SCADA

& HMI
S PRING ED I TI ON
Contents
3 — From DCS to OCS: A change in process control system
9 — Inductive Automation Celebrates 20 Years
10 — Enterprise SCADA Systems Deliver Data Wherever
It’s Needed
21 — IT/OT convergence combines industrial and
laboratory automation
29 — Capabilities every HMI/SCADA system should have
30 — Build Better HMI/ SCADA Solutions with Edge Computing
40 — Gaining actionable insight with SCADA systems
44 — VTScada and the AquaNereda Wastewater Treatment Process
45 — The Cost of Failure - Why Mission-Critical Should Be
Your Mission
53 — Effective process control system migration, Part 3: Poll
results, answers
57 — Integrating a DCS into an existing process cell

2
From DCS to OCS: A change
in process control system  Back to TOC

Compared to a traditional distributed control system (DCS), an industrial

optical bus control system (OCS) has a lower investment cost of automation,
shorter installation time and reduces control system maintenance costs.

C ompared with a traditional distributed control system (DCS), the use of the in-
dustrial optical bus control system (OCS) can lower automation investment costs,
shorten project time, and reduce control system maintenance expenses. That was the
answer given by Jinsong Huang, vice president of Hangzhou Hollysys Automation Co.
Ltd., while discussing Hollysys’ OCS industrial optical bus control system.

The DCS, since its birth in the 1970s, has many technical advantages and has become a
standard in the fields of oil refining, petroleum, chemical industry, electric power, met-
allurgy and other large-scale process control industries. Because of this, the DCS has
not changed much in the past 30 or 40 years.

Today, with the rapid development of technologies in information technology (IT),

information and communication technology (ICT) and Internet of Things (IoT) have
brought many societal changes. As optical communication technology and software
have been introduced into DCS, the DCS has evolved into the OCS. In an OCS, the
system architecture, the controller and input/output (I/O) connections have undergone
qualitative changes, resulting in changes in project cost, space between cabinets and
implementation cycles, outperforming a traditional DCS.

What is OCS? Why can it change a traditional DCS? What technologies does it use?
What benefits can it bring to users? Which applications is it suitable for?
3
From DCS to OCS: A change in process control system

What is an OCS?  Back to TOC

The biggest difference between OCS and DCS is optical fiber is used in OCS as the
network transmission medium between the controller and I/O, instead of the cop-
per-core twisted pair cable usually used in a DCS.

In a traditional control system, the signal transmission of the field equipment to the
control system needs to go through a series of intermediate links such as field junc-
tion boxes, cable trays, terminal cabinets, safety barrier cabinets and I/O cabinets. The
OCS changes the system architecture of the traditional DCS. OCS field devices are
connected to the remote controller through the industrial optical bus data transmission
unit (iDTU) located in the field, eliminating a series of intermediate links.

OCS industrial optical bus control system is composed of engineer station, operator
station, redundant historical station, equipment management station, redundant con-
trol station, redundant industrial optical bus connection unit (RJU) and industrial opti-
cal bus intelligent data transmission unit (iDTU) and other equipment in which optical
fiber is used for communication from iDTU to RJU and redundant control station.

The redundant control station uses triple redundant links, a pair of Gigabit Ethernet, a
pair of RS-485 links, and a set of general purpose I/O connections (GPIOs). It ensures
the redundancy and disturbance-free, functional safety and stable control of the con-
trol system, and the mean time between failures of redundant switching can be in-
creased by 22.2% compared with controllers of other systems.

RJU is equivalent to the role of a switch. Each RJU can connect 16 or 32 iDTUs in a star
shape, and adopts passive optical device technology. The physical iDTU is used to connect
field devices and communicate with the control station through an industrial optical bus.
4
From DCS to OCS: A change in process control system

The iDTU adopts a modular  Back to TOC

design and has redundant
virtual I/O (VIO) modules,
The Plant Floor in Your Pocket redundant optical bus inter-
Get an overview of your process at a glance.
face modules and redundant
Control your SCADA with a swipe.
power supply modules. The
VIO module supports six
signal types: Analog input
(AI), analog output (AO),
digital input (DI), digital
output (DO), process inter-
face (PI) and Namur. iDTU
also supports Modbus com-
munication protocol, which
can transmit field data to
and third-party systems as a
Modbus slave station.

What technological
innovations does
OCS have?
Installing OCS industrial
optical bus control system
See the live demo now.
Scan this QR code with your phone
or visit demo.ia.io/engineering
is not as simple as replacing
the original copper cables
with optical fibers. OCS
5
From DCS to OCS: A change in process control system

has patents for its technological innovation for signal input/output and transmission.  Back to TOC
Huang said OCS integrates industrial optical bus and software-defined I/O.

Industrial optical bus is a technological innovation application of Hollysys in OCS. Al-

though the technology of using optical fiber to transmit the Ethernet protocol has been
very mature, many technical difficulties still need to be overcome to transmit the industri-
al bus protocol on the optical fiber. Hollysys has developed the Onet redundant industri-
al optical bus based on optical communications experience in the control network Cnet
on DCS. Different from the 7-layer architecture of Ethernet, Onet has only three layers:
physical layer, data link layer and protocol layer. This concise layer improves the transmis-
sion efficiency. Onet complies with IEC 61158 international standard, JB/T 10308.3-2001
national standard and EN50170 European standard, supports star network topology,
supports 128 node devices, communication rate is 24Mbps, transmission medium is sin-
gle-mode fiber and transmission distance is 20 km (without relay).

Software-defined I/O is a technology that has emerged in the DCS field in recent years,
and Hollysys is well-prepared in this field. Software-defined I/O is embodied in two
aspects. One is to define the channel type of I/O through software. All channels of I/O
are consistent in hardware, and it is not necessary to configure different I/O modules
for different signals. It is only necessary to set the channel to the same signal type as
the field instrument output through the software. The other is to switch the backup
channel through software that is the channel redundancy mode of N+1. When the I/O
channel fails, it is only necessary to perform software switching on the engineer station,
and switch the faulty channel to the standby channel, without the need for mainte-
nance personnel to arrive at the fault site.

6
From DCS to OCS: A change in process control system

What are the benefits of OCS?  Back to TOC

The technical innovations of the OCS industrial optical bus control system have
brought fundamental changes to the traditional process control system. The OCS also
brings benefits to users.

First, OCS brings a substantial reduction in initial project cost. Use of optical fiber com-
munication between the control station and the field data acquisition unit saves money
compared to expensive instrument cables. The cost of intermediate links, such as cable
trays, is also reduced. Industrial optical bus technology is more cost-effective than Eth-
ernet-based fiber-optic transmission. With elimination of many intermediate links, later
control system maintenance cost and the cost of spare parts decreases.

Second, the project implementation cycle of OCS is less. Thanks to the simplified OCS
architecture, the construction volume is reduced. With software-defined I/O technolo-
gy, the signal orchestration (marshalling) link between field devices and controllers in
traditional engineering design is eliminated, shortening the project execution cycle.
The standard engineering design simplifies the work processes, and the modularized
standard chassis design shortens the supply and delivery cycle of manufacturers. On-
site guidance and installation can be implemented upon arrival, easing efforts for
users, system designers and manufacturers.

Third, the system’s reliability is higher. The application of industrial optical bus is su-
perior in improving the anti-electromagnetic interference ability and lightning strike
ability in the process of on-site signal transmission. One optical fiber can transmit at
least 512 on-site signals, and the transmission distance can be as long as 20 km without
relays, as mentioned. The OCS can realize redundant transmission of on-site signals,
with higher transmission efficiency and stronger usability.
7
From DCS to OCS: A change in process control system

How does OCS ensure the security of the system?  Back to TOC
System availability is very important since process control systems often are used in
petrochemical, chemical and other key applications that require high continuous pro-
duction. Huang said the OCS has a special design for reliability on the Onet industrial
optical bus, RJU and iDTU.

In the Onet optical bus communication, redundant design is used between the slave
controller and the iDTU, which ensures fast switching between the main and standby
controllers. Also the entire optical bus link has real-time diagnosis functionality, which
ensures communications reliability.

Information security of industrial control systems is facing more severe challenges. Ad-
vanced persistent threat (APT) attacks occur frequently, ransomware technologies are
constantly being upgraded and historical loopholes are being exploited. Huang said the
OCS has implanted the latest information security technology into the control system.

Trusted computing technology has been integrated into the OCS controllers. Differ-
ent from the passive defense mechanisms of information security, such as firewalls and
defense-in-depth of traditional industrial control systems, trusted computing technol-
ogy realizes an active immune mechanism based on endogenous security. According
to Jinsong Huang, the controller adopts a high-performance main processor and a
co-processor based on the national secret algorithm, and achieves three information
security defense strategies: static trusted startup, dynamic trusted measurement and
trusted firmware update.

Stone Shi
Stone Shi is executive editor-in-chief, Control Engineering China.
8
Inductive Automation Celebrates 20 Years

 Back to TOC


Inductive Automation Celebrates 20 Years
To celebrate Inductive Automation turning 20, we wanted to
tell our community what we do, why we do it, and about our
commitment to fulfilling our company’s purpose. Meet our
incredible company leaders and members from every division as
they share stories of our growth and dedication to solve customers’
pain points over the years.

9
 Enterprise I f you look behind the scenes of almost any industrial
organization, you’ll find a SCADA system at work. SCA-
DA systems carry out essential day-to-day functions like

SCADA Systems controlling industrial processes; notifying operators about

problems that could cause downtime; monitoring, gather-

Deliver Data ing, and processing data; interacting directly with devices
through HMI software; and recording events.

Wherever It’s Some SCADA systems are small and simple, but in today’s
world larger and more complex SCADA installations are

Needed becoming more common and necessary. Whereas your

standard SCADA system is used on the plant floor at one
site, an enterprise SCADA system serves organizations
with multiple sites, and provides one place where users
can view all of the operational information across their
various sites.

When adding or upgrading an enterprise SCADA system,

there are, of course, a number of factors for the organiza-
tion to consider. Can it be deployed effectively at multiple
sites, to the cloud, and in some combination thereof? Can
it effectively manage data and projects from one central
location? Can it grow and scale nimbly enough to keep the
organization future-proof? Can it easily set up a remote
David Dudley
connection to anything inside the enterprise? Can it add
Co-Director of Marketing capabilities like reporting, alarming, and enterprise ad-
Inductive Automation
Enterprise SCADA Systems Deliver Data Wherever It’s Needed

 Back to TOC

ministration to manage a fleet of installations? Can it increase the number of tags and
connections without going over budget?

Read on to see three case studies of real companies, each from a different industry,
and learn how they found answers to these questions and went on to achieve success
with ambitious enterprise SCADA projects.

Energy Case Study: SB Energy

SoftBank (SB) Energy is a leading utility-scale solar, energy storage, and technology
platform. The company develops, constructs, owns and operates some of the largest
and most technically advanced renewable projects across the United States. 11
Enterprise SCADA Systems Deliver Data Wherever It’s Needed

Recently, SB Energy acquired a portfolio of photovoltaic (PV) solar plants across North  Back to TOC
America and wanted a way to monitor and control the plants from its remote opera-
tions center in Redwood City, California. So SB Energy engaged system integration
firm Vertech to provide a world-class, single-platform enterprise SCADA solution that
could oversee the six solar plants and perform real-time data acquisition, data valida-
tion, data consolidation, site monitoring, and performance analysis.

SB Energy requested that Inductive Automation’s Ignition platform be used for the
project, at both the enterprise and site levels. “There were two major problems we
were confident that Ignition would help us solve,” says Andy Singh, Director of Soft-
ware Architecture at SB Energy. “One is, we knew we had a lot of data coming in from
our power plants in the field, and so the performance of the software was critical —
and Ignition shined in that regard. The other aspect was creating a modern UI; we
didn’t want software that looked dated and up in the ‘90s, and Ignition had that capa-
bility to make a customized, beautiful UI that the end users love.”

Scalability and visibility were also big considerations for the project. As Chris McLaugh-
lin, SCADA & MES Specialist at Vertech, says, “With a single site, you can log in to your
site’s SCADA and be able to see the content that you need. By the time you get up to
two or three sites, it becomes more complex and it’s harder to figure out what’s hap-
pening across a few. By the time that you get to an entire fleet of sites, it’s a real prob-
lem. And so with Ignition, what it’s doing for you is that you can immediately log in and
be able to see all of your lowest performing inverters across all of your sites or a real
power trend for all of your sites in just one dashboard. Ignition is solving the problems
of being able to see your content across an entire fleet.”

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Enterprise SCADA Systems Deliver Data Wherever It’s Needed

 Back to TOC

Using Ignition, Vertech’s skilled team created a single-platform, multi-site management

tool that allows SB Energy’s greenfield operations center full access to view and opti-
mize performance at each remote site. The Ignition Perspective Module was the prima-
ry visualization tool for the application. Chad Waddoups, Senior Control Integrator at
Vertech, says, “Ignition is a good fit for this project because of the ability to connect to
multiple data sources, an unlimited tag count, and Perspective’s web-based SCADA is
ideal for SB Energy’s business environment.”

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Enterprise SCADA Systems Deliver Data Wherever It’s Needed

The new solution was deployed in October 2021. Since then it has provided SB Energy  Back to TOC
with complete visibility of all its sites, assets, and energy production performance. Now
they can more easily maximize energy production and resolve maintenance issues with
less time and resources. The dynamic, highly scalable new system also gives SB Energy
a strong base for the future.

Mining Case Study: Dolese Bros.

Dolese Bros. is a large provider of aggregate material and cement throughout Okla-
homa. Over the past several years, Dolese has upgraded many of its quarries with
advanced automation, networking, and operational systems. A key component of this
strategy is the deployment of the Ignition platform at each quarry.

As the Ignition projects were rolled out for each quarry, Dolese wanted to take advantage
of the Ignition Perspective Module’s mobile-responsive capabilities to allow plant opera-
tors to view the status of quarry operations anywhere. The initial goal of the project was to
focus on downtime, OEE, and real-time production reporting. As more information be-
came available, and Dolese began to see the power of providing information to everyone,
they requested the ability to view even more. The plant’s legacy SCADA solutions allowed
only a limited number of viewers to see what was going on with the equipment.

To accomplish their goals, Dolese enlisted the help of an integration company named
Industrial Networking Solutions (INS). Dolese asked INS to provide them with the ca-
pability for anyone in the organization to monitor processes from anywhere, and that
everything be mobile-responsive. INS leveraged the Ignition Perspective Module to
create a fully web-based, dynamic system with fast response time and with enough
flexibility to include mobile devices.
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Enterprise SCADA Systems Deliver Data Wherever It’s Needed

The plants were using a spreadsheet to gather production data, so INS built a dy-  Back to TOC
namic reusable page that allows the user to enter data that could not be automat-
ically collected, such as item codes and downtime data. With this page, operators
can view the data gathered from scales during shifts. INS built the page so that it
could be reused from site to site. All that is needed is to populate a database table
with the information about the various entities within the system, such as work cen-
ters, conveyors, or environmental parameters. Once the data table is populated, the
page essentially builds itself with the use of query bindings that populate the table,
and accordion and flex repeater components. Once the production run is started, the
data is sent via MQTT to the cloud where it is integrated into the ERP system in real
time. At the enterprise level, other users can view all this data over time using the
downtime report. This report allows the user to select a work center or entity from
the chart, and further drill into things such as a particular production run or a piece
of equipment to view downtime data for that selection.

Dolese initially began their Ignition journey wanting to capture downtime events and
replace reporting spreadsheets with real-time reporting. Since then, multiple areas of
integration were identified, transforming the original proof of concept into a holistic
enterprise solution. This includes real-time inventory and production data, downtime
tracking and reporting, and plant monitoring in real time for mobile interfaces. As
Dolese scales their operations, they plan on using Ignition to integrate plant-to-plant
transfer systems with RFID, real-time integrations to their data warehouse to help
facilitate ticketing and sales data more efficiently, and begin migrating legacy control
systems into Perspective HMIs.

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Enterprise SCADA Systems Deliver Data Wherever It’s Needed

 Back to TOC

Oil & Gas Case Study: CHS Pipelines and Terminals

CHS Pipelines and Terminals is a leading global agribusiness owned by farmers,
ranchers, and cooperatives across the US. CHS used a legacy SCADA system for
monitoring and controlling its oil pipeline. They wanted to move toward a modern
solution that not only enabled the safe delivery of hydrocarbons that met industry
best practices, such as high-performance and compliant displays, but could also en-
hance the operational capabilities of the controller and enhance the visibility of the
system to enterprise and remote users. Additionally, they wanted a scalable solution
that would deliver sustainable outcomes.

16
Enterprise SCADA Systems Deliver Data Wherever It’s Needed

The integration firm Streamline Control worked with CHS to replace their legacy SCA-  Back to TOC
DA with a new system built around open standards for communication (MQTT/SPVB)
and utilizing Ignition at all levels of the Purdue Model. Streamline successfully exe-
cuted all project activities including designing the SCADA architecture, developing
high-performance HMI displays in the Ignition Vision Module, developing a robust and
comprehensive tagging/asset structure for each asset location, building Perspective
displays for enterprise users, integrating Ignition with leak detection systems, and de-
veloping applications in Ignition used for batch tracking, pig tracking and compliance.

A key feature of this project was aligning the system on standards, including protocols,
tag structures, naming conventions, security, and extensive templating using UDTs.
There was also alignment on compliance-related measures including display character-
istics, navigation, colors, and alarming.

The solution is a single stack solution that provides robust and secure operation for the
pipeline controllers and utilizes Ignition at the enterprise to expose operational data
and to provide rich and meaningful displays to all users. It went live and into produc-
tion in the fall of 2021.

From the field to the boardroom, Ignition was used at all layers of the business. At the
field or remote location, Ignition Edge is used to gather and contextualize operational
data points using Sparkplug B, and interface with PLCs and Flow Computers.

At the controller, control room or SCADA level, Ignition was used to visualize and inte-
grate compliance and CRM-related activities into a unified operator experience follow-
ing best practices around API 1175 and the High-Performance HMI.
17
Enterprise SCADA Systems Deliver Data Wherever It’s Needed

MQTT/Middleware and Cirrus Link Modules were used to gather data not only for  Back to TOC
pipeline controllers but also to provide a secure mechanism to expose all operational
data points to the enterprise.

At the enterprise level, an enterprise Ignition was built to gather all operational data
using MQTT and Sparkplug B into contextualized, templated HTML5-based displays
that are fit for desktop or mobile devices and for casual users (as opposed to exposing
HMI displays that are fit for controllers).

Using MQTT with Ignition modernized edge connectivity by providing a reliable and
secure means of communication that also improved efficiency. Modifying devices and
tags is very straightforward in the new system. Additionally, Ignition allows CHS to sup-
port multiple user groups to provide essential data to everyone who needs it, includ-
ing people outside the pipeline control room, and everyone is able to have that same
consistent and current data.

The new solution provided CHS with new and improved capabilities: A secondary
control center which was independent of the primary control center, integrated com-
pliance-related activities and processes at the SCADA level, built-in reporting, and the
ability through MQTT to make information meaningful so that the enterprise applica-
tions can begin utilizing the data right away.

The Ignition Enterprise instance – which CHS calls the Mobile Business Interface, or
MBI – leveraged all the hard work they put in standardizing the data structures at the
edge and the MQTT infrastructure. This allowed for templated Perspective displays
built for casual users, rather than for a control room. Data is now accessible, without
18
Enterprise SCADA Systems Deliver Data Wherever It’s Needed

users reaching into SCADA for information, and more secure. Information is displayed  Back to TOC
to users on the enterprise via a web browser or phone because of HTML5/CSS3.

Jeremiah Henley, CTO of Streamline Control Solutions, says, “The Ignition SCADA
system was a good choice for this project. The modern technology, along with prov-
en security, configuration options, and scalability features, all align very well with our
goals for this new system. Ignition allows us to support multiple user groups to pro-
vide that essential data to everyone that needs it and all with a secure segmented and
consistent model. This includes people outside of the pipeline control room such as
field technicians, business users, and managers. And everyone’s able to have that same
consistent and current data.”

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Enterprise SCADA Systems Deliver Data Wherever It’s Needed

Ignition: The Unlimited Platform for Enterprise SCADA  Back to TOC

As the foregoing case studies attest, there are a variety of reasons why innovative com-
panies like these have selected Ignition as their enterprise SCADA solution.

Ignition breaks down internal silos by bringing all of the enterprise’s devices and
data together in one place. It allows SCADA, alarming, reporting, and more, to live
on one platform, and it’s built on trusted IT standards including SQL, Python, MQTT
and OPC UA.

Ignition is easy to scale from a single client installation to an enterprise-wide system,

and it lets companies expand access to an unlimited number of users.

Its unlimited licensing model lets companies launch as many web-launched clients as
needed for the price of one Ignition server license.

Ignition comes with a powerful, unlimited, zero-install integrated design environment,

and enables multiple people to work on the same project simultaneously.

And when you need to roll out application changes, the updates are pushed down in-
stantly from the server without requiring a restart, which reduces downtime.

These are just some of the reasons why organizations are adopting Ignition for the en-
terprise. To learn more, visit https://inductiveautomation.com/solutions/enterprise.

David Dudley
David Dudley is co-director of marketing at Inductive Automation.
20
IT/OT convergence combines
industrial and laboratory automation  Back to TOC

Teamwork enabled the creation of a large testing lab in just nine months

T he COVID-19 pandemic inspired creativity and improvisation in many areas of

industry. It also encouraged stronger collaborations, one of which created a
high-capacity testing lab in an extremely short period of time. System integrator
DMC helped Ginkgo Bioworks quickly create a sample-processing lab for diagnostic
testing for COVID-19. The lab went from concept to bio-validation in nine months.
Once the project was completed, the lab had the capacity to process 100,000 sam-
ples daily.

The new Ginkgo Bioworks lab, located in Boston, has more than 40 automated work
cells, including robots, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), lab equipment and
vision inspection systems (see Figure 1). Each work cell can be set up for new tasks,
allowing Ginkgo to use it for other large-scale work in the future. The lab is automat-
ed, with samples making their way through conveyors and work cells with no human
intervention.

DMC has offices in several cities in the U.S., including New York, Boston, Chicago,
Houston, Dallas, Denver, St. Louis and Seattle. The engineering consulting firm fo-
cuses on software development and control systems in a variety of industries, in-
cluding pharmaceutical, automotive, oil and gas, and food and beverage. Ginkgo
Bioworks is based in Boston and is working to make biology easier to engineer on
several fronts. This project leveraged the strengths of both companies. It was the first
time Ginkgo had done automation at this scale, so it asked DMC to help.
21
IT/OT convergence combines industrial and laboratory automation

 Back to TOC

“In a large, automated facility like this one, we’re Figure 1: The new Ginkgo Bioworks lab
has more than 40 automated work cells,
blending a couple of different forms of automation,”
including robots, programmable logic
said Henri Girard, automation engineer with Gink- controllers (PLCs), lab equipment and
go Bioworks (see Figure 2). “We’re trying to blend vision inspection systems. Courtesy:
Inductive Automation
industrial automation, where you see a lot of robots
and PLCs, and lab automation from the world of
biology. And, to make these two communicate together, we needed a smart SCADA
platform that can bridge the gap between these two worlds.”

The supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) platform was crucial not only for
that reason, but also because the requirements were constantly shifting as more was 22
IT/OT convergence combines industrial and laboratory automation

learned about COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic. Given the demands  Back to TOC
on performance and the flexibility needed to keep up with the constantly changing
requirements, DMC believed Ignition by Inductive Automation was a great fit for this
project. It was also used for the human-machine interface (HMI) (see Figure 3).

Up to the task
“The SCADA platform really shined in processing the massive volume of data and
commands and tag changes that happen and flow through a system like this,” said
Paul Mangels of DMC. “It was really good at managing that high volume of data that
something this complex requires.”

The SCADA system also provided real-time dashboards for production data, reliable
storage of event data and traceability data on all samples. Events occurred multi-
ple times per second throughout the lab across the PLCs, and the SCADA system
captured all the data. The lab instruments used a variety of different communication
protocols, but the SCADA system tied things together with a consistent interface for
users.

“We went from initial concept to final bio-validation of the laboratory in about nine
months,” said Jay LaFave, project engineer for DMC. “We couldn’t have done that
without all the capabilities of the Ignition software.”

“The pace of this project, I would say, is pretty unprecedented in the automation
world,” Mangels said. “We had to move quickly because of COVID — and the
knowledge we had was constantly changing, because the virus was changing and
our science’s understanding of it was changing. The biological process we were try-
23
IT/OT convergence combines industrial and laboratory automation

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ing to implement was evolving over the course of Figure 2: Ginkgo Bioworks is blending
different forms of industrial automation
the project, so we needed a platform that would such as robots, PLCs and lab automation
be flexible with us to stay up to date with those from the biology world. Courtesy:
changes.” Inductive Automation

The aggressive schedule required teamwork among the two companies, with strong
convergence of SCADA and laboratory technologies. Numerous activities had to oc-
cur simultaneously. “The time scale was extremely accelerated by trying to do things
in parallel,” Girard said. “We were trying to do some of the design, some of the soft-
ware work and some of the hardware installation, all in parallel, as the process itself
was also changing.” 24
 IT/OT convergence combines industrial and laboratory automation

Concurrent  Back to TOC

development
“When we were creating
this project, time was of
Run your business-critical applications the essence and so, we
with no downtime – where you need them needed to grow the num-
ber of engineers we had
working on the SCADA
Continually Available Edge Computing
project,” LaFave said. “The
Across industries and businesses, operations and IT leaders want to harness Industry 4.0
opportunities to gain new insight, achieve operational excellence, and operate more efficiently and software’s robust support
safely. Edge Computing enables these advancements while solving inherent challenges of bandwidth,
latency, and security at the edge.
for concurrent develop-
Stratus zero-touch and fault tolerant platforms provide teams with secure and highly-automated Edge
ment allowed us to have
Computing platforms, purpose-built for edge environments. With built-in virtualization, OT teams are
able to run multiple applications concurrently, backed by self-protecting and self-monitoring features
10 different developers
that eliminate unplanned downtime and ensure continuous availability for their operations.
working on the project at
the same time — all while
production and testing was
ongoing. The ability to do
that in a seamless way was
Up to 5,000 I/Os 100,000+ I/Os critical to us achieving the
Up to 4 virtual machines 30+ virtual machines timeline on this project.”
High availability or fault Intelligent uptime layer
tolerant
Fault tolerant
UL Class I Div 2 certified
DMC also chose the soft-
ware because of its flexi-
bility since many require-
Simple | Protected | Autonomous
ments weren’t fully known
www.stratus.com at the start of the project.
25
IT/OT convergence combines industrial and laboratory automation

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The SCADA system evolved along with everything Figure 3: Henri Girard is shown with HMI.
Courtesy: Inductive Automation
else. “There are a lot of different components to
the system,” Mangels said. “You have PLCs and
device drivers talking to the lab equipment, various APIs from Ginkgo relating to
inventory and moving parts through, and the SCADA system was right in the mid-
dle, helping to broker all that data and connect all the different parts of the lab
together.”

Traceability was also an important requirement. “The process events are an audit-
able record of what happened to each sample as it moved through the lab,” Mangels
26
IT/OT convergence combines industrial and laboratory automation

said. “So, we used the SCADA system’s store-and-forward capabilities and transac-  Back to TOC
tion groups to quickly capture queues of events and log them in a structured query
language (SQL) database.”

Capturing the huge volume of data was a challenge. “Each sample, as it went
throughout the process, would produce upwards of 50 different unique data re-
cords,” LaFave said. “So, that equates to nearly half a million data rows per day, and
the SCADA platform enabled us to capture all of that data in an effective and orga-
nized manner.”

Ready for the future

Both companies were pleased with the result. While a lot of it was uncharted territo-
ry, the collaboration was nonetheless successful, and it leaves Ginkgo with flexibility
for future needs.

“A lot of biology relies on small-scale liquid handling between different plates, be-
tween different reagents and these operations can be very time-consuming to do at
the bench for scientists,” Girard said. “On the other hand, once we can leverage the
power of automation to multiply the throughput of all these operations by orders of
magnitude, we can have a lot more shots at the goal, we can handle a lot more proj-
ects at the same time, and we can learn a lot more about the underlying biology as
well.”

In addition to learning a lot along the way, engineers were also energized by the
challenge. “This is probably the coolest project I’ve worked on in my time at DMC,”
Mangels said. “We had a huge team of people. We worked with a whole bunch of
27
IT/OT convergence combines industrial and laboratory automation

organizations. The Ginkgo team was fantastic. Just the number of bright people that  Back to TOC
came into this project in different ways was amazing, and I definitely appreciated
being a part of something and feeling like I was doing something to make a differ-
ence.”

Ginkgo Bioworks also appreciated the team effort. “DMC’s been great to work with,”
Girard said. “They have really taken on all the challenges that we’ve given them
during this project, despite the super-accelerated timeline and the constantly chang-
ing process. We were all learning as we were building the facility, really flying the
plane while we were building it.”

Jim Meyers
Jim Meyers is communications manager at Inductive Automation, creator of the Ig-
nition industrial application platform for SCADA, HMI, IIoT and more.

28
Capabilities every HMI/SCADA system should have

 Back to TOC


Capabilities every HMI/SCADA system
should have
The Edge is found where the action is, at, or near the industrial
process. The introduction of the Edge is the most significant plant-
floor advancement in industrial computing since the introduction
of SCADA, 30 years ago. Edge Computing provides enormous
value for HMI/SCADA systems through workload consolidation and
operational resilience. Consolidating multiple physical assets into a
single, more advanced Edge platform, allows companies to deploy,
operate, and maintain a smaller number of devices.
29
 Running the finest PLCs and software on a
Build Better conventional platform is no longer the best way
to protect monitoring and control operations.
HMI/SCADA Introduction
Solutions with Traditional human-machine interface (HMI) and supervi-
sory control and data acquisition (SCADA) architectures

Edge Computing
for mission-critical automation control have served indus-
try well, but there is always room for improvement. With
digitalization comes an edge-computing-based approach
that redefines what “good” looks like in a monitoring and
control system architecture.

Modern Edge Computing platforms solve many common

challenges faced by engineers when deploying or oper-
ating HMI and SCADA in their automation and control
systems. This paper describes what an improved and for-
tified industrial control system architecture looks like; the
inherent advantages of Edge Computing for resolving
persistent challenges; and proof points from an oil & gas
industrial organization, materials manufacturer, and spe-
cialty chemical company whose control systems are bene-
fitting from the transition to a single edge platform.

You’ll also see how three different organizations imple-

mented an Edge Computing control and automation ar-
Build Better HMI/ SCADA Solutions with Edge Computing

chitecture along with a modern distributed control system (DCS) and historian software  Back to TOC
for process optimization.

Visualizing the opportunity

Edge Computing is a distributed computing framework that collects, processes, and
stores crucial information close to the edge — where it is produced or consumed —
rather than in a centralized server or data center. But what does that mean for an in-
dustrial control system infrastructure?

Figure 1 reflects how Gartner’s representation of an Edge Computing topology is es-

sentially the edge version of the Purdue Model for Industrial Control Systems. Figure 2
combines the two models to illustrate a complete edge portfolio, from the device gate-
way to compute edge to the enterprise.

Figure 1. Gartner’s Edge Computing topology is essentially the edge version

of the Purdue Model for Industrial Control Systems Source: Gartner.
31
Build Better HMI/ SCADA Solutions with Edge Computing

 Back to TOC

Adopting Edge Computing within your Figure 2. Combining the Gartner Edge Topology with
enterprise benefits automation control, the Purdue Model produces this diagram of an entire
edge portfolio from device gateway and compute
specifically HMI and SCADA design, by im- edge all the way up to the enterprise. It shows how
proving your ability to protect mission-crit- it is possible to use Edge Computing platforms at
various levels of the Gartner Edge Topology.
ical operations. A single edge platform can
bolster operational excellence to deliver
extensive engineering, operation, and maintenance efficiencies as well as critical reli-
ability, safety, and security improvements.

Solving core challenges

One of the most pressing challenges with typical automation and control architectures
is turning the sheer volume of data generated by today’s industrial automation systems
32
Build Better HMI/ SCADA Solutions with Edge Computing

into actionable information. Other significant challenges include modernizing legacy  Back to TOC
infrastructure, streamlining operations by reducing disparate islands of automation,
and eliminating unplanned downtime. The Edge Computing approach tackles these
challenges by design.

Edge Computing modernizes the infrastructure and streamlines operations by en-

abling the consolidation of multiple software solutions running on multiple individual
computers into a single edge platform.

A typical installation has HMI/SCADA software and advanced applications such as

historians, manufacturing execution systems (MESs), batch, asset performance, engi-
neering, and programming software installed in multiple computers. Edge Computing
platforms offering built-in virtualization avoid this complexity and cost.

In addition to embracing digitalization, decreasing islands of automation, and facilitat-

ing workload consolidation, edge platforms offer additional performance benefits such
as mitigating delays from bandwidth and latency issues and simplifying maintenance
complexities common with an expanding pool of hardware and software assets. Edge
platforms that support remote and autonomous operations enable OT users to man-
age systems, removing the need to rely on IT resources.

As more critical applications reside in edge platforms, built-in redundancy to protect

against unplanned downtime and enable operational resilience increases in impor-
tance. Downsizing to a single redundant device where all the valuable automation and
control software are installed actually increases reliability and simplifies security man-
agement, thus minimizing the risk of costly operational disruptions. Built-in redundan-
33
Build Better HMI/ SCADA Solutions with Edge Computing

cy and preconfigured virtualization are especially important when the SCADA or HMI is  Back to TOC
installed in a remote or hazardous environment.

Delivering additional capabilities

Some modern Edge Computing platforms are industrial grade, such as those provid-
ed by Stratus. Ruggedized, Class I Division 2 (CID2) certified platforms, such as Stra-
tus’ ztC™® Edge Computing platform (see Figure 3), can be installed in hazardous
locations, together with the programmable
logic controllers (PLCs), in the same con-
trol panel without special accommodations
for temperature, humidity, or vibration
protection.

Many Edge Computing devices have built-

Figure 3. Some modern Edge Computing
in protection from cyberattacks, such as: platforms are industrial grade, such as
the ruggedized, Class I Division 2 (CID2)
certified Stratus ztC Edge Computing
• Host-based firewalls for blacklisting or whitelist-
platform, which can be installed in
ing IP addresses or domain names hazardous locations, with the PLCs, in
the same control panel without special
accommodations for temperature,
• Restricted USB ports to help prevent the spread humidity or vibration protection.
of malware

• Role-based access controls to authorize specific users and groups

• Secure communications protocols and Trusted Boot to thwart cyberattacks

34
Build Better HMI/ SCADA Solutions with Edge Computing

Scalability, extensibility, and standardization  Back to TOC

also are associated with advanced edge plat-
forms, such as the smaller-capacity Stratus ztC
Edge and large-capacity Stratus ftServer®
platforms (see Figure 4).

The best Edge Computing platforms scale well as new Figure 4. Advanced edge platforms,
such as the Stratus ftServer platform,
nodes and locations are added. They are extendable to provide scalability, extensibility and
accommodate new operations and control capabilities standardization. The best Edge
Computing platforms scale well as
without a significant investment, and flexible to extend
new nodes and locations are added.
monitoring and control of the plant to mobile devices.

Some of the most pressing challenges with typical

automation and control architectures include demand
for digitalization, disparate islands of automation, and
downtime. The Edge Computing approach tackles
these challenges by design.

They also support standardization of all control into a single architecture and can meet
non-redundant, high availability, or fault-tolerant needs. And the best edge platform
can be easily installed, operated, and maintained by non-IT personnel.

Optimization in action
The following three companies, each with unique needs, found their solution in an
Edge Computing control and automation architecture. See how they optimized their
operations.
35
Build Better HMI/ SCADA Solutions with Edge Computing

1. Streamline Innovations  Back to TOC

A Texas-based solution provider that focuses on eliminating hazardous emissions
through technology, selected Stratus to bring AI-powered predictive maintenance, re-
mote operation, and 99.5% uptime to remote oil field equipment. This included:

• Stratus ztC Edge to develop, host, and protect proprietary hydrogen sulfide gas
treating process

• Inductive Automation Ignition HMI/SCADA Software

• PostgreSQL Database and Python

• Seeq AI Software

Streamline Innovations created solutions for their customers that enabled real-time
analysis, HMI, and tracking of 50 KPIs from 350 miles away. The company also reduced
onsite staffing requirements by 66% and surpassed 95% customer SLA by achieving
99.5% uptime.

“Using Stratus, we have built smart plants that are

managed remotely by Artificial Intelligence and visible
from any location 24/7.
Dr. Peter Photos
”
Chief Technology Officer, Streamline Innovations

36
Build Better HMI/ SCADA Solutions with Edge Computing

Read the full case study to learn how by using Stratus Edge Computing, the company  Back to TOC
brought intelligence and remote operations to complex process skids, enabled contin-
uous operation, and surpassed customer expectations.

2. Rubberlite
A West Virginia-based materials manufacturer chose Stratus Edge Computing plat-
forms to simplify and consolidate IT infrastructure, standardize data collection, and
ensure continuous availability of applications and reliability of data. This included:

• Stratus ftServer to run application virtualization and fault tolerance eliminating

downtime, centralizing data, and improving reliability

• AVEVA™ System Platform DCS and data historian

By improving data reliability and automation, Rubberlite drove significant improvement

in efficiency and product quality, translating to business growth and customer satisfac-
tion. The team reduced non-sellable material by 80% while increasing sales and pro-
duction by 25%. Most dramatically, Rubberlite has experienced zero downtime since
implementing a Stratus solution in 2016.

“Our partnership with Stratus has helped Rubberlite

evolve to where we are now, and it’s put us in the
position to continue to grow and improve.
Former Process Automation Engineer
”
Rubberlite
37
Build Better HMI/ SCADA Solutions with Edge Computing

Read the full case study to learn how Stratus Edge Computing enabled Rubberlite to  Back to TOC
eliminate downtime, lower IT costs by 50%, and reduce non-sellable material by 80%.

3. Synthomer
A London-based specialty chemical company embraced a fault-tolerant Edge Comput-
ing platform to centralize and optimize operations at a production plant in Italy and
protect against failures and downtime. Standardizing the entire facility on the same
system eliminated islands of automation and improved operational safety, resilience,
and analytics. This included:

• Stratus ftServer to protect the modernized operation and house all the software
used to engineer, program, operate, and maintain the DCS

• Rockwell Automation PlantPAx DCS

• Rockwell Automation Allen-Bradley ControlLogix PACs

• System integration by Progecta

Upgrading the plant to run on a single Stratus edge platform and centralized PlantPAx
DCS, in addition to replacing the plant’s previous disparate, multi-branded PLCs with
Allen-Bradley ControlLogix PACs resulted in a 30% increase in production and millions
of Euros of additional revenue. Throughout the three-year digital transformation proj-
ect, production never stopped.

Read the Synthomer case study to see how the company implemented a fault-tolerant
Edge Computing platform to centralize and optimize operations. 38
Build Better HMI/ SCADA Solutions with Edge Computing

Summary  Back to TOC

The breadth and depth of proven Edge Computing advantages underscore the rea-
sons it is time to turn the page on traditional automation control architectures. For
mission-critical operations, leveraging benefits such as work consolidation, operational
resilience, downtime protection, and standardization ensures a more powerful, effi-
cient, and secure HMI/SCADA solution.

About Stratus Technologies

For leaders digitally transforming their operations in order to drive predictable, peak
performance with minimal risk, Stratus ensures the continuous availability of busi-
ness-critical applications by delivering zero-touch Edge Computing platforms that are
simple to deploy and maintain, protected from interruptions and threats, and autono-
mous. For 40 years, we have provided reliable and redundant zero-touch computing,
enabling global Fortune 500 companies and small-to-medium sized businesses to se-
curely and remotely turn data into actionable intelligence at the Edge, cloud and data
center – driving uptime and efficiency.

For more information, please visit www.stratus.com or follow Stratus on Twitter

@StratusAlwaysOn and LinkedIn @StratusTechnologies.

39
Gaining actionable insight with
SCADA systems  Back to TOC

Modern supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) solutions can

offer actionable insight to allow for better monitoring and control of
production processes.

T o succeed in the food processing sector, requires a balancing act of nuances

between perishable ingredients, supply chains, production, quality control, and
effective workflows along with proper reporting to ensure compliance with both gov-
ernment and customer requirements.

To ensure efficient and profitable operations, obtaining actionable insight into pro-
duction is now imperative. One way to achieve this is by using supervisory control
and data acquisition (SCADA) software in conjunction with human-machine interface
(HMI) technology.

SCADA systems collect and analyze production data and deliver it to the accom-
panying HMIs for intuitive visualization of real-time performance. Together these
technologies allow companies to better monitor and control production. Likewise,
it can provide diagnostic and alarm capabilities which result in reduced downtime
and waste.

With real-time performance data, companies can also adopt predictive and preven-
tive maintenance capabilities which allows operations teams to make data-driven de-
cisions about where and when maintenance should take place. It also offers improved
traceability through the real-time tracking of production data. And, due to the nature
40
Gaining actionable insight with SCADA systems

of the food industry, it  Back to TOC

is essential to have op-
erational flexibility and
agility to ensure efficiency
and scalability. This is es-
pecially important to help
companies stay on top of
the frequent changes that
are common in this indus-
try sector.

Courtesy: CFE Media and Technology

A good example of a food manufacturing company
that has improved production through the use of re-
al-time data insight driven by SCADA and HMI technology is Catania Oils.

Using SCADA and data to improve operations

Catania Oils is a manufacturer of non-GMO Project verified and organic oils for the
ingredients, food service, and retail markets. The company needed help to utilize exist-
ing data to allow it to gain informational insight for plant-wide visualization into pro-
duction. In particular, the company wanted to know the status of its lines – which lines
are up and which lines are down.

It also wanted to better understand the quantity of resources being used and specifi-
cally to know the tank levels to be able to order raw materials based on the availability
of storage space. Other requirements were to be able to identify potential efficiency
gains in its manufacturing processes by investigating overall equipment effectiveness
41
Gaining actionable insight with SCADA systems

(OEE) and measuring key perfor-  Back to TOC

mance indicators (KPIs); to have
the capability of batch manage-
ment and material handling; to
track the quantity of additives for
regulatory purposes; and to mon-
itor the quantity of products pro-
duced.

To achieve all of these goals, the

company set out to find a solution
that could capture data and gen-
erate meaningful displays to allow
it to make data-driven decisions.
Catania Oils went with a system
integrator that chose to employ
an web-based real-time HMI/SCA-
DA suite along with a plant data
historian. By using this technol-
ogy, Catania Oils saw immediate
benefits.

The company is now able to

better monitor and control pro-
duction, including OEE and loss
deployment, to improve produc-
42
Gaining actionable insight with SCADA systems

tion efficiency. The key to improving operations was to focus the right resources on  Back to TOC
the actual problems and to use OEE for gaining insight.

As a metric, OEE provided a clear understanding of the difference between the quanti-
ty of sellable product that could be made versus the actual product that was made.

The company also made efficiency gains by monitoring loss deployment. The use of
SCADA software has enabled Catania Oils to determine how much product has been
made, the loss of efficiency attributed to the fault of a machine or asset, and the loss
of efficiency attributed to the process around the asset. By monitoring both OEE and
loss deployment, it has gained improved awareness into potential losses of efficiency.
Using the production data collected by the SCADA system and displayed on the HMI
system, the company has been able to focus on the entire process, as opposed to a
single machine fault or quality defect, to capitalize on greater efficiency gains.

Control Engineering Europe

43
VTScada and the AquaNereda Wastewater Treatment Process

 Back to TOC


VTScada and the AquaNereda Wastewater
Treatment Process at Riviera Utilities
Engineer Lee Kibler describes the principals and benefits of the
AquaNereda Wastewater Treatment Process and how the utility
implemented it using the VTScada automation platform. This
case study originally aired as part of The Automation Village in
October 2022.

44
 The Cost of Explore the conditions that allow gaps to emerge
in the most hardened process control systems

Failure - Why W ith many things in life, we are on the brink of fail-
ure and not even know it. This is never truer than

Mission-Critical in mission-critical control systems like SCADA (Supervisory

Control and Data Acquisition). If you are reading this, you
probably think a lot about how to keep your system online.
Should Be Your Rather than deep diving into technical best practices, let
us look at how blind spots develop even when smart peo-

Mission ple are actively looking for them.

“I’m your friendly neighborhood sinkhole

detector,” said no one, ever.
The Cost of Failure - Why Mission-Critical Should Be Your Mission

Sinkholes are excellent examples of how potentially disastrous gaps emerge unno-  Back to TOC
ticed. They seemingly appear without warning yet develop over long periods and leave
plenty of clues. In 2016, a sinkhole erased a major intersection in Fukuoka, Japan.
Remarkably, no one was injured. Staring into the massive hole, one could clearly see
a variety of infrastructure that would have possibly shown signs that something was
amiss. In the lead up to the collapse, water and gas utilities may have experienced
losses of pressure. Telecoms may have noticed intermittent signal losses. The city may
have filled more pavement cracks than usual. The problem was that there was no one
who’s job it was to unify all this information. There was no friendly neighborhood sink-
hole detector.

The opposite of a sinkhole is… an iPhone?

When Steve Jobs appeared on stage at the Macworld Conference & Expo in 2007, the
audience was already expecting to see the world’s first iPhone. Most assumed it would
simply be a flip phone grafted onto an iPod music player. Instead, what Jobs pulled
from his pocket was a single unified platform that brought together Internet, email,
accelerometer, microphone, camera, and a full app marketplace, all with centralized
quality control of hardware and software. All features can be counted on to work to-
gether over time, with little involvement by the end user.

Why Systems Fail - Architecture

Single Points of Failure – This is one of the most common reasons systems go down.
This may be a single hard drive, server, PLC, office location, or network. Trace the path
from I/O, to the PLC, to the HMI, out to thin clients and alarm notifications. Identify
individual components that can take down your whole system.

46
The Cost of Failure - Why Mission-Critical Should Be Your Mission

Limited Levels of Redundancy – SCADA specifications typically require server  Back to TOC
failover. The problem is that not all redundancy is equal. Most platforms only support
two redundant servers. Worse, most use third-party Historians which require their own
methodology for failover and synchronisation.

Virtual Redundancy – Virtualized servers are an important tool for IT departments to

manage systems. Developers can create multiple server instances, each with its own
OS, running on a single physical computer. The obvious problem is that the physical
computer is a single point of failure. Complex virtualized designs can also make it
harder to spot points of failure. Make sure there is at least one backup physical server.

Why Systems Fail - Cyber Attacks

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) – For this common strategy, the attacker floods
the target’s network with meaningless requests. One solution is to employ Virtual Pri-
vate Networks (VPNs) between servers and remote I/O devices and to avoid using pub-
lic IP addresses. You can also configure your firewall to reject excessive requests and
accept requests from whitelisted computers at specific times.

47
The Cost of Failure - Why Mission-Critical Should Be Your Mission

Ransomware – By tricking users into opening email links or inserting infected USB  Back to TOC
drives (beware that nice camera you found in the parking lot), attackers encrypt a com-
pany’s data and sell them the decryption key. Avoiding ransomware requires training
and vigilance. There is always a “first time” for new exploits.

Assume Bad Guys are Already In – You can then begin to develop ways to limit the
damage intruders can do once they are past your security. Recently, a company that
provides IT solutions to American businesses and governmental organizations dis-
covered that their software had been compromised. Hackers were able to access the
networks of over 18,000 customers for weeks before being discovered.

Why Systems Fail - Underestimated Cost of Data Recovery

What happens if something does fail? In addition to the loss of real-time monitoring
and control, what is the cost of recovering lost data? This can be hundreds of times
more than the cost of the systems itself.

a. Manual Syncing of Data - Assuming that there are backups to work from, it is
often a long and cumbersome process to manually synchronize secondary com-
puters or backed up databases.

b. Data Loss - Data may be permanently lost, resulting in inaccurate reporting. This
may have a knock-on effect, as these reports may be assumed to be correct lead-
ing to operational inefficiencies for years.

c. Complexity of Procedures - The complexity of the restoration process itself can

lead to errors in the re-inputting of data. This has a similar effect as that listed above.
48
The Cost of Failure - Why Mission-Critical Should Be Your Mission

Building Resilience into Your System  Back to TOC

System-wide redundancy - Many software platforms are limited in to a primary and a
backup server. Look for a product that can provide unlimited levels of redundancy. En-
sure that there is robust failover for all components like alarm notifications (email, SMS
text message, voice-to-speech call out), thin clients, networks, etc. Also, if you have a
redundant network is there an alarm to inform you if it fails?

Real-time System Backup and Bi-directional Synchronization - Traditionally, SCADA

systems are backed up offline or online. The former involves shutting down the system
leaving operators blind and unable to manage alarms. The later can corrupt data during
the process. Additionally, few platforms automatically sync historical data after failover.
Often a separate backup methodology is required for third-party historians. Automating
backups may require custom scripting. Manual backups are easily forgotten.

49
The Cost of Failure - Why Mission-Critical Should Be Your Mission

Systems that support bi-directional synchronisation provide real-time synchronisation  Back to TOC
of all the services that make up SCADA systems. In addition to the historian, this in-
cludes events, alarms, security, and application settings. This means each SCADA serv-
er can be an up-to-the-second copy of your whole application. No missed backups.

Integrated Software Platforms - As we learned from the story of the sinkhole, gaps
emerge overtime when disparate pieces are cobbled together. Many platforms use
third-party products for core components such as Historians, alarm notifications, thin
clients, and scripting. A single product ensures that everything works together seam-
lessly with new software versions. It also eliminates the risk that components are al-
tered or discontinued by their manufacturers. Best of all, a unified approach means,
one install, license agreement, training track and support contract.

Application Version Control - Many system failures are the result of malicious acts by
disgruntled workers or the unexpected consequences of innocent configuration. When
things go wrong it is vital to identify who did what and to roll back to the last known
working version immediately. While some SCADA providers support third-party version
control, there are benefits to this being a native component such as the ability to auto-
matically distribute the encrypted change list across all servers.

Fast Response to Vulnerabilities from the Vendor – Software platforms regularly

release new versions and features and often connect to devices developed long after
applications are deployed. This ensures that security gaps will appear over time. The
Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) regularly con-
ducts vulnerability analysis on products used in critical infrastructure. When they iden-
tify a potential security exploit, they contact the vendor who then has time to patch the
50
The Cost of Failure - Why Mission-Critical Should Be Your Mission

vulnerability and distribute the solution before the vulnerability (and hopefully the fix)  Back to TOC
is made public.

This graph, published by Trend Mi-

cro, shows the number of days for
common SCADA software vendors
to patch security issues once noti-
fied by ICS-CERT. Note that many
of these vulnerabilities are publicly
announced before the respective
vendors have provided a fix.

Dependency on third-party compo-

nents increases the length of time
to find a solution to these issues. Pick a software company with a record of responding
to threats in a timely fashion.

See the full report here:

https://documents.trendmicro.com/assets/wp/wp-hacker-machine-interface.pdf

VTScada – Built to Power the Largest Critical Systems in the World

In the graph above, the software vendor with the fastest patch time Trihedral Engineer-
ing, the makers of VTScada. This award-winning software has been making complex
infrastructure easy to configure for over thirty-five years. Its unique unified design elim-
inates the gaps that plague other software platforms and allows systems to easily scale
from two to over two million I/O. VTScada helps to eliminate downtime by supporting
51
The Cost of Failure - Why Mission-Critical Should Be Your Mission

any number of redundant servers with automatic failover. The native Enterprise Histori-  Back to TOC
an supports bi-directional synchronisation across all servers to keep your priceless data
safe and available when you need it. Advanced Version Control is part of every ap-
plication. VTScada is highly secure and has been used in some of the largest systems
in North America for decades in industries such as power generation, broadcasting,
water and wastewater, manufacturing, and oil & gas.

VTScada continues to set the standard for mission

critical software development. In 2022, VTSca-
da’s Development Environment was certified to
be compliant with IEC 62443-4-1 Maturity Level
2 Security for Industrial Automation and Control
Systems. This defines secure development life cy-
cle (SDL) requirements for products used in industrial automation and control systems.
Trihedral was also awarded the 2022 Global Technology Innovation Leadership Award
for SCADA and HMI systems from Frost & Sullivan, a research and consulting firm spe-
cializing in recognizing excellence in the field of industrial systems.

Try the Free Industrial Version of VTScada

VTScadaLIGHT is perfect for applications with up to 50 I/O. Individuals, businesses,
and non-profits can install it on up to 10 PCs. There is even a step-by-step video tu-
torial. Download VTScadaLIGHT here: VTScada.com/light

Contact Us
North America (toll-free): 1.800.463.2783, Worldwide: 1.407.888.8203,
[email protected], VTScada.com
52
Effective process control
system migration, Part 3:  Back to TOC

Poll results, answers

Those who delay a DCS migration risk loss of uptime and reliability and
have difficulty applying incremental improvements. Also, related controls
and instrumentation upgrades incompatible with legacy equipment.

D uring the Control Engineering webcast, “Effective Process Control Migration,”

system integrators provided needed advice about distributed control system
(DCS) migrations and the audience provided input in two poll questions often assist
with effective process control system migrations. Many distributed control systems
(DCS) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems have reached
the end of useful life and are waiting for migrations. Expert presenters during the
presentation were:

• Don Bartusiak, president of Collaborative Systems Integration and co-chair of the

Open Process Automation Forum.

• Lynn Njaa, business development manager, DCSNext process automation consul-

tant with Maverick Technologies.

Poll questions: Audience provides input about DCS upgrades

Participants listening live to the March webcast were asked to participate in the learn-
ing by answering two poll questions. The questions covered process and technology
related opportunities missed by keeping a legacy-DCS rather than upgrading?
53
Effective process control system migration, Part 3: Poll results, answers

Haven’t upgraded DCS?  Back to TOC

What process opportunities
are missed?
During the webcast, audience was asked
the following poll question: What pro-
cess-related opportunities are you missing
by keeping a legacy distributed control sys-
tem rather than upgrading? Results follow:

• 21.6% Uptime or reliability because of unplanned shut downs

• 20.3% Difficulty applying incremental improvements

• 17% Real-time transparency into processes and supply chain

• 16.3% Modern alarm strategies

• 16.3% Open systems standard-based architecture

• 8.5% Sleep because of after-hours maintenance, repairs.

Haven’t upgraded DCS?

What technology opportunities are missed?
The audience also was asked the following poll question: What technology-related op-
portunities are you missing by keeping a legacy distributed control system rather than
upgrading? 54
Effective process control system migration, Part 3: Poll results, answers

• 23% Related controls and instrumentation upgrades incompatible with legacy  Back to TOC
equipment

• 19.9% Modern cybersecurity tools

• 18.3% Lack of remote monitoring and controls

• 17.3% High-performance human-machine interface to attract younger engineers,

get them up to speed faster and lower incident risk

• 12% Antiquated training and simulation

• 9.4% Inability to use mobility tools.

More questions and answers about DCS migration

After the Bartusiak and Njaa presented, there was time for a few questions to fill out
the hour of instruction.

Question: How do you integrate new process control systems with exist-
ing DCS or SCADA systems?

Njaa: Planning is probably the best course of action for system integration. Having a
SCADA system and mapping it over to a control system takes some time and documen-
tation. I know that most of the projects that I’ve seen and done lag documentation, so
mapping things out and planning things out is usually the best course of action.

55
Effective process control system migration, Part 3: Poll results, answers

Bartusiak: Much of what requires an interface to is a package-mounted unit, or a  Back to TOC

modular-unit, or an analyzer or something like that, and the workhorse means for the
interface continues to be Modbus. When interfacing with a legacy system, a gateway
product often is involved. The gateway works best when the supplier of the existing
thing that you’re trying to interface to (not the new target system) really has to let you
know what data structures and protocols are to build the gateway. There’s a technical
and commercial aspect to whether or not it can even be done when systems are not
built to industry standards.

Question: How do you integrate different control systems of different

brands from different vendors?

Njaa: I have worked in many facilities that have a hodgepodge over the years, where
the plant has grown by one separate unit at a time, or they have different legacy pro-
grammable logic controllers (PLCs) and then someone decides to put in a DCS and
something else. They certainly can be all migrated and integrated into a common DCS.
Or the data can be brought up into one operator interface where the view appears
more seamless, if that’s what they choose to do. There are many ways to a approach
system integration.

Bartusiak: The short, provocative answer is that they cannot. [Or cannot easily be
integrated.]

Don Bartusiak and Lynn Njaa

Don Bartusiak is president of Collaborative Systems Integration and co-chair of the
Open Process Automation Forum. Lynn Njaa is business development manager, DCS-
Next process automation consultant with Maverick Technologies. 56
Integrating a DCS into an existing
process cell  Back to TOC

A distributed control system (DCS) needed to be installed in a process cell

for a pharmaceutical company, but the process required an overhaul to the
systems and standards in place to make it work.

A pharmaceutical company was in the process of commissioning a control system

for a process cell and asked ECS Solutions, a system integrator, to provide site
support to complete the commissioning and qualification.

The control system supplier had taken a simplistic approach to keep costs down. One
controller with multiple human-machine interfaces (HMIs) provided the heart of the
control system that also interfaced with some original equipment manufacturer (OEM)
skids. The control hardware consisted of a controller with multiple HMIs. The controller
code was all custom with little use of off-the-shelf products and was an assortment of
custom blocks of code tied together, providing minimal functionality.

Project preparation: Operators, sequence, procedures,

documentation
Little thought had been put into operators and how they would run the system to
create quality product. Standard operating procedures had not yet been developed.
Producing a quality product was dependent upon the operator selecting the correct
sequence of functions from operator stations at multiple vessels. This approach ex-
posed the company to risk in producing a quality product and controlling the rate of
production.

57
Integrating a DCS into an existing process cell

Since procedures had not been considered to this point, the system was not well docu-  Back to TOC
mented and inevitably in store for substantial changes through the commissioning and
qualification phases of the project.

As the owners started to think practically about how operators would make product,
change requests started pouring in. Changes to the custom logic were challenging. It
was difficult to determine what effect small changes would have in other areas of the
program.

The integrator evaluated the situation and recommended a migration to the control
system, providing batch software for the batch automation with process objects in the
controller replacing much of the custom code.

Procedural control, parameter transfers, data gathering

The probability of errors in production led the integrator to recommend many activities
carried out by the operators be significantly reduced. This was achieved by automat-
ing the operator activities related to procedural control, parameter transfers, and data
gathering of the system. The integrator proposed the software be integrated into the
system to provide a layer of automation that would reliably set the parameters for the
equipment module and sequences at the right time, every time. The company agreed
to add this layer of automation but requested the implementation of the software not
interfere with the ongoing activities and all existing code and functionality be pre-
served without any changes being made.

With the proposed integration, the operator would be required to simply select a
recipe (stored by the sequencing engine) and select which equipment was needed to
58
Integrating a DCS into an existing process cell

make the batch. The sequencing engine coordinated all activities, including the trans-  Back to TOC
fer of parameter values, and the capturing of reports information. Furthermore, the
system prompted the operator when a task required operator interaction. This work
was carried out in such a way as to have no impact on the functionality of the existing
equipment modules or sequences.

Equipment model, phase classes, phases

To do this, the integrator created an area model in the software suite to represent the
existing equipment in the process area, with phase classes and phases representing
the individual PLC equipment modules and PLC sequences.

A wrapper logic was created as needed in phase manager phases to allow the software
suite to properly control the existing equipment models and sequences. This resulted
in a system capable of executing recipes without parameters being entered manually
or equipment being started by an operator while capturing all pertinent report values.
This improved the reliability and repeatability of the existing system while reducing
human error.

At this point to make a batch recipe, the integrator created procedures to encompass
everything that needed to be done with every piece of equipment. Phases were creat-
ed that could talk directly to the coordination sequences or coordination equipment
modules. A wrapper was created for all their equipment modules, which lacked some
of the flexibility required by the company. It should be noted the control system was
integrated with the batch software, including key procedures and direct signatures.
Existing custom code was replaced with a process objects standard to provide a more
reliable and sustainable solution.
59
Integrating a DCS into an existing process cell

Global standard library, standardized objects  Back to TOC

The absence of a standard process object was the major driver for the migration. The
custom code in the existing system had some limitations and issues in terms of coding,
and later the control module was migrated.

However, the equipment module layer remained standard since it was clearly commis-
sioned. Some problems with the control module layer were identified – inconsistent
logic, absence of signal filtering, and software anomalies – so the entire standard was
replaced by a global standard library custom code, with standardized objects in place
of the custom code.

A significant amount of input/output (I/O) was migrated, and at the same time, the
integrator was commissioning other systems. It became critical to maintain the timeline
as the code was replaced and ensure it was thoroughly tested prior to validation. This
required a risk response plan, recognizing errors due to migration would occur. Each
controller was tested in a similar environment to prevent issues in terms of coding and
ensuring sufficient memory in the processor to perform the migration.

Simulated automation system, testing before live

In terms of architecture, the integrator initially created a simulation system at their fa-
cilities, which allowed for testing and building recipes, and a test could be performed
before implementing them in the live system. The simulation system was identical to
the production system, giving latitude to things that could be done, and implementa-
tion was less invasive in the current architecture.

Three different workstations, two of which were automation workstations, provided

60
Integrating a DCS into an existing process cell

access to batch software and how the system was configured. At the automation work  Back to TOC
stations, recipes could be edited, changes made to the HMI, or the controllers could
be configured. Thin manager clients are available, and it is only necessary to provide
the IP address and credentials of the thin manager server to automatically withdraw
information so deploying a new client or replacing an existing client is quite straight-
forward. Every PC is virtualized with VMware and there is an ESXi post maintaining all
machines, including the HMIs.

In addition to the batch reports, the integrator also collaborated with the pharmaceu-
tical company to produce custom reports. The reports show triggered operations and
whether the operation passed or failed. The reason for a failure is also recorded. The
major components of the reports are a recipe information section and a unit procedure
summary. These sections capture details of interest regarding specific operations. The
reports are created in a format used by the company.

Changing role for control system integrator

The integrator’s role in the project changed as time progressed. Initially, the aim was
to put a wrapper on the existing code and not modify it, that is, the original agreement
with the company. Subsequently, it was decided to make changes to improve the sys-
tem, due to the lack of required functionality, and today the company can make ex-
tended batches, considered to be active production batches while the product awaits
FDA approval.

The batch software also has enabled a wealth of historical data to be logged in the
form of batch records and reports, including electronic signatures. The modification
has allowed the company to maximize the utilization of its equipment. Using a feature
61
Integrating a DCS into an existing process cell

in the batch software, electronic prompts allow operators to review and respond, in-  Back to TOC
cluding provision of detailed photographs of equipment setup for operators’ absolute
activity clarity.

Using the software suite recipes to drive clean-in-place (CIP) processes simplified the
use of the CIP system and established repeatable consistent cleaning cycles that pro-
vide as much insight as product batches. This accelerated the commissioning and
validation of those systems.

The migration provided the consistency and reliability needed to provide the plant
with the necessary functionality and achieved qualification and validation. This has
allowed the pharmaceutical company to author version-controlled, electronic recipes
that execute consistently from batch to batch.

Christopher Rudd and Randy Otto

Christopher Rudd, CEO, Rayn Business Development; Randy Otto, CEO, ECS Solutions.

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 SCADA & HMI

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