Automation Pyramid
❑ Planning Level
This level utilizes a computer management system known as MES or manufacturing execution
system.
MES monitors the entire manufacturing process in a plant or factory from the raw materials to
the finished product.
This allows management to see exactly what is happening and allows them to make decisions
based on that information. They can adjust raw material orders or shipment plans based on real
data received from the systems we talked about earlier.
Automation Pyramid
❑ Management Level
This level uses the companies integrated management system which is known as the ERP
(enterprise resource planning).
This is where a company’s top management can see and control their operations.
This allows the business to be able to monitor all levels of the business from manufacturing, to
sales, to purchasing, to finance and payroll, etc.
Introduction and brief history of SCADA
SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) has been around as long as there have been
control systems.
The first “SCADA” systems utilized data acquisition by means of panels of meters, lights and
strip chart recorders. The operator manually operating various control knobs exercised
supervisory control. These devices were and still are used to do supervisory control and data
acquisition on plants, factories and power generating facilities.
Fundamental principles of modern SCADA systems
Modern SCADA system refers to the combination of telemetry and data acquisition.
SCADA encompasses the collecting of the information, transferring it back to the central
site, carrying out any necessary analysis and control and then displaying that information on
a number of operator screens or displays. The required control actions are then conveyed
back to the process.
The PLC is still one of the most widely used control systems in industry. As need to monitor
and control more devices in the plant grew, the PLCs were distributed and the systems
became more intelligent and smaller in size.
Fundamental principles of modern SCADA systems
As the requirement for smaller and smarter systems grew, sensors were designed with the
intelligence of PLCs and DCSs (Distributed control system). These devices are known as IEDs
(intelligent electronic devices). The IEDs are connected on a fieldbus, such as Profibus,
Devicenet or Foundation Fieldbus to the PC. They include enough intelligence to acquire
data, communicate to other devices, and hold their part of the overall program. Each of
these super smart sensors can have more than one sensor on-board.
Typically, an IED could combine an analog input sensor, analog output, PID control,
communication system and program memory in one device.
 SCADA hardware
A SCADA system consists of a number of remote terminal units (RTUs) collecting field data and
sending that data back to a master station, via a communication system. The master station
displays the acquired data and allows the operator to perform remote control tasks.
The accurate and timely data allows for optimization of the plant operation and process. Other
benefits include more efficient, reliable and most importantly, safer operations. This results in a
lower cost of operation compared to earlier non-automated systems.
 SCADA hardware
On a more complex SCADA system there are essentially five levels or hierarchies:
• Field level instrumentation and control devices
• Marshalling terminals and RTUs
• Communications system
• The master station(s)
• The commercial data processing department computer system
The RTU (remote terminal unit (PLC, DCS or IED)) provides an interface to the field analog and
digital sensors situated at each remote site.
The communications system provides the pathway for communication between the master
station and the remote sites. This communication system can be wire, fiber optic, radio,
telephone line, microwave and possibly even satellite. Specific protocols and error detection
philosophies are used for efficient and optimum transfer of data.
The master station (or sub-masters) gather data from the various RTUs and generally provide an
operator interface for display of information and control of the remote sites. In large telemetry
systems, sub-master sites gather information from remote sites and act as a relay back to the
control master station.
SCADA software
SCADA software can be divided into two types, proprietary or open.
Companies develop proprietary software to communicate to their hardware. These systems
are sold as ‘turn key’ solutions. The main problem with this system is the overwhelming
reliance on the supplier of the system.
Open software systems have gained popularity because of the interoperability they bring to
the system. Interoperability is the ability to mix different manufacturers’ equipment on the
same system.
Citect and WonderWare are just two of the open software packages available in the
market for SCADA systems. Some packages are now including asset management
integrated within the SCADA system. The typical components of a SCADA system are
indicated in the next diagram.

➢ Key features of SCADA software are:

• User interface • Access to data
• Graphics displays • Database
• Alarms • Networking
• Trends • Fault tolerance and redundancy
• RTU (and PLC) interface • Client/server distributed processing
• Scalability
Communication
❑ SCADA and local area networks
Local area networks (LAN) are all about sharing information and resources. To enable all the
nodes on the SCADA network to share information, they must be connected by some
transmission medium. The method of connection is known as the network topology. Nodes
need to share this transmission medium in such a way as to allow all nodes access to the
medium without disrupting an established sender.
A LAN is a communication path between computers, file-servers, terminals, workstations, and
various other intelligent peripheral equipments, which are generally referred to as devices or
hosts. A LAN allows access for devices to be shared by several users, with full connectivity
between all stations on the network. A LAN is usually owned and administered by a private
owner and is located within a localized group of buildings.
Ethernet is the most widely use LAN today because it is cheap and easy to use. Connection of
the SCADA network to the LAN allows anyone within the company with the right software and
permission, to access the system. Since the data is held in a database, the user can be limited
to reading the information. Security issues are obviously a concern, but can be addressed.
Communication
❑ Modem use in SCADA systems
Often in SCADA systems the RTU (remote terminal unit (PLC, DCS or IED)) is located at a remote
location. This distance can vary from tens of meters to thousands of kilometers. One of the
most cost-effective ways of communicating with the RTU over long distances can be by dialup
telephone connection. With this system the devices needed are a PC, two dialup modems and
the RTU (assuming that the RTU has a built in COM port). The modems are put in the auto-
answer mode and the RTU can dial into the PC or the PC can dial the RTU. The software to do
this is readily available from RTU manufacturers. The modems can be bought off the shelf at
the local computer store.
Line modems are used to connect RTUs to a network over a pair of wires. These systems are
usually fairly short (up to 1 kilometer) and use FSK (frequency shift keying) to communicate.
Line modems are used to communicate to RTUs when RS-232 or RS- 485 communication
systems are not practical. The bit rates used in this type of system are usually slow, 1200 to
9600 bps.
Basic requirements for a SCADA system
Hardware requirements
Being a complex and expensive system, SCADA components are provided by many
manufacturers. Therefore, there is a high requirement for device standardization,
especially in terms of interfaces and protocols. The computer used for collection and
control must be universal and be able to communicate well with different hardware device
brands. Has a multitasking operating system that is scalable and communicates easily with
other software and other hardware

Software requirements
• Compatible with common protocols
• Easy to design and upgrade when needed.
Basic requirements for a SCADA system
Communication requirements
Because it is spread over a large geographical space, many telecommunications services
are needed to connect the subsystems of the SCADA system.
The level of communication system requirements at the station level is low, so it is
necessary to choose simple protocols that are easy for the systems to handle.
Ability to preserve data: In industry there is a lot of electromagnetic interference, so it is
necessary to transmit data so that there are no errors, the selected protocol must be able
to control errors effectively, for example, Check CRC errors.
Protocol standardization: Originating from the requirement to exchange information
between communication partners (IED, RTU, PLC, PC...) manufactured by different
manufacturers, it is necessary to have a common communication protocol.
High speed of accessing parameters: In the SCADA system, updating parameters from field
devices in series is required almost simultaneously.
Basic requirements for a SCADA system
Service requirements
Ability to collect, store and use data for at least a long enough period of time as required.
Provides easy communication and interface for users and operators. Easily for users to
display diagrams and graphs in monitoring as well as print reports.
Makes remote control operation easy, but manual control must still be ensured.
Price requirements and installation costs must be cheap and reasonable
Group discussions
1. Present the concept of DCS, distinguish the differences between PLC, DCS and SCADA
systems.
2. Present the basic functions of the SCADA system.
3. Please present the applications of SCADA and describe a specific application?