Fundamentals of SCADA

By
K. Jagan Mohan
Automation
 It is use of control systems and Information Technologies to reduce the

need for human work in the production of goods and services.

 In scope of industrialization , automation is a step beyond mechanization.

 Whereas mechanization provided human operators with machinery to

assist them with the muscular requirement of work ,

 Automation greatly decreases the need for human sensory and mental

requirement as well.
Automation Tools
SCADA

Distributed Control System (DCS)

Human Machine Interface (HMI)

Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)

etc …
Definition

SCADA is an acronym for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition.

• SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) is a type of

industrial control system (ICS).

• Industrial control systems are computer controlled systems that monitor

and control industrial processes that exist in the physical world.
When a SCADA System is requires?

• You need a constant stream of power to operate your equipment

• You need to monitor ,control or respond to environment factors,

such as wind level, temperature at your site.

• You need to constantly monitor the connectivity of different devices

• You need reliable , real-time information reporting about mission-

critical processes that affect overall output.
• You need the ability to remotely control equipment in real time.
WHAT SCADA system will do?

• A SCADA system gathers information ,transfers the information

back to a central site, then carrying out necessary analysis and
control and displaying the information in a logical and organized
fashion.

WHERE SCADA is used?

• SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems are used

to monitor and control a plant or equipment in industries such as

Telecommunications,
water and waste control,
energy,
oil and gas refining,
and Transportation (airport, traffic control, rails)
Advantages

 Replacing human operators done in dangerous environments(i.e under water

space, nuclear facilities)

 Performing tasks that are beyond human capabilities of size , weight ,speed etc

 Economy improvement

Disadvantages
 Unemployment increases

 Technical limitations

 High initial cost

Subsystems of the SCADA system :
 HMI/MMI

 Supervisory (computer) system,

 Remote terminal units (RTUs)

 Programmable logic controller (PLCs)

 Communication infrastructure
Subsystems of the SCADA system :
 A human–machine interface or HMI is the apparatus which presents
process data to a human operator, and through this, the human
operator monitors and controls the process.

 A supervisory (computer) system, gathering (acquiring) data on the

process and sending commands (control) to the process.

 Remote terminal units (RTUs) connecting to sensors in the process,

converting sensor signals to digital data and sending digital data to
the supervisory system.
Subsystems of the SCADA system :

 Programmable logic controller (PLCs) used as field devices because

they are more economical, versatile, flexible, and configurable than
special-purpose RTUs.

 Communication infrastructure connecting the supervisory system to

the remote terminal units and Various process and analytical
instrumentation
The SCADA Application
 A SCADA system gathers information, such as where a leak on a
pipeline has occurred, transfers the information back to a central
site, alerting the home station that the leak has occurred, carrying
out necessary analysis and control, such as determining if the leak
is critical, and displaying the information in a logical and organized
fashion.

 SCADA systems can be relatively simple, such as one that monitors

environmental conditions of a small office building, or incredibly
complex, such as a system that monitors all the activity in a nuclear
power plant or the activity of a municipal water system.
SCADA systems are often used by:
 Power companies: SCADA systems can be used to maximize the
efficiency of power generation and distribution processes. More
specifically, SCADA systems can monitor the power flow, power line
voltage, circuit breaker status, and other electrical processes.
SCADA systems can even be used to control individual sections of
the power grid.

 Major Utility Companies: Both government and private utility

companies use SCADA for water and sewage services. This includes
collecting water use and distribution information, gauging supply
levels, monitoring pressure readings, and other similar applications.
 Manufacturing companies: Production managers can use SCADA to
monitor their inventory. They can use their SCADA system to
regulate production machinery and implement quality control tests.

 Providers of mass transportation: SCADA can be used to regulate

critical transportation processes, like providing power for all types
of public transportation, as well as automating related equipment,
including traffic lights and railroad crossing gates. SCADA systems
can even be used to track the progress of individual vehicles within
a transportation network, including individual buses on city streets,
or cars on a specific subway line.
SCADA system to perform four types of tasks:
Data Collection

Communication of data across the network

Information reporting

System control functions

SCADA system to perform four types of tasks:

Data collection- A SCADA system is composed of large numbers of sensors

that collect inputs into a system, or measure the output levels of a system
or process.
• The information collected by these sensors is collected by the RTU’s
locally, and then forwarded to the SCADA master, where reports and
alarms are presented to the network operator.

• Sensors can be classified as two types, either discrete or analog.

• Discrete sensors collect information about simple events, whereas
• Analog sensors can provide more detailed information that can fall within
a range of values, rather than a present/not present type of situation.
• Analog sensors are particularly useful in measuring environmental factors,
such as temperature and humidity, battery levels, fuel levels, and more.
SCADA system to perform four types of tasks:
Communication of data across the network- To monitor geo-diverse
operational systems from a centralized location, you need a
communications network.
• This network provides you with a means to transport all information
collected across the system. SCADA communications generally take place
on Ethernet and IP.
• SCADA uses protocol communication methods to recevie the data
collected by RTU from the sensors.
SCADA system to perform four types of tasks:
Information reporting- A SCADA system presents data to operators via the
SCADA HMI (Human-Machine Interface).

• Along with presenting this data, the SCADA master station also performs
many other tasks for network operators.
• The master continuously monitors all sensors and alerts the operator when
there is a Change-of-State (COS) event within the managed system.
SCADA system to perform four types of tasks:
System control functions- A SCADA solution with control functions can
respond to COS events anywhere in the system by automatically issuing
related, user-specified commands.

• If you have an advanced SCADA master, this can be done without any
human intervention at all, resulting in instantaneous response to dynamic
problems and threats.
• Advanced systems also allow overriding of automatic controls as the need
occurs.
History of SCADA
 The use of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems and
process control systems became popular in the 1960s as a need arose to more
efficiently monitor and control the state of remote equipment.

 Many early SCADA systems used mainframe computer technology, making them
hierarchical and centralized in nature.

 A problem with early SCADA and process control systems is that they required
human oversight to make decisions as well as human support to maintain the
information system.

 Today, industrial plants use SCADA systems to control valves, motors and other
forms of equipment. In most cases, SCADA systems include “operator-level
software applications for viewing, supervising and troubleshooting local machine
and process activities.
History of SCADA
 SCADA is generally refers to industrial control systems (ICS)

 It became popular in the 1960’s as the need to monitor and

control remote equipment grew.

 The first ‘SCADA’ systems utilized data acquisition by means

of panels of meters, light and strip chart recorders

 The operator manually operating various control knobs

exercised supervisory control .
Advantages of Sensor to panel type of SCADA system

No CPU,RAM,ROM or software programming needed

Sensors are connected directly to the meters , switches and
lights on the panel.
It could easy and cheap to add a simple device like a switch or
indicator.
Disadvantages

Amount of wire becomes unmanageable

Re-configuration of the system becomes extremely difficult
Storage of data is minimal and difficult to manage
Simulation using real data is not possible
No off site monitor of data or alarms.
Modern SCADA system
 Telemetry is often needed to connect equipment and systems
separated by large distances.

 Telemetry is used to send commands , programs and receives

monitoring information from remote locations.

 SCADA refers to the combination of telemetry and data acquisition .

 SCADA encompasses the collecting of information, transferring it to

the central site, carrying out any necessary analysis and control and
then displaying that information on a operator screens and required
control actions are then conveyed back to process.
 The Programmable Logic Control (PLC) is one of the most widely used
control systems in industry.

 PLCs are specialized hardened computers which are frequently used

to synchronized the flow of inputs from sensors and events with the
flow of outputs to actuators .

 As the 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.
The advantages of the PLC / DCS SCADA system are:

• The computer can record and store a very large amount of data
• The data can be displayed in any way the user requires
• Thousands of sensors over a wide area can be connected to the
system
• The operator can incorporate real data simulations into the
system
• Many types of data can be collected from the RTUs
• The data can be viewed from anywhere, not just on site
The disadvantages are:

• The system is more complicated than the sensor to panel

type
• Different operating skills are required, such as system
analysts and programmer
• With thousands of sensors there is still a lot of wire to deal
with
• The operator can see only as far as the PLC
Intelligent Electronic Devices (IED)

• As the requirement for smaller and smarter systems grew,

sensors were designed with the intelligence of PLCs and
DCSs. 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
• Typically, an IED could combine an analog input sensor,
analog output, communication system and program
memory in one device.
The advantages of the PC to IED fieldbus system are:
Minimal wiring is needed
The operator can see down to the sensor level
The data received from the device can include information
such as serial numbers, model numbers, when it was
installed and by whom
All devices are plug and play, so installation and
replacement is easy
Smaller devices means less physical space for the data
acquisition system
The disadvantages of a PC to IED system are:

More sophisticated system requires better trained

employees
Sensor prices are higher (but this is offset somewhat by
the lack of PLCs)
The IEDs rely more on the communication system