Difference between PLC,DCS & SCADA

In the past the strength and weakness of both the automation technologies were well understood. So
it was easy for engineers to select the one that suits their application, but now due to the advent of
microprocessors both the technologies are merging.The requirements which are thought to be
exclusive to one technology can be found in the other one too.But still there are some things which
are to be checked out before selecting the one that suits your application the best.
Now a days you cannot really tell the difference between a PLC or a DCS. Since the PLC was
integrated with Analog I/O it crosses the boundary of being just digital and crosses to the realm of
DCS in handling Analogs, Bus Systems, Distributed I/O and etc. Also, since the DCS now handles
logics of Digital I/O it also crossed the boundary to the realm of PLC.
As you know PLC as to its name Programmable Logic Controller. Its main purpose is to replace the
relay logic controls which is "On" or "Off". And DCS "Distributed Control Systems" its emphasis is
Fast analog handling because of communications through Bus systems, networking and etc.
Summarizing all these, PLC = DCS......BUT still there are basic differences as below
PLC is a programmable Logic controller which is used mainly for interlocking different
equipments.PLC using for perticular mechine or production unit.PLC is economicaly low cost.PLC'S
can handle analog and digital I/O as earliear it could handle only digital.PLC'S are automatic
controllers which is a substitute to hard wired controllers.they are extensively used for
automation.PLC is for stand alone sytem.PLC is used Commonly with On\Off (Digital) Control and
may be expanded with Analog I\O Modules for Analog Control and used for a control task.
Programmable Logic Controller

DCS: DISTRIBUTED CONTROL SYSTEMS: THIS SYSTEM DOES WHAT A

PLC WOULD DO, BUT THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT A DCS IS USED IN
MUCH LARGER AND COMPLEX APPLICATION E.G: POWER GENERATION,
SOME COLD ROLLING MILLS etc.
DCS is the System in which controller are distributed geographically and integrated all the control
hardwares .which is connected from the various field devices .DCS having its own network,
Controller and HMI etc.Honeywell, Yokogawa, Invensys, ABB, Emerson are the leading .DCS
Vendors.DCS is the System in which controller are distributed geographically and integrated all the
control hardwares which is connected from the various field devices.DCS having its own network,
Controller and HMI etcHoneywell, Yokogawa, Invensys, ABB, Emerson are the leading DCS
Vendors
Distributed Controller System

If taken from a narrow point of view, maybe PLC and DCS are functionally the same. However, a lot
of plant technicians and engineers are not aware of the other side of the debate, namely the
engineering effort and the commercial ramifications. Of course, for huge plants with I/O's ranging
from 10,000 to 30,000 I/O points, and beyond, it is silly to even think about PLC. From my
experience, a DCS is not the same with PLC in the realm of huge systems such as oil and gas
plants, as the following list will show:
1. A PLC is cost-effective up to a certain I/O count, and so is the DCS. But the difference is in their
starting points: the PLC is cost-effective from 0 to a few thousand I/O points; the DCS becomes costeffective starting from a few thousand points and beyond.
2. A PLC becomes a subsystem of the DCS in rare occasions when the situation calls for it, i.e.,
purchase of huge package systems with engineering schedules incompatible with the DCS schedule
(I/O lists cannot be submitted on time before the DCS hardware freeze date). Note that this package
system is a process system using continuous control, not discrete. Based on this, a PLC can never
be larger than a DCS in terms of I/O count.
3. In large plants the DCS is king because most owners want a single source of hardware support
and service, and this mentality naturally denies the PLC a foothold. Package vendors are no longer
required to provide PLC for their system. Everything is connected to the DCS.
SCADA: AS ALREADY EXPLAINED, IT NOTHING BUT A SOFTWARE USED
TO GATHER DATA FROM THE FIELDS INSTRUMENTS WITH THE HELP OF
YOUR DCS OR PLC DEPENDING ON THE APPLICATION VIA THE SERVER
AND MAKING IT AVAILABLE IN AN ANIMATED FORM. THIS IS
USUALLY FOUND IN YOUR CONTROL ROOMS AND DEVELOPMENT ROOM
SCADA
SCADA is the Software tool in which you can able to view/Monitor/Control your Process Variable
data and Graphical representation of your plant etc...It's an operator front end display Example of
few SCADA S/W is Wonderware, IFix, RS View, WinCC etc
SCADA is Supervisory Control and Data Aquisition which is used to control and Monitor small
number of Equipments in a field.SCADA systems are typically used to perform data collection and
control at the supervisory level. Some systems are called SCADA despite only performing data
acquisition and not control.The supervisory control system is a system that is placed on top of a realtime control system to control a process that is external to the
SCADA system (i.e. a computer, by itself, is not a SCADA system even though it controls its own
power consumption and cooling). This implies that the system is not critical to control the process in
real time, as there is a separate or integrated real-time automated control system that can respond
quickly enough to compensate for process changes within the time constants of the process

SCADA is the Software tool in which you can able to

view/Monitor/Control your Process Variable data and
Graphical representation of your plant etc...
It's an operator front end display
Example of few SCADA S/W is Wonderware, IFix, RS View,
WinCC etc
IN SHORT!
PLC:
in manufacturing processes(for production of things)
for simple batch control
intensive logic controls
can handle a no. of I/O s at a time
downtime => lost production
usually,no need of redundancy
fast logic scan(=reading I/Ps executing instructions and providing O/Ps)
compact
easily customised
for smaller applications
DCS:
in process control (for production of stuff)
for complex batch control
advanced analog loop controls
downtime=>lost production+damage to process equipment+ may lead to dangerous conditions
so Redundancy must
large in size
cant be easily customised
for larger applications and plant-wide