A Case for Mobile Devices in Automation

One of the fastest-growing and most widespread trends in the HMI and SCADA software realms is that of mobility. Namely, how can we – or should we – take advantage of mobile devices in automated work environments?

There are those who have concerns about security. Are mobile devices secure enough to allow them to access sensitive process-related data? And if so, how much access should they have? Read/Write access? Read only? Should they be limited to a certain subset of data? And, if so, how can our control user access to ensure that users only access what they are authorized to see? Will these devices open holes in the network that allow malicious applications access to sensitive controls?

While some of the security concerns are certainly valid, the benefits of mobile devices are impossible to overlook, and the truth is that many of the security concerns are not inherent in the devices themselves, but in the way that the HMI/SCADA system and network infrastructure are configured.

Consider some of the pains that mobile devices can help eliminate:

• A field operator must call the control room to ask for the reading on certain piece of equipment (i.e. valve, switch) he/she is looking at or manipulating.
   
• A field operator must call the control room to confirm whether a certain piece equipment has truly been shut down for maintenance work because it sounds like it is still running.
   
• A field technician dangerously works on a live line because the control room has shut down the wrong line!
   
• A field operator must call the control room to describe equipment schematics because he/she has no access to an HMI or drawings on the floor at that moment.
   
• A field operator must call the control room to pull out the manual for a piece of equipment because the panel on the one he/she is looking at is different from the others he/she is used to.
   
• A field operator must describe over the radio what he/she is seeing - lights on a panel, leaks, etc.
   
• An operator must take a check-list out to the field, return to the control room and enter the results into a form or spreadsheet, or into the control HMI.
   
• Constant calling back and forth between field and control room when testing or calibrating a measurement or control element.

A mobile device can be used to remotely monitor processes and equipment, view drawings or manuals, review an online checklist, enter information into a form, even adding value as a tool for remote collaboration.

When properly configured and combined with role-based user access control, a wide array of new possibilities are revealed. The time saved in the field can now be used to perform other tasks or implement programs for optimization. A safer, more productive workforce is a very real benefit, and that's not something that business owners or managers will take lightly.

Are mobile devices a part of your business model? If not, it may be time to review your processes and make room for the future.  

The Integrated Enterprise - Are We Ready?

There are many barriers to change in a commercial enterprise, and most of them start with a dollar sign. You are comfortable with what you’re doing. Your staff is comfortable. Sure, there may be some missed opportunities, but perfection is unrealistic. To implement enterprise-wide changes to something like your data management strategy would require cooperation across multiple departments, absorb numerous man-hours in implementation, and who can say how long it will take for all parties to get used to the new strategy and work with a level of comfort they already feel today? Is it worth it? How long will it take to recover the investment?

There are many legitimate questions to ask when considering whether or not to move toward an integrated data management strategy. How do we calculate the true cost of making such a change? A question that is very rarely asked is: What is the true cost of not making such a change?

First, let’s consider some of the reasons in favor of data integration.

Inconsistent data

One of the problems addressed by data integration is inconsistency between data on the plant floor and the business data further upstairs. Depending on the type of business, different departments typically have different goals and criteria for success. The plant floor supervisor wants to know where his products are; the executive upstairs wants to know how much his products are worth. Here is a case where we have different people querying for different bits of information about the same asset. Over time, the different goals and process definitions have led to departments using the same terms to describe different things, and different terms to describe the same things. This barrier to departmental collaboration in the manufacturing industry, for example, has led to the development of standards like ISA 95 to help facilitate the integration of manufacturing systems with business systems.


Redundant data

Another common condition is the tendency for different departments or divisions to have different ways of recording information about the same things. It is not at all unusual for large organizations to have multiple records of the same asset. For instance, if we imagine a particular production unit from the perspective of the plant floor operator, he will need to have information about where it is in the production process, its quality, the personnel involved in its production and testing, and when it will be shipping. At the same time, a manager will want to have information about how much it cost to produce this unit, how many units will be produced today, and how much we will get for it. We now have a situation where we are capturing and recording separate sets of data about the same thing.


Fewer Human Resources

This one seems obvious, but it a significant difference-maker when you analyze your bottom line. Making it easier to find needed data will allow personnel to spend more time focusing on other aspects of their jobs. It will allow for faster decisions and more immediate response to abnormal conditions. Your plant floor supervisor won’t have to make that call upstairs to find out why today’s production schedule has changed, or log in to a separate system to find out when a piece of equipment was last inspected. And the manager upstairs won’t have to call downstairs to find out why we are behind schedule today, or what happened to that shipment that was supposed to go out. Having the ability to quickly assess a situation leads to better-informed decisions made more quickly and with more immediate results.


Reduced Risk

While we are on the topic of making informed decisions more quickly, this is a good time to consider the way that decisions are currently made in many enterprises. When a decision needs to be made quickly, and the data that could support that decision is not available as quickly as the decision is needed, owners and executives are left to make decisions based on intuition. Studies have suggested that about 80% of decisions are made this way. It may work and it may not. Having the right information when and where it is needed can significantly reduce the risk involved in the decision-making process.

There are many additional benefits that can be attributed to data integration. New business opportunities can be revealed. New calculations can be used to improve efficiency and coordinate processes. Improve inventory management, energy consumption, supply chain scheduling, etc. Whether you choose to use a system of data virtualization to integrate key data from different divisions, a system of data federation to consolidate all enterprise data, or opt for a complete data integration solution that re-engineers your entire data system, the benefits are very real and yes, so is the cost. The cost, however, is a short-term loss for a long-term gain; a temporary pain for permanent growth.

So, to revisit the topic of this article: Are we ready for the integrated enterprise? The answer is irrelevant. Those who are ready will continue to prosper. Those who are not will lose the ability to compete, and will ultimately have to get ready or get out of the way.

For more information on how you can integrate and visualize your business's data, visit: www.scada.com

Is it Time for New SCADA Technology?

About 13 years ago, a new software product was released for retail sale and within its first 5 years of existence more than 400 million copies were sold. Today, over 1 billion copies have been sold. And what was this hugely successful software product? Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system for personal computers. A the time of its release, it was a significant upgrade over its predecessors in terms of performance and usability, and it was the most widely used operating system in the world for a full decade.

Then, in April of this year, Microsoft ceased extended support for this enormously popular product. No more product support or security updates would be available. Did Microsoft do this because they hated their millions of customers? Did they discover some long-overlooked defect that would render the product dangerous or unstable? No. They simply knew that better operating systems were available, and even though Windows XP was a wonderful product that served many people very well, its time had come and gone.

During XP’s wonderful run, computer technology continued to evolve. Much more powerful processors were created. Faster communication interfaces were developed. Computers began to operate in ways that could not possibly have been considered when XP was developed all those years ago. And what is the point in buying a new computer with all of these fancy new capabilities if you are running an operating system that will treat your computer as if it were built a decade earlier? The fact is that taking full advantage of your new computer’s speed and power requires a new operating system – an operating system designed for today’s technology.

What Does This Have to do With SCADA?

There is a lesson to be learned here about SCADA software in today’s industrial environment. Most SCADA systems in place today were deployed 7, 10, even 20 years ago! If we think about the way technology has changed in the last 20 – or even 10 years, it is preposterous to think that 10-year-old software is taking full advantage of the opportunites available. And not only has technology changed, but the very concepts that are fundamental to process automation have evolved beyond anything that would have been conceivable to a software developer 20 years ago. We are entering the era of big data and the industrial Internet of Things. There are more sensors and actuators on today’s plant floor than SCADA developers would have thought possible 20 years ago.

A recent article by AutomationWorld’s Jeanne Schweder investigates the changing industrial workplace and how existing SCADA systems are really holding companies back from taking full advantage of the opportunities available today. Per the article:

“Older SCADA systems were never designed to connect with the number of machines, sensors and other assets that manufacturers now want to monitor and control. Nor were they designed to handle the amount of data traffic and records these connections can generate. This lack of scalability, including the ability to access information through the Internet, can be a significant barrier to improving the quality and productivity of manufacturing processes.”

The reality is that it doesn’t matter what kind of fancy new equipment you install or data management strategies you implement if your SCADA software is operating with yesterday’s technology as a limitation. Imagine buying a high-powered sports car with state-of-the-art technology and world class performance benchmarks. Then imagine taking the engine from a 20-year-old sedan with half of the horsepower and twice the emissions and using it to power your new sports car. Do you expect to get the maximum performance out of the car? The same top speed? The same acceleration? What about your gas mileage? Can we really expect any of the hardware to perform up to its potential?

Old SCADA technology can have the same sort of limiting effect on your automated processes, regardless of how smart your equipment or your management strategy is. The AutomationWorld article above provides some suggestions for comparing SCADA platforms. The suggestions include:

“…tools for HMI graphics that are easy to learn and let you become productive quickly; the ability to easily expand the system for facility changes and growing data needs; an open format such as SQL Server for data storage, which means you don’t need to buy a third-party package for data analysis; and the ability to interface with software and hardware from multiple vendors.”

If you evaluate your SCADA software and find that these criteria are not being met, it is time to seriously consider a change. And you may not like the cost of changing, but the opportunity cost of not changing is far greater, and changing to the right platform today will not only allow you to improve your production, but will make any additional or future projects faster, easier, and much less expensive.

Preparing for the Internet of Things

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the “Internet of Things” and how technology will be changing the way we interact with our environment (or the way our environment interacts with us). There are all kinds of warm and fuzzy opinions about smart appliances and vehicles making our daily lives less tedious and more fulfilling. And there’s also a fair amount of doom and gloom expected from those who see this as the first step toward a post-human Orwellian nightmare landscape of people and products as interchangeable and expendable commodities to be bought and sold in the marketplace.

Regardless of which side of the debate you find yourself on, the Internet of Things is a very real concept, living and growing every day. Whether by means of RFID chips, barcodes or near field communication, most objects produced today come with a means of cataloguing and tracking. There is no longer a valid reason to debate the validity or necessity of the IoT. All that is left for us to do is find a way to make the most of it.


What is the Internet of Things?

In general, the Internet of Things is a theoretical concept used to describe a scenario where uniquely identifiable objects and their virtual representations are all contained within a virtual organizational structure like the internet. As opposed to an internet of information like text, video, images – all of which require human input – an internet of things would contain cars, refrigerators, phones, sweater-vests, any and all things. Once the thing is created and circulated, information about it would be continuously updated without any user assistance, the idea being that we can maximize the value of these things by knowing precisely when they need to be repaired, replaced or restocked without the fallibility and imprecision of human input. In fact, some people may suggest that humans themselves will be “things” in the new internet.

According to Wikipedia, the phrase was originated in 1999 by Kevin Ashton. It has since become something of a buzzword in certain circles, and with the proliferation of “smart” devices, its popularity has continued to grow. It has been estimated that the IoT will be populated by over 50 billion “things” by 2020. Another term bandied about in this regard is M2M (Machine-to-Machine), the obvious inference being that machines can communicate with and make decisions about other machines without a bunch of squishy, emotional, hairless apes mucking up the procedure. In either case, the dawning age of integrated intelligence is intended to create a more energy-efficient, cost-effective, safer world.


What does this mean for SCADA?

The IoT should be a great thing for SCADA software. More “smart” objects with more sensors means more data to monitor. That should increase the demand for SCADA systems, and it undoubtedly will. Unfortunately, many small to medium-size businesses will not be able to take full advantage of these advances right away. It costs money to replace older equipment with new; and it costs money to by the sensors and communication devices that would be required to turn yesterday’s hardware into the intelligent objects of tomorrow.

In order for a company to make the leap into a more data-driven business model, it would seem to be necessary that the entire intelligent infrastructure of data points would have to be in place before any kind of data visualization software could be implemented. The time spent designing HMI (Human Machine Interface) screens and binding relevant data to them would be wasted if the entire process had to be repeated every time a new sensor is added.

The reality is that a new type of SCADA software will be required as we prepare for the new industrial revolution. SCADA systems will have to be more fluid, able to evolve and adapt to a changing workplace with changing information management needs. Innovative developers who recognize this trend and create software able to take advantage of these current conditions will set the new standard for HMI/SCADA vendors and consumers.


Data Modeling

One innovative way to account for the new data-driven workplace is to implement a SCADA system that employs data modeling. A data model allows you to define the types of data that will be monitored, and also allows for new types to be added quickly and easily as new smart objects are added to the process. In fact, data modeling may be the only way to accommodate an ever-evolving information matrix. If you buy a new sensor to add to a particular type of pump – and you’ve got 100 of these pumps – your data model will allow you to add the new property to the pump “type” and easily expose that property for all instances of the pump “type”. Then you can quickly and easily bind this property to a graphic on an HMI screen. And since the data model allows you to create a single “pipe” template and deploy the same HMI screen for every instance of pipe you want to monitor, it is possible to make these with a very small investment of time.

Data modeling also allows for all of these changes without requiring you to take the process down while you update your data visualization system. Since your graphics are bound to properties in your model, you can even update your model and your HMI screens before the new sensors are even installed, which again can save a tremendous amount of time.

The data model also creates possibilities for integrating new types of data from different sources; it allows for a SCADA system to integrate asset management and maintenance data, financial data, performance management data – virtually any type of data that can be made available can be incorporated into the model and visualized in whatever way we choose. The same system used to create virtual control panels for operating personnel can be used to create CEO dashboards.

The Internet of Things is expected by many to be every bit as much of a revolution as the internet of information that we use today. Already, many companies are changing their information infrastructure to adapt to the new world. It is becoming apparent that the old way of organizing information is no longer adequate. To take full advantage of the increased efficiency, reduced waste and lower cost promised by this new revolution, we have to change the way we manage our data.

Learn more at www.scada.com

Smart Buildings – The Foundation of a Smart Planet

You walk into a room and the lights turn on. You look back and the lights are off in the room you just left. The temperature is perfect. You leave for work and all of your doors lock themselves. Your security system is armed automatically. Have you accidentally stepped through a time warp into the home of the future? Are you on the set of the latest sci-fi blockbuster? No. This is not the stuff of fantasy; this is the reality of today’s “smart” home. And it’s getting “smarter”.

With sensors to detect temperature, humidity, air quality – even carbon monoxide or radon, these buildings are often more aware of their environments than the people that inhabit them.

Of course the “smart” home is one type of smart building, but the majority of smart buildings are not residential; they are commercial or municipal. Today, building automation systems are used to heat and cool individual rooms or spaces, control security cameras and alarms, lights, water distribution systems, elevators – in general, if it moves or changes, it can be automated.

Today, we have numerous buildings full of sensors, controllers, and smart appliances. As the technology is now known to help in reducing energy consumption and controlling emissions, we can all be confident that we will see many more in the future. In fact, we are seeing the emergence of entire “smart” cities.

The Tip of the Iceberg

With the advent of smart building technology, we are at the precipice of a world very different from the one we know. We are soon to see entire smart communities composed of smart buildings, smart cars that drive themselves on smart highways lined by smart street signs and smart billboards.

And why are these smart buildings and smart cities necessary? Haven’t we done just fine without them? While that is certainly debatable, it is becoming difficult to deny that urban areas around the world have infrastructures that are severely strained by ever-increasing populations. The World Health Organization reports that in 2010 more than half of the world’s population lived in cities. They estimate that the number will increase to 60% by 2030. The United Nations estimates it will be over 70% by 2050. With power distribution systems, water management systems, sanitation systems, transportation systems and more encumbered by increased demand, and with the budget constraints that most municipalities face, there is a strong push toward increased efficiency and sustainability in cities around the world. Additionally, many governments are now enforcing laws mandating cleaner technologies and reduced emissions. 

The world in which we live is changing, as is the way we live in it. There are some obvious benefits, and as with any change there are some significant concerns.

What’s the Downside?

In the midst of all of the excitement about cleaner, more efficient cities with less waste and lower emissions, a few voices still can be heard crying “Stay out of my business, big brother!”. So, what happens when these technologies become tools for policing the population? Is there a line that has been crossed when some organization decides when your doors should be locked? Or what about whether or not your car will start? What if automation technology can be used to deny services to people based on arbitrary criteria? Are we moving too quickly into the future?

While some of these questions may seem like the unsettled ramblings of a reclusive conspiracy theorist, there are many people who consider these to be valid concerns. These are not new questions, though, and similar questions surface nearly every time a significant technological advance is made. There are far too many benefits to building a smarter infrastructure to think that it may not happen. It most certainly is happening right now, and the benefits are already being measured. While there may be legitimate concerns, the concerns will be addressed. There is more value in preparing ourselves for the reality of what's happening than in denying it.

Consider the Upside

Some of the benefits of smart building technology are cited above, including greater efficiency, reduced waste, less pollution, fewer accidents. These are obvious benefits that can save municipalities a great deal of money, while simultaneously creating a cleaner, more efficient world for us all. These technologies can reduce – maybe even eliminate – our dependence on fossil fuels. These technologies can create cleaner air, safer streets, and healthier, happier citizens.

While there may be some valid concerns, information and communication will help to alleviate many of them. We are living in a time with virtually unlimited access to information. There is no longer any good reason for us to live in ignorance. If we can stay aware of the new technologies that are being introduced into our environments, and stay abreast of any legislation that supports these new technologies, there is no reason for us to fear the future. What’s more important is the type of life we can lead in this “smart” world. Imagine a world of healthy people with more free time and fewer expenses. What new possibilities can come from a life unencumbered by the tedium of performing these simple daily tasks? This can be a liberating experience if we let it.

As our environments become more aware of us and our needs, new opportunities will arise. And these opportunities are not purely financial. There are real opportunities to improve the quality of our lives, and it is happening every day.

Change Management Systems - Is There a Better Way?

There is no denying that plant floor automation can dramatically improve efficiency and increase productivity, but there is an unintended consequence of automation that can make it problematic. That consequence is the increased dependency on new technologies like PLCs, PC-based control systems, SCADA systems, and HMIs. As long as everything is working as it should, the automated workplace proceeds as a well-oiled machine, meeting every quota and price point. Of course, when something is not working as well as it should things can get complicated. 

Imagine if a type of hardware used in your process has proven to be ineffective and you've decided to replace it with another model. Not only does the hardware change, but changes must be made to your overall control logic. This is likely to require changes to your PLCs, your SCADA system, and your HMIs. And what if the new equipment is even less efficient and you decide to roll back to the previous version? All of these control logic changes must be undone. 

Change Management Systems

These concerns have become of such major importance that many companies are investing thousands of dollars and countless man-hours in software designed specifically to help manage plant-wide changes. These Change Management Systems are intended to reduce the overall cost of implementing plant-wide changes by automating as much of the process as possible. A good CMS will provide the following features:

        - A backup/archive of prior revisions of programs
        - Tools for documenting changes
        - A historical record of what and when changes were made, and by whom
        - User- or role-based permissions determining who is able to make changes
        - Disaster recovery procedures to recover from hardware failures
        - Notification of changes

These change management functions have been performed manually in most cases, requiring enormous investments of time. Furthermore, the updates made to PLCs and SCADA systems typically require taking the process down while changes are made. This inevitable downtime creates another enormous gap in profitability. Even when a sophisticated CMS is employed, there is no way to avoid the fact that traditional SCADA and HMI systems are inextricably linked to the hardware that they are monitoring. Any significant change will require taking the entire process down and starting it up again after the changes are fully implemented.

Is There an Alternative?

If it seems that change management is just a fancy new way for software developers to make more money on some unnecessary product designed to solve imaginary problems, just think about what would be involved in making plant-wide changes in your enterprise. Would you have to make changes to your SCADA system? How long would that take? Would you have to update your HMI screens? How many of them? And how long would you have to take the process down in order to make these changes? Consider the cost of the labor. Consider the lost production due to downtime. And imagine if the change you made does not produce the intended result, and you want to roll the process back to a previous state. How much more time and money would that cost? 

The benefits of change management are various and undeniable, but is it possible to realize these benefits without introducing another management system - another system that will itself need to be managed? What if your HMI/SCADA system allowed you to manage plant-wide changes with ease, and without extravagent investments in labor or lost production? One way this is possible is through the concept of Data Modeling. By creating a logical model of your plant and your processes, your control logic is abstracted away from the actual hardware and becomes much more flexible and scalable. A change made to a piece of equipment in your data model will automatically be in effect for anyone who is using that model. Data modeling also allows you to create templates of your HMI screens that can be used for all assets of the same type, so instead of making changes to dozens of different screens a change can be made to the template and will be automatically applied to all instances of that template. And since graphics are bound to data in the model instead of actual hardware, changes can be made to your HMI screens without taking the process down. As today's enterprises become more automated, and as more data points become measurable, a SCADA system that employs data modeling is becoming more and more of a necessity. The good news is that such a system will surely pay for itself in a short time as efficiency is increased and downtime is reduced, providing a significantly lower total cost of ownership.    

Data Modeling is becoming more of a necessity in today's data-driven enterprise

The need for a CMS can be eliminated in many cases by using an HMI/SCADA system that employs data modeling. And while data modeling alone will not replace the full range of features provided by a quality CMS, many of the benefits can be duplicated, and additional benefits can be derived from the ability to perform these change management tasks from inside of your SCADA system without having to deploy a separate system.  

Consider the example of B-Scada's Status Enterprise HMI/SCADA software, which takes full advantage of the data modeling concept. Status Enterprise allows you to deploy system-wide changes with ease, and allows these changes to be logged and accessed later for review. The packaged Database Utility allows you to create regular backups of your model and mimics so that they can be rolled back to an earlier version should the need arise. You can create user roles and workspaces to determine who has access to what information and what capabilities will be allowed. By combining the power and efficiency of high-quality SCADA software with the sophistication of data modeling, it is possible to incorporate capabilities that bridge the gaps between process control, maintenance management, change management, asset management and resource planning. With the dawning of the new interconnected industrial environment, industry 4.0 or the 'Internet of Things', there has never been a better time to change your expectations about SCADA software and what it can do to bring your enterprise into the 21st century. 

Data Modeling in the Oil & Gas Industry

The Oil and Gas Industry faces a number of new challenges in the coming years. From the obvious challenge of managing a finite resource to ever-changing environmental regulations and the consequent competitive pressures, it’s easy to understand why industry leaders are continually striving to find ways to optimize and improve operational efficiency.

The new digital landscape of the industry has led to a proliferation of data, with greater frequency, at every stage of the business lifecycle. This abundance of data has led to new ideas about how this data can best be managed to maximize its value. The standards introduced by PPDM 3.8 include 53 subject areas intended to give executives a model for a Master Data Management solution.

A data management model is necessary largely because of the separate data sets that must be monitored – such as location data, well data and production data – which have traditionally been grouped and viewed separately. Now, research is showing that the proliferation of these information “silos” and the lack of a unified view can lead to a number of undesirable consequences, including:

• Project delays
• Escalating costs
• Lack of regulatory compliance
• Inability to utilize full production capacity (missed revenue opportunities)

If an integrated data management system can increase efficiency and productivity, improve safety, ensure regulatory compliance, and reduce costs, it becomes obvious that data integration is well worth the investment.


Data Modeling Tools

The OPC Foundation first introduced the Unified Architecture specification in 2006, taking a major step toward a cross-platform service-oriented architecture for process control. The OPC UA information model provides a logical framework for an integrated data management system. Additionally, other software tools have been engineered to facilitate the transition toward a more integrated model.

Recently, SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) and HMI (Human Machine Interface) software has made progress toward allowing a fully integrated data visualization system that aligns with the needs and expectations of the modern oil and gas industry. Some of the ways that SCADA has embraced the notion of integration include:

• OPC UA Compatibility
  Many HMI/SCADA developers have embraced OPC Unified Architecture, giving their software the ability to communicate with hundreds of different devices. The enhanced security and multi-platform support of the latest OPC specification helps facilitate an integrated information management system.
• Data Modeling
  Although data modeling in an HMI/SCADA system is still quite rare, some innovative developers have developed software with integration in mind. Finding a powerful HMI/SCADA system that incorporates the concept of data modeling is an essential step toward creating a fully integrated data management system.
• Mobile Device Support
  Not quite as rare as data modeling, but still not fully embraced, several software developers or ISVs have added mobile device support to their product offerings. As the oil and gas industries begin transitioning toward a unified system of data visualization, the benefits of mobility become more apparent.

Using the right SCADA system can significantly reduce unplanned downtime or unexpected delays, while simultaneously improving efficiency and safety.

** B-Scada’s Status Enterprise HMI/SCADA software provides a perfect example of how a modern SCADA system can truly embrace the modern, data-driven industrial landscape. Learn more at http://scada.com.