An Introduction to SCADA

Fundamentals and
Implementation

Supervisory Control And Data

Acquisition
 DEFINITION OF SCADA
• SCADA (supervisory control and data
acquisition) is a category of software
application program for process control,
the gathering of data in real time from
remote locations in order to control
equipment and conditions.
SCADA is a system of software and
hardware elements that allows industrial
organizations to:
i. Control industrial processes locally or at
remote locations
ii. Monitor, gather, and process real-time
data
iii. Directly interact with devices such as
sensors, valves, pumps, motors, and
more through human-machine interface
(HMI) software
iv. Record events into a log file
 FUNCTIONAL LEVELS OF A
MANUFACTURING CONTROL OPERATION
Electric power generation, Buildings, facilities and
transmission and distribution: environments: Facility
Electric utilities detect current flow and managers use SCADA to
line voltage, to monitor the operation of control HVAC, refrigeration
circuit breakers, and to take sections of units, lighting and entry
the power grid online or offline. systems.

Manufacturing: manage parts

inventories for just-in-time
manufacturing, regulate
industrial automation and
robots, and monitor process
and quality control.

Mass transit: regulate electricity to

subways, trams and trolley buses; to
automate traffic signals for rail
systems; to track and locate trains
and buses; and to control railroad
crossing gates.

Water and sewage: State and

municipal water utilities use
SCADA to monitor and regulate
water flow, reservoir levels, pipe
pressure and other factors.

Traffic signals: regulates

traffic lights, controls traffic
flow and detects out-of- SCADA control
order signals.
 POWER
DISTRIBUTIO
N
SYSTEM

Remote Telemetry Unit

WATER (RTU)
DISTRIBUTIO
N
SYSTEM

SCADA MASTER UNITS

HUMAN COMPUTER
INTERFACE

Remote Telemetry Unit

(RTU)

PROCESS
PLANT

TRANSPORT SYSTEM PETROCHEMICAL

PLANT
ELEMENTS OF SCADA SYSTEM
 1. Human Machine Interface
 It is an I/O device that allows a human operator
to control the process data.

 This is achieved by linking SCADA’s databases

and software programs for providing
management information like detailed
schematics, scheduled maintenance, data
diagnostics and logistic information.

 The operating personnel can also see the

graphical representation of data.
 2. Supervisory System
 This system acts as a communication server
between the HMI software in control room
workstations and its equipment like PLCs, RTUs,
sensors etc.
 Smaller SCADA systems have only a single PC
that serves as a supervisory or master system.
 Larger SCADA systems have multiple servers,
sites for disaster recovery and distributed
software applications.
 The servers are configured as dual-redundant or
hot-standby formation for continuously monitoring
server failure.
 3. Remote Terminal Units
This system contains physical objects that are
interfaced with Remote Terminal Units
(RTUs).
These electronic devices are controlled by
microprocessors and are used for transmitting
recorded data to the supervisory systems.
 They also receive data from the master
system in order to control the connected
objects.
They are also called as Remote Telemetry
Units.
Selection of RTU’s.. RTUs need to:
communicate with all on-site equipment

 survive an industrial environment. Rugged construction and ability to withstand

extremes of temperature and humidity (it needs to be the most reliable element in your
facility).

 have sufficient capacity to support the equipment at a site (though should support
expected growth over a reasonable period of time).

 have a secure, redundant power supply for 24/7 working, support battery power and,
ideally, two power inputs.

 have redundant communication ports e.g. secondary serial port or internal modem to
keep the RTU online even if the LAN fails (multiple communication ports easily support a
LAN migration strategy)

 have nonvolatile memory (NVRAM) for storing software and/or firmware. New firmware
downloadable over LAN to keep RTU capabilities up to date without excessive site visits

 control local systems by themselves (Intelligent control) according to programmed

responses to sensor inputs

 have a real-time clock to accurately date/time stamp reports

 have a watchdog timer to ensure that the RTU restarts after a power failure.
RTU520 (ABB)
 4. Programmable Logic
Controllers
PLCs find their use in the Supervisory
Control and Data Acquisition system
through sensors. They are attached to the
sensors in order to convert the sensor
output signal into digital data.
They are preferred over RTUs because of
their configuration, flexibility, affordability
and versatility.
MITSUBISHI PLC
 RTU PLC

PRICE EXPENSIVE RELATIVELY CHEAPER

TOLERANCE ENVIRONMENTS WITH CANNOT WITHSTAND SUCH

EXTREME TEMPERATURES AND CONDITIONS
LOCATED IN REMOTE
LOCATIONS.
COMMUNICATION USES WIRELESS LOCAL CONTROLS, FOR
COMMUNICATION AND IS EXAMPLE, PRODUCTION
SUITED TO A WIDER LINES OR PLANTS
GEOGRAPHICAL TELEMETRY

PROGRAMMING CAN BE PROGRAMMED REQUIRES SPECIFIC

ADVANTAGE THROUGH A SIMPLE WEB OR SOFTWARE AND SPECIFIC
WITH LANGUAGES SUCH AS SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
BASIC, VISUAL BASIC AND C#. OF LADDER LOGIC

POWER HAVE A BACKUP BATTERY AND CAN HAVE AN EXTERNAL

CHARGING CIRCUIT, SUCH AS UPS BACKUP .BUT DON’T
SOLAR POWER, AND CONTINUE HAVE A CHARGING
TO OPERATE EVEN WHEN AC CIRCUIT.
POWER IS LOST.
 5. Communication
Infrastructure
✔Generally, a combination of direct wired
connection and radio is used in SCADA
systems. However, SDH/ SONET can also
be used for larger systems like railways
and power stations.
✔Among the compact SCADA protocols,
few recognized and standardized
protocols deliver information only when the
RTUs are polled by the supervisory
station.
 6. SCADA Programming

SCADA programming in HMI or master

station is used for creating diagrams and
maps that provide vital information during
process or event failure. Most of the
SCADA systems use standardized
interfaces in programming.
C language or derived programming
language is generally used for such
programming
 SCADA ARCHITECTURE

CLIENT LAYER

HARDWARE
DATA SERVER
SCADA LAYER
ARCHITECTURE

SOFTWARE PROGRAMS
SCADA HARDWARE
ARCHITECTURE
SCADA SOFTWARE
ARCHITECTURE
 COMPONENTS OF SCADA
1. Field instrumentation
2.Remote Stations
3.Communications Network
4.Central Monitoring Station
Field Instrumentation -sensors and actuators that are
directly interfaced to the plant or equipment. They generate
the analog and digital signals that will be monitored by the
Remote Station. Signals are also conditioned to make sure
they are compatible at the Remote Station.

The Remote Station - installed at the remote plant or

equipment being monitored and controlled by the central
host computer. This can be a (RTU) or a (PLC).

The Communications Network is the medium for

transferring information from one location to another. This
can be via telephone line, radio or cable. The Central
Monitoring Station (CMS) refers to the location of the
master or host computer. Several workstations may be
configured on the CMS,
 NETWORK
CONFIGURATIONS

POINT TO POINT

POINT TO MULTI
POINT
 POLLED SYSTEM
/ MASTER SLAVE
SYSTEM
MODES OF
COMMUNICATION
INTERRUPT
SYSTEM/ RBE
SYSTEM
 POLLED SYSTEM
• The master is in total control of communications. The master makes a
regular polling of data (i.e., sends and receives data) to each slave in
sequence. The slave unit responds to the master only when it receivers a
request. This is called the half-duplex method. Each slave unit will have its
own unique address to allow correct identification.
• If a slave does not respond for a predetermined period oftime, the master
retries to poll it for a number of times before continuing to poll the next slave
unit.
• Advantages : Process of data gathering is fairly simple No collision can
occur on the network Link failure can easily be detected
• Disadvantages : Interrupt type request from a slave requesting immediate
action cannot be handled immediately Waiting time increases with the
number of slaves All communication between slaves have to pass through
the master with added complexity.
 INTERRUPT SYSTEM
• Also referred to as Report by Exception (RBE) configured system. Here the
slave monitors its inputs. When it detects a significant change or when it
exceeds a limit, the slave initiates communication to the master and
transfers data.The system is designed with error detection and recovery
process to cope with collisions.
• Before any unit transmits, it must first check if any other unit is transmitting
.This can be done by first detecting the carrier of the transmission medium.
If another unit is transmitting, some form of random delay time is required
before it tries again. Excessive collisions result to erratic system operation
and possible system failure. To cope with this, if after several attempts, the
slave still fails to transmit a message to the master, it waits until polled by
the master.
• Advantages : System reduces unnecessary transfer of data as in polled
systems. Quick detection of urgent status information. Allows slave-to-slave
communication.
• Disadvantages : Master may only detect a link failure after a period of time,
that is, when system is polled. Operator action is needed to have the latest
values. Collision of data may occur and may cause delay in the
communication
FUNCTIONS OF SCADA SYSTEM

1. Data acquisition
2. Networked data
communication
3. Data presentation
4. Control
These functions are performed by four kinds of
SCADA components:
1.Sensors and control relays that directly
interface with the managed system.
2.Remote telemetry units (RTUs). These are
small computerized units deployed in the field at specific
sites and locations.
3.SCADA master units. These are larger computer
consoles that serve as the central processor for the
SCADA system. Master units provide a human interface
to the system and automatically regulate the managed
system
4.The communications network that connects
the SCADA master unit to the RTUs in the field.
Data Acquisition
SCADA system needs to monitor hundreds or thousands of sensors.

Sensors measure:
1. Inputs and outputs e.g. water flowing into a reservoir (input), valve
pressure as water is released from the reservoir (output).
2. Discrete inputs (or digital input) e.g. whether equipment is on or off, or
tripwire alarms, like a power failure at a critical facility.
3. Analogue inputs: where exact measurement is important e.g. to detect
continuous changes in a voltage or current input, to track fluid levels in
tanks, voltage levels in batteries, temperature and other factors that can
be measured in a continuous range of input.
• For most analogue factors, there is a normal range defined by a bottom
and top level e.g. temperature in a server room between 15 and 25
degrees Centigrade. If the temperature goes outside this range, it will
trigger a threshold alarm.
• In more advanced systems, there are four threshold alarms for analogue
sensors, defining Major Under, Minor Under, Minor Over and Major Over
alarms.
Data Communication
A communications network is required to monitor multiple systems from a
central location.

TREND: put SCADA data on Ethernet and IP over SONET.

 SECURITY: Keep data on closed LAN/WANs without exposing

sensitive data to the open Internet.

 Encode data in protocol format (use open, standard protocols and

protocol mediation)

 Sensors and control relays can’t generate or interpret protocol

communication - a remote telemetry unit (RTU) is needed to provide an
interface between the sensors and the SCADA network.

 RTU encodes sensor inputs into protocol format and forwards them to
the SCADA master;

 RTU receives control commands in protocol format from the master

and transmits electrical signals to the appropriate control relays.
Data Presentation
SCADA systems report to human operators over a master
station, HMI (Human-Machine Interface) or HCI (Human-
Computer Interface).

SCADA master station has several different functions:

 continuously monitors all sensors and alerts the operator
when there is an “alarm”
 presents a comprehensive view of the entire managed
system,
 presents more detail in response to user requests
performs data processing on information gathered from
sensors
 maintains report logs and summarizes historical trends.
 16 Digital i/o SITE monitoring Pager
Time Sync Notification
2 Analogue inputs
2 control outputs
1 RS232 port 10 RouteT LAN

Remote
Telemetry Sites
Units 1-8
(RTU)

Rs232

SNMP
monitoring
Dial-up remote
Access
Alarms from remote DPS TELECOM SCADA
equipment SYSTEMS
 Selection of SCADA Master
A SCADA master should display information in the most useful ways to human
operators and intelligently regulate managed systems. It should :

• have flexible, programmable soft controls to respond to sensor inputs

• allow programming for soft alarms (reports of complex events that track
combinations of sensor inputs and date/time statements).

• automatically page or email directly to repair technicians and provide detailed

information display in plain English, with a complete description of what activity
is happening and how to manage it.

• have tools to filter out nuisance alarms (to prevents operators from loosing
confidence and stop responding even to critical alarms)

• support multiple backup masters, in separate locations (primary SCADA

master fails, a second master on the network automatically takes over, with no
interruption of monitoring and control functions)

• support multiple open protocols to safeguard the SCADA system against

unplanned obsolescence.