hmi industrial pcs enclosures · 2018. 5. 21. · and level indications. even though isa101 may...

HMI, Industrial PCs & Enclosures

eHANDBOOK

TABLE OF CONTENTSInterfaces lighten the load 6

Human-machine interfaces (HMIs) and operator workstations are simplifying,

multitasking, and seeking “one pane of glass” as they multiply and go mobile.

Uniform interfaces unify biotech operations 16

While working to consolidate and automate its manufacturing processes for raw-

material antigens, Grifols Diagnostic Solutions in Emeryville, Calif., recently implemented

a process that allowed staff to view data from process operations side-by-side.

SCADA reflects and reinvents 21

The cloud, IIoT, virtualization and other forces are reshaping supervisory control and

data acquisition (SCADA) into new forms and functions, but can they do it securely?

Mobility rises above 28

Spurred by the freedom granted by earlier mobility tools, many process users are

further increasing their range with more diverse solutions—and even taking flight.

Operator training simulator opens minds at Enterprise 39

Energy services provider Enterprise Products describes how an OTS can be used to

improve productivity, uptime and reliability – and pay for itself in just a few days.

Open-source computers arrive for monitoring and control 42

Raspberry Pi, Arduino and other computers on open-source silicon boards

are on the way for do-it-yourself monitoring—and even control.

eHANDBOOK: HMI & Industrial PCs and Enclosures 2

www.ControlGlobal.com

https://www.acromag.com/sp

AD INDEXAcromag • www.acromag.com/sp 3

Advantech Automation • www.advantech.com 5

Allied Moulded Products Inc. • www.alliedmoulded.com 10

Otek Corp. • www.otekcorp.com 15

Pepperl+Fuchs, Inc. • www.pepperl-fuchs.com 17, 18

Pro-Face America • www.profaceamerica/xldisplay 20

Rittal North America LLC • www.rittalenclosures.com 27

Unitronics • www.unitronicsplc.com 38



https://www.acromag.com/sphttp://www.advantech.comhttps://goo.gl/ZhfhNrhttp://www.otekcorp.comhttp://www.pepperl-fuchs.com/hmihttp://www.profaceamerica/xldisplayhttp://www.RittalEnclosures.comhttp://www.unitronicsPLC.com

http://www.advantech.com

Traveling lighter means traveling faster, farther—and hopefully getting more done. That’s seems to be the slimmed down, New Year’s resolution for

many operator interface and human-ma-

chine interface (HMI) technologies and their

users, who appear to have moved beyond

simply displaying many data streams on all

kinds of tablet PCs and smart phones, and

are now prioritizing their devices and dis-

plays to give them the essential information

they need for better decisions.

“Everyone is thirsting for information, but

they also don’t want to be overwhelmed,

so many HMIs are getting streamlined in

what they show, following the ISA101 HMI

standard (www.isa.org/isa101), and adopt-

ing less distracting, more contemporary

grayscale displays,” says Dan Malyszko,

operations director and lead engineer

at Malisko Engineering (https://malisko.

com), a CSIA-certified (www.controlsys.

org) system integrator in St. Louis, Mo. “The

intent is to quickly draw attention where

it’s needed, so color is used sparingly, and

animations are discouraged since they can

distract from critical notifications. How-

ever, many operators are accustomed to

colorful, P&ID-style graphics with animated

representations such as active flow paths

and level indications. Even though ISA101

may suggest that energized equipment be

shown shaded white versus deenergized

shaded gray, an operator with intimate

process knowledge relies on seeing a clear

flow path on the screen. In these situations,

we have to adapt and suggest muted color

pallets to try to satisfy the HMI standard

while appeasing operations. It’s a fine line,

Interfaces lighten the loadHuman-machine interfaces (HMIs) and operator workstations are simplifying, multitasking, and seeking “one pane of glass” as they multiply and go mobile.

by Jim Montague



but we just try to find a middle ground to

accomplish the goals of modern, high-per-

formance HMI graphics.

“Of course, the flip side of the thirst for

information is that users also want to view

multiple data streams on fewer interfaces.

There’s a lot of talk about employing a ‘single

pane of glass,’ but the reality is users need

to see input from many disparate software

packages. This can be resolved by delivering

content relative to who the user is, where the

user is, and what they’re doing. For example,

ACP ThinManager (http://thinmanager.com)

helps us deliver, manage, and maintain the

security of content on their screens and tablet

PCs. The challenge as HMIs evolve is to keep

delivering relevant information to the right

people at the right time.”

UPGRADES ENABLE HMISNaturally, one of the optimal times to sim-

plify HMIs, prioritize data streams, and

consolidate displays is during larger process

and production upgrades. For instance,

Evonik Corp.’s (http://corporate.evonik.

com) plant in Mobile, Ala., is upgrading

automation on several units. This animal

nutrition products process includes sequen-

tial column start-up, crystallization, filtering

and daily flush-out procedures.

Evonik is also upgrading the column from

its phased-out APACS+ control system to

newer PCS 7 controls from Siemens (www.

siemens.com). This section of the Mobile

facility has about 5,000 I/O overall, while

the immediately affected process has

300-400 I/O. So far, basic engineering

sequencing is done, and detailed engineer-

ing was scheduled to begin shortly. PCS 7

hardware and sequencing was implemented

last fall, and the start-up is scheduled for

April. Despite organizing the upgrade

into two phases, there can be a three- to

five-year “gray phase” between when

the APACS+ OS HMI conversion is com-

plete and when the I/O conversion phase

is implemented.

UPGRADING HMIFigure 1: Before and after screens from scadaHUB show how the system integrator redesigns displays to limit distracting colors and graphics (above) when rendering equip-ment and systems, and replaces them with more muted designs (below) that become vivid to indicate alerts and alarms, which helps improve operator awareness and per-formance. Source: scadaHUB



“This migration is happening in two phases

dictated by our shutdown schedule,” says

Patrick Spomer, senior project engineer

for process control at Evonik. “The first is

converting the HMI for the APACS+ oper-

ating system, implementing new Siemens

industrial PCs, migrating to the PCS 7 archi-

tecture, and adding the AS410-5H controller

and network infrastructure. The second

phase is converting the APACS+ I/O to PCS

7 I/O, and taking into account safety instru-

mented system (SIS) considerations.”

Spomer reports that some of the advan-

tages of Evonik’s upgrade plan include:

• Infrastructure is in place with industrial

Ethernet modules (IEM) for communica-

tion between the legacy APACS+ and PCS

7 AS410H controllers, using a common

PCS 7 OS HMI;

• Migration path forward is promoted

during the gray phase;

• HMI functions implemented via sequential

function chart (SFC) visualization face-

plates are now auto-generated from the

PCS 7 configuration;

• Removes up to two times the cost of

implementing ladder logic diagrams

(LLD) via detailed engineering labor

reduction; and

• SFC type can be applied to multiple unit

operations requiring same sequence.

Spomer adds that implementing SFC func-

tions on Evonik’s HMI will save an estimated

500 man-hours due to: savings on a per

sequence basis because multiple sequences

will now be identical; no sequence recre-

ation from APACS+ to PCS 7 once ACM

controllers are removed; and LLD being

phased out by SFC/CFC to allow for pro-

gramming and HMI advantages.

“The value gained during the gray phase of

migration includes linking phases together

with configuration, promoting our new phi-

losophy in the plant, and putting new I/O

in as PCS 7 I/O,” explains Spomer. “During

phase 2’s piecewise I/O hardware conver-

sion, we’ll easily stage-swap I/O, and there

will be minimal programming necessary

outside of channel driver software.”

In addition, Spomer reports that SFC HMI’s

advanced process library (APL) faceplates

provide an advantage for operators to

run successful sequences, while SFC code

enables APACS+ I/O to PCS 7 I/O transi-

tions without major, future reconfiguration.

“We’re also saving on engineering con-

figuration costs by using SFC type bulk

engineering capability,” he adds. “SFC HMI

faceplates give operators graphical and

numerical information about where they are

in a process without needing to view the

engineering logic, which can help reduce

cycle times and improve safety. Once

implemented, SFC types will be used for

HMI graphic process visualization in a future

training system with Siemens SIMIT simula-

tion software that we’ll put in next year to

train future operators.”



COMBINE TO CONQUEREnd users and system integrators report that

HMI simplification typically means bring-

ing together several interface and support

technologies that used to be separate and

required individual programming, configura-

tion and maintenance. For example, Kinetrex

Energy LNG (http://kinetrexenergy.com)

in Indianapolis, Ind., upgraded its controls

in 2014, but found it was constrained by its

many existing, siloed software packages.

Two years later, Kinetrex contracted with

Miller-Eads (www.miller-eads.com), an elec-

trical and automation contractor, also in

Indianapolis, to implement Ignition software

from Inductive Automation (https://induc-

tiveautomation.com) to help integrate its

software and systems. The liquefied natural

gas process at Kinetrex includes about 2,700

tags, 600 historical tags, approximately 50

screens, about 30 alarms, 12 clients including

eight workstations, two tablets and a mobile

display, standard Ignition architecture,

single site MySQL database, and a Microsoft

SQL database.

“We worked with Miller-Eads to identify,

develop, test and deploy solutions for HMI,

CMMS, data historian, trucking, logistical

order taking and processing, as well as

personnel time tracking and administrative

reporting,” says Charlie Hendrixson, auto-

mation services director at Miller-Eads. “We

also developed solutions that allow Kin-

etrex to easily export transaction data to

QuickBooks, and export customer-specific

transactions to FuelQuest. A tab-

let-launched project was deployed to allow

Kinetrex employees to complete indus-

try-required hourly equipment and process

inspections via tablet.

“We helped Kinetrex consolidate its existing

software, both SaaS and standard on-prem-

ises, to gain efficiency and functionality. The

unique aspect of this project is that Ignition

integrates every single part of Kinetrex’s

business process from the operator to the

accounting department.”

Travis Cox, co-director of sales engineering

at Inductive, adds, “There’s not a lot of new

HMI technologies, but there are new ways

of approaching them. For instance, many

people think of HMI and SCADA as one

thing, but they can be separated. SCADA is

usually the centrally located software and

screen, while HMIs must guarantee local

visibility and take care of edge functions.

However, users still want to manage their

HMIs centrally, but also make them part

of a larger ecosystem, and make changes

at their central desk that they can push to

hundreds of HMI and other edge devices.

Our two-year-old Ignition Edge and Ignition

Edge Panel provide local HMI, and can be

installed on any hardware the users wants,

including a low-cost Raspberry Pi board.

However, they’re also managed centrally,

and can talk MQTT to send data back to

corporate locations, the cloud and other

decision-making places.”



https://goo.gl/ZhfhNr

Jeff Hayes, regional product manager at

Beijer Electronics (http://beijerinc.com),

reports, “Similar to smart phones that are

merging functions like global positioning

systems (GPS) and adding apps as needed,

HMIs and PLCs with onboard computing,

memory and data storage are running oper-

ating systems and software, and if they

have multi-core processors, then they can

run all kinds of apps. With added software,

we can add PLC and I/O functions to HMIs,

and add more hardware and software to

design HMIs for more specific applications

on ships, packaging machines or oil rigs,

and give operators whatever objects they

need to see that will make a difference.”

Hayes adds, even though capacitive touch-

screens with sweep and multi-touch zoom

functions continue to replace traditional

resistive touchscreens, there’s also been

a move towards “screen-less HMIs” that

include a circuit board and CPU memory,

power, enclosure and networking, but

dispense with the usual display and touch-

screen, leaving that function to a third-party

handheld with HMTL 5 and wireless net-

working. “Opto 22’s groov is a good

example of a screen-less HMI that’s simple

and costs less because about half the cost

of an HMI is the screen,” he says.

In fact, Opto 22 (www.opto22.com)

announced a new version of groov in

October that embeds IIoT technologies

MQTT and OPC-UA drivers directly into

its industrial edge appliance. Added to its

groov View software for web and mobile

visualization and open-source Node-RED

development environment, Opto 22 says

its new release offers engineers, techni-

cians, and developers a comprehensive set

of tools for edge deployment in industrial

environments. These new embedded capa-

bilities are made possible through forging

close partnerships with Inductive and Cirrus

“Twenty years ago, many operators only accessed

a computer when they interacted with their SCADA

system at work, but now they use laptops, tablet PCs

and smart phones all the time, so their expectations

of the user experience is much greater.”



Link Solutions, and are part of the Ignition

Edge Onboard program.

Beyond skipping screens, Hayes says that

some HMIs are also adding calculation and

control capabilities. For example, Beijer

just released its X2 series of HMIs with PLC

functions, including X2 Extreme Sealed,

which is an HMI that doesn’t require an

enclosure because it can be mounted

almost anywhere. “Instead of a panel with

a DIN rail behind it, X2 has the HMI and

PLC all in one unit, which usually costs

half as much as running them separately,”

he adds.

ACCLIMATING TO INTERFACEEven with the best-designed, most-innova-

tive HMIs, developers report it can still take

time to get operators used to them. Luckily,

there are many helpful tools to get them up

to speed.

“For decades, SCADA has been the eyes

and hands of the PLC for the operator, but

modern SCADA hasn’t evolved as other

software has done,” says Mario Ishikawa,

co-founder and business director at scada-

HUB (scadahub.io), a CSIA-member system

integrator in Florianópolis, Brazil, which

often uses SCADA software from Elipse

(www.elipse.com.br) to build and renovate

HMI screens (Figure 1) for local power com-

panies and do outsourced SCADA projects

for other system integrators including some

in the U.S.

“Twenty years ago, many operators only

accessed a computer when they interacted

with their SCADA system at work, but now

they use laptops, tablet PCs and smart

phones all the time, so their expectations

of the user experience is much greater,”

adds Ishikawa. “Still, many in-plant screens

aren’t good and have old 3D graphics that

are too bright, so we’ve been programming

screens and graphics according to

principles in Hollifield and Habibi’s High

Performance HMI Handbook that stress

the actual needs of plants and users,

follow technical standards, and make HMIs

comfortable to use.”

Cox reports that Inductive also advises

its users to follow the handbook’s

techniques, such as presenting operators

with moving, analog indicators on their

HMIs. These vertical bars typically show

actual operating levels, but this data is

displayed within accepted operating

ranges, which are more effective for

maintaining operator awareness. [An

Inductive white paper on HMIs is located

at http://pages.inductiveautomation.

com/WhitePaperDesignLikeaPro_

HMIOptimization.html]

Ishikawa adds that new interfaces and

SCADA displays can be hard for users to

understand, but training can help them

progress from complaining on the first day

to acceptance and approval after the first

week. “We recently worked on renewing an



application with panel displays with a lot of

cells that weren’t comfortable, were visu-

ally polluted, and hard to read from just a

few feet away,” explains Ishikawa. “The new

system has a much more comfortable inter-

face, but because operators had learned the

right positions on the old displays, their first

reaction was not favorable. However, after

one week, they got used to the new dis-

plays that were less complex.”

To help operators adapt to new HMIs,

Malyszko reports that some vendors

have added built-in software objects with

common equipment status indicators to

provide a common look and feel through-

out a system. “When operators are doing

material transfers, for example, there may

be many manual hookups using proxim-

ity switches for validation of flow paths.

Software objects in newer HMIs allow us

There are several primary organizations and standards for developing human-machine interfaces

(HMI). They include:

• ISA101 (www.isa.org/isa101) and its committee cover menu hierarchies, screen navigation con-

ventions, graphics and color conventions, dynamic elements, alarming conventions, security

methods and electronic signature attributes, interfaces with background programming and

historical databases, popup conventions, help screens and methods used to work with alarms,

program object interfaces, and configuration interfaces to databases, servers and networks.

• Abnormal Situation Management (ASM) Consortium (www.asmconsortium.net) conducts

research and testing; evaluates solutions that develop and advance the collective knowledge of

its members; directs development of tools, best practices, services that facilitate the conversion

of ASM knowledge into practice; defines what abnormal situations are and discusses key causes

of abnormal situations; and helps users handle abnormal situations.

• Center for Operator Performance (www.operatorperformance.org) is a diverse group of indus-

try, vendor and academia representatives addressing human capabilities and limitations with

research, collaboration, and human factors engineering. Its mission is to raise the performance

level of operators and improve health, safety and environmental effectiveness by openly shar-

ing knowledge and ideas, including vendors in research decisions, teaming with leading human

factors researchers and universities, and collaborating with a focus on health, safety and envi-

ronment (HS&E).

• The High Performance HMI Handbook by Bill Hollifield, Dana Oliver, Ian Nimmo and Eddie Habibi

contains the best practices for assessing, designing and implementing proper process control

HMIs. It details many poor yet common HMI practices, provides justification for change, and

shows in detail the best ways to design and implement a high-performance HMI.

HMI standards and resources



to consolidate this verification informa-

tion into configurable faceplates to show if

their hookups are OK or not. For instance,

Rockwell Automation’s (www.rockwellau-

tomation.com) Library of Process Objects,

a part of the PlantPAx DCS, has built-in

permissive and interlock objects that can be

easily configured to show what’s holding up

a process. This means developers no longer

have to write custom code and one-off

graphics, but can instead use pre-devel-

oped, standard objects that are already

tested and valid. We’re not eliminating

application-specific code in the PLCs and

PACs, but rather simplifying the deploy-

ment for a more consistent and focused

user experience.”

SAFE AT THE EDGEAnother benefit of simpler HMIs and prior-

itized data is deploying these capabilities

further out in the field. For example, Lynch-

burg Regional Waste Treatment Plant

(www.lynchburgva.gov/wastewater) in

Lynchburg, Va., recently implemented

controls with an integrated development

environment (IDE) from Bedrock Automa-

tion (www.bedrockautomation.com) to

upgrade and control their dechlorination

and stormwater remediation applications.

The utility treats an average of 13 million

gallons per day from the city and sur-

rounding communities. System integrator

Instrulogic Corp. (www.instrulogic.com) in

Round Hill, Va., provided programming to

help deploy and integrate these functions

within the city’s existing Ignition SCADA/

HMI system from Inductive Automation.

“We wanted to transform from a centralized

to a distributed approach using edge con-

troller capabilities. Bedrock enables us to use

remote monitoring, bringing many devices

online into our SCADA system for the first

time,” explains Jason Hamlin, SCADA man-

ager, City of Lynchburg. “Providing public

access to the existing scanner/alarm in the

current environment meant opening access

to the SCADA system, which we could not

do. Bedrock’s cybersecurity allows us to

confidently monitor overflows and feed data

to the Ignition SCADA system, while provid-

ing public notifications.”

Chris Harlow, product and customer ser-

vice manager at Bedrock, adds that, “A lot

of infrastructure that’s more than 10 years

old can’t be torn out, so we need to better

protect PLCs that are in place. Bedrock’s

OSA platform helps secure legacy PLCs by

occupying slots between existing controls

and existing SCADA systems, and acting as

a hardware-based firewall that runs it’s own

control code. As a result, it doesn’t just pass

encrypted data, but also serves as a secure

proxy that monitors and translates data from

less-secure PLC protocols like Modbus, Prof-

inet and EtherNet/IP to more-secure OPC

UA using our public-private infrastructure,

and triggers alerts and alarms based on

anomalies that let users react in real time.

This is more effective than regular firewalls.”



http://www.otekcorp.com

While working to consolidate and automate its manufactur-ing processes for raw-material antigens, Grifols Diagnostic Solutions (www.

grifolsusa.com) in Emeryville, Calif., recently

implemented a process that allowed staff

to view data from process operations side-

by-side with information from plant utilities

and building systems, compare their perfor-

mance more quickly, and achieve efficiency

levels and optimization that would’ve been a

challenge with disparate data and controls.

Grifols’ antigens are used by suppliers

like Abbott and Siemens to manufacture

diagnostic kits, which are used to check

patients for blood ailments like hepati-

tis-C and others. Its Emeryville plant is a

full-suite biotech facility with upstream

yeast and e. coli, including fermentation

processes, clean-in-place (CIP) and support

equipment, and downstream purification

processes, centrifugation, chromatography,

filling and packaging applications, all con-

trolled by PLCs and a variety of pressure,

temperature, flow, dissolved oxygen (DO)

and pH instrumentation.

The plant’s challenge in past years was

consolidating from multiple buildings into

one, and migrating its mostly manual and

separated applications into an integrated

whole. It also added new tanks, pipes, utili-

ties and skids for water purification and cell

inactivation, and implemented a PlantPAx

distributed control system from Rockwell

Automation (www.rockwellautomation.

com) for the fermentation, CIP, building

automation and other units, such as porta-

ble tanks for preparing growth media.

Uniform interfaces unify biotech operationsWhile working to consolidate and automate its manufacturing processes for raw-material antigens, Grifols Diagnostic Solutions in Emeryville, Calif., recently implemented a process that allowed staff to view data from process operations side-by-side.

By Jim Montague



“The available existing infrastructure cre-

ated challenges to acquire data from our

current facilities that are spaced in separate

manufacturing islands,” says Zubin Najmi,

principal engineer at Grifols. “We also

hadn’t implemented a common historian,

plus we didn’t have adequate automa-

tion to get data to it, even if we did have

an historian. We got the new building, so

we could put in the necessary infrastruc-

ture to optimize our process with better

efficiencies and yields based on data, and

establish a common platform for our util-

ities, upstream and downstream process

trains to assist our operators, maintenance

people and managers.”

Najmi reports that Grifols has already com-

pleted a handful of two-week production

runs in its new one-building application,

which includes a week in fermentation and

transitions from 10-liter to 250-liter ves-

sels. So far, he adds, the process controls

are performing well. Formerly manual CIP

processes, as well as mixing and transfer

procedures are automated with recipes and

Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk Batch

and Sequence Manager software, which

saves a lot of time for operators.

Najmi explains, the Grifols plant’s process

and building controls begin to converge

around its air handling units and HVAC



http://www.pepperl-fuchs.com/hmi

systems, which are also run by the PlantPAx

DCS, though their actual controls don’t

interact. “Our process, utilities and building

controls run separately, but they’re

displayed on the same operator interface,

and have the same look and feel,” he says.

“This makes it easier to troubleshoot and

to correlate and optimize them in relation

to each other, and that’s what today’s big

data and easy access to information are

all about.”

The new process plant and its air handlers

also use Rockwell Automation Allen-Brad-

ley PowerFlex drives with EtherNet/IP

networking, which generate valuable data

about frequency, power and health infor-

mation, which is also displayed by the

PlantPAx system.

“We’re also using Rockwell Automation

FactoryTalk Alarms and Events software,

which benefits from having a common

alarm platform,” adds Najmi. “We can view

all of the facilities alarms in one place, his-

torize them, and pull them up as needed.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration

(FDA) and ISA 18.2 alarm standard stress

having an alarm philosophy, and these tools

make it a lot easier.”



http://www.explosionprotection.com

Najmi concludes, the first phase of Grifols’

consolidation project was getting the new

building and processes qualified, which is

mostly complete. Additional phases are

planned, including an expansion on the new

building’s second floor, which will house

other new production processes.

“The environmental conditions are just as

important as the process data to users

in the life sciences, food and beverage,

health and beauty, and other industries, and

recording their process now includes col-

lecting process control and environmental

data, too,” says Chris Steffas, application

center manager for the global solutions

delivery team at Rockwell Automation.

“This is where the value of a common archi-

tecture is demonstrated. For instance, a

common control platform makes it easier

to show compliance with regulatory and

quality requirements because users can

present their process and environmental

data together.”

Steffas adds, the value of the PlantPAx DCS

can be leveraged equally well by opera-

tions, engineering, quality/validation staff

and managers, even though they have dif-

ferent skills and objectives. “Operations

and facilities have different requirements,

but each can use the common platform

of the PlantPAx system,” he explains. “For

example, if a user knows how to add a valve

or a temperature transmitter in one area,

then a common platform means they can

do it across all areas in their facility, and it

will report back in the same way from all

of them. Previously, users had to employ

signal splitters to send data to different

supervisory systems, but now they can add

a device or alarm once, its data is shared

with both systems, and anyone has access

to the information.”



http://proface.lead-central.com/219

If it had a face—and it sort of does—would you recognize supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) if you saw it on the street? Would SCADA even recognize

itself in a mirror these days?

Chance are, probably not. This is because

all the earth-shaking shifts due to data dig-

italization and the Internet are also turning

SCADA on its head, and taking it in entirely

new directions. Granted, its conceptual

borders were always pretty porous—some

water/wastewater users think it’s their

entire control system, while others consider

it limited to just their human-machine inter-

face (HMI), However, even as it continues

to display collected information in many

applications, the accelerating influence of

cloud and virtualized computing services

and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)

SCADA reflects and reinventsThe cloud, IIoT, virtualization and other forces are reshaping supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) into new forms and functions, but can they do it securely?

By Jim Montague

KIWI WATER COMPLIANCEFigure 1: The municipal water/wastewater treatment and distribution system in Ham-ilton, New Zealand, recently upgraded its SCADA system to Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk Historian ME and VantagePoint software to improve reporting, system sta-bility and compliance with drinking water standards requiring it to retain operating records for 10 years and generate monthly reports. Source: Hamilton City Council and Rockwell Automation



are pulling SCADA into strange shapes to

perform unfamiliar tasks beyond its tradi-

tional jurisdiction.

“Where utilities used to have second

and third redundant control and SCADA

systems for comprehensive disaster

recovery, they’re now synching with dupli-

cate systems in the cloud,” says Michael

Chmielewski, offer management VP, pro-

cess safety and SCADA, Schneider Electric

(www.schneider-electric.us). “We have one

large, U.K.-based gas utility that’s talking

about moving its whole SCADA system to

the cloud. SCADA isn’t going to dissolve,

but it’s going to become more of a secure

service deployed out of the cloud.”

SEEKING DEFINITIONS“Even as a broad term, SCADA is not a dis-

tinct thing anymore. Now it’s all about the

data, and how what used to be SCADA is

converging with and incorporating a whole

bunch of new technologies,” says Chuck

Tommey, P.E., business development man-

ager at A&E Engineering (www.aeengineer.

com) in Greer, S.C., a member of the Con-

trol System Integrators Association (CSIA,

www.controlsys.org). “On-premise SCADA

with servers in racks, Ethernet to PLCs and

HMIs are still perfectly valid and will con-

tinue for a long time, but we’re on the brink

of a big mindset change.

“We’ve all heard about the cloud, IoT and

data analytics for 10 years, especially from

the information technology (IT) side, but

now they’re converging with operations

technology (OT) on the plant floor. Virtu-

alization, IIoT, cloud computing and data

analytics are all part of SCADA, or they

can be used to enhance or manage it. This

means the most successful end users and

companies will be those with well-inte-

grated IT/OT teams or IT departments with

significant understanding of OT.”

NEW SANDBOXES, NEW SHOVELSLogically, because the cloud, virtualization

and IIoT multiply the connections a SCADA

system can have with other systems, they

also increase the number of different func-

tions it can take on—along with the tools to

perform them.

To monitor and control more than 200

megawatts (MW) of utility-level, solar

generating capacity at five plants built by

Depcom Power (www.depcompower.com)

in Scottsdale, Ariz., Vertech (http://vertech.

com), a CSIA-member system integrator

in Phoenix, Ariz., developed an innovative

SCADA system that could handle each

facility’s thousands of connected devices

from many vendors. They include 15,000

tags, 30 screens, 10 clients, 10,000 alarms,

one local Microsoft SQL database, one off-

site database and 2,000 historized tags.

Besides coping with the volume of tags,

Josh McGuigan, Vertech senior control sys-

tems integrator, reports that Depcom’s new

SCADA system also needed to be robust to



cope with new plant rollouts and data levels

that can quickly become overwhelming.

“For the solar power plant SCADA system at

Depcom’s plants, we used Inductive Auto-

mation’s (https://inductiveautomation.com)

standard Ignition software architecture,

including one local historian and one con-

nection to a database in the cloud,” explains

McGuigan. “On a typical site, an Ignition

gateway will be directly connected to

nearly 100 devices. However, some of those

devices act as gateways themselves, so the

total system is used to monitor and control

around 3,000 devices, which amounts to

more than 15,000 I/O tags per site.”

McGuigan adds that intelligent reporting,

which does more than provide the top

1,000 rows of a database table in a tabular

format, is essential for large solar arrays.

Using advanced scripting in the Ignition

Reporting module, Vertech designed a

report that analyzes data from hundreds

or thousands of strings of solar panels to

highlight low-performing equipment and

prioritize operations and maintenance

team activities.

“Ignition lets us provide a SCADA system

for Depcom that improves on the industry’s

status quo,” adds McGuigan. “Users now

have more data available and their interface

is easier to use, allowing operations and

maintenance teams to be more effective in

identifying and troubleshooting issues. The

analysis of site performance data, which

used to be a manual task, is now auto-

mated, so any site performance issues are

quickly brought to the appropriate people.”

DEALING WITH (BIG) DATASo, what can cloud-enhanced SCADA

do with its new powers? Probably the

most important job is make sense of the

buckets of data coming in from all its

new connections.

For instance, the water supply system in

Hamilton, New Zealand, consists of one

treatment plant that sources water from the

Waikato River, and delivers it through more

than 1,000 km of pipes to eight reservoirs

and more than 150,000 residents (Figure

1). The city also runs the Pukete Wastewa-

ter Treatment Plant (WWTP). To comply

with drinking water standards that New

“SCADA isn’t going to dissolve, but it

is going to become more of a secure

service deployed out of the cloud.”



Zealand revised in 2008, including retain-

ing operating records for 10 years, the city

had implemented Rockwell Automation’s

(www.rockwellautomation.com) RSView 32

SCADA system 10 years ago, but its manual

data recording to Microsoft Exel spread-

sheets recently needed upgrading.

“Our previous system was outdated and

we required an upgrade to help simplify the

process of complying with current water

regulations in New Zealand,” says Gary Pit-

caithly, automation and electrical manager

at Hamilton City Council. “Not only that, but

we identified the potential for improving

operational efficiencies at the plant by imple-

menting an integrated system that aims to

increase productivity and reduce downtime.”

As a result, Hamilton implemented Rockwell

Automation’s latest FactoryTalk software,

including its FT View SE, FT Historian,

FT Vantage Point, FT Asset Centre and

FT ViewPoint, which provides real-time

exchange of information throughout appli-

cations and organizations for improved

business decisions, responsiveness and

productivity; reduced costs, and easier

regulatory compliance with long-term

data storage and automatically generated

reports. Staff can also externally manage

the system via tablet PCs or smart phones.

“The upgrade has delivered greater ease of

use of our system throughout the WWTP,”

adds Pitcaithly.

AFFORDABILITY AIDS ADOPTIONAnother of the unglamorous—but still cru-

cial—advantages that cloud and virtualized

computing add to SCADA systems is the

fact that they can quickly help reduce

operating costs after a relatively small

investment at the beginning.

For example, to help smaller and rural

water/wastewater utilities perform data

acquisition, alarming, reporting and other

SCADA functions on a budget, system

integrator Perceptive Controls (www.per-

ceptivecontrols.com) in Plainwell, Mich.,

developed its Perceptive Polaris cellular,

cloud-based SCADA system and software,

which employs SNAP PAC controls from

Opto 22 (www.opto22.com), and avoids

using costly servers and hardware. One of

the key development challenges Percep-

tive’s engineers faced was how to reduce

data sent between lift stations on the

SCADA network.

“We knew that using cellular modems

meant one of the most important require-

ments of this project would be the ability to

transmit the smallest data packets possible,

with as much data in each packet as possi-

ble,” says Kevin Finkler, software engineer

at Perceptive Controls. “We had to stay

under the data caps of the cellular provider

we planned to use.”

The system integrator first tried posting

data from a controller to a cloud-based



server, but testing showed this method was

too slow, and couldn’t send configuration

changes back to controllers. While con-

sidering alternate options for transferring

data, Perceptive’s developers investigated

SNAP PAC’s Representational state trans-

fer (RESTful) application programming

interface (API) capabilities, which include a

built-in, secure HTTP/S server with an open,

documented API that creates a RESTful

architecture. RESTful and its technologies,

like HTTP/S and JavaScript Object Notation

(JSON) are intrinsic to IoT and essential

for web, data and mobile-based applica-

tion development.

“After switching to the new RESTful API

method, we now have a cloud-based soft-

ware application running on a dedicated

server that uses SNAP PAC’s RESTful API to

request data directly from the controller,”

explains Finkler. “Requests are made over

a private cellular network to avoid cyber-

security concerns, and avoid opening ports

in firewalls. We store data in float tables on

the PAC (about 44 indexes per table), and

the software can grab up to 100 tables per

request without slowing performance.”

Perceptive’s cloud application then uses

the RESTful API to write back how many

tables were retrieved, so the controller can

delete the old data, and move everything

up in the table with new data again at the

top. This ensures that all data is received

into the cloud application. “It’s more effi-

cient to make the cloud application process

large amounts of data, instead of making

the controller do the work in addition to

its normal operations,” adds Finkler. “This

method saved an average of 5.8 kb per data

set transmitted, which ended up saving us

about 250 MB per day, adding up to signifi-

cant savings in cellular data charges.”

A&E’s Tommey adds, “We see a lot of low-

er-cost SCADA solutions at shows, but

when you get down to it, their initial cost is

still high for users. However, when OT and

IT converge in the cloud, they can reduce

SCADA and other costs, and turn many

capital expenses into operating costs. Plus,

“Plant management that previously had

to migrate SCADA equipment every

three to five years can now extend

their lifecycles to 10 to 15 years.”



today’s subscriber-based fee structures can

reduce costs even more, especially at the

front end, where these expenses can be

hard for users to swallow.”

For instance, Tommey reports that a typical

SCADA project with three servers, wired

and wireless networking, field devices and

software licensing can add up fast to an

average of $100,000, while an equivalent,

subscriber-based version on the cloud may

only cost $10,000 upfront with added sub-

scription fees on a monthly or annual basis.

“This is a lot more approachable for users in

their local budgets,” says Tommey.

Despite this tenfold cost reduction,

Tommey adds that many potential users

remain reluctant to do SCADA in the cloud

due to security concerns, worries that Inter-

net links will go down, and anxiety that their

data won’t always be available to them. “As

connectivity gets more reliable, more users

will make the switch,” he says.

To help users handle the transition from

traditional SCADA to the cloud, Tommey

adds that A&E is designing hybrid systems

with local, secure, second-by-second data

storage using traditional HMI and historian

software (such as Ignition, Wonderware,

WinCC, OSI Pi or FactoryTalk), and then

sends only certain pieces of data to the

cloud for analysis. The cloud allows this

data and analytical results to be more

available via tablet PCs and smart phones.

“This enables some remote data access,

distributed alerting, machine learning and

prescriptive maintenance without putting

everything in the cloud,” Tommey adds.

SECURITY UNDERPINS EVERYTHINGWhile the many benefits of cloud-enabled

and IIoT-aided SCADA are terrific, these

added connections to higher-level networks

and the Internet come with increased risk

of probes, intrusions and attacks, which

demand updated cybersecurity and con-

stant vigilance by staff.

“The big bugaboo impacting all these new

technologies is cybersecurity, especially in the

OT space,” explains A&E’s Tommey. “Cyber-

security must be addressed as a continuous

cycle, but a lot of companies on the OT side

don’t understand this yet. They all did 20-30

years of work on lean process improvement,

and that continuous improvement thought

process must be extended to cybersecu-

rity. The problem is this security monitoring

piece doesn’t exist in 95% of manufacturing

facilities because they just have traditional

air-gapped equipment or firewalls. There’s

more security monitoring on the IT side, but

there’s very little on the plant-floor side, and

many small startups and larger suppliers are

seeking to fill these gaps.”



http://www.RittalEnclosures.com

If you can’t see the forest for all the trees, it’s time get up above those trees.Because the need to know what’s

going on in process applications always

demands more data and finer resolution

from more places, one useful indicator just

sparks the desire for more. That’s why,

after process control engineers and other

plant-floor professionals gain mobile tools

and software, they still want to accelerate

and diversify their capabilities even

further, and extend them to new locations

and applications.

“We had one user with a telescope pointed

at a level instrument on an elevated water

tower across town, which he used regu-

larly until we added a supervisory control

and data acquisition (SCADA) system and

radio,” says Robert Touchton, chief design

officer at MR Systems (www.mrsystems.

com), a CSIA-certified system integrator in

Norcross, Ga. “He even kept the telescope

for awhile during the transition period.”

Similarly, when human-machine interface

(HMI) and SCADA systems gained Ethernet

and Internet networking that let them move

out of the control room, and bring data

in and send instructions out via handheld

interfaces, tablet PCs and smart phones,

it was logical and probably inevitable that

they’d keep going. Recently, they’ve been

going beyond fixed wireless devices to take

to the skies with multi-rotor drones, also

known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV),

which are typically equipped with cameras,

video recorders, laser or radar measuring

instruments, and other support devices.

Mobility rises aboveSpurred by the freedom granted by earlier mobility tools, many process users are further increasing their range with more diverse solutions—and even taking flight.

By Jim Montague



Eric Lauber, project engineer at Matrix Technologies (www.matrixti.com), a CSIA-certified system

integrator in Maumee, Ohio, reports that, "Mobility means different things. Within a plant, it can

mean not being tied to a particular station, and being able to move around. Or, it can mean not

being in a plant at all, and accessing applications via tablet PCs and mobile phones off-prem-

ises. More recently, some of those tablets can be rated for Class I, Div. 2 safety environments, or

comply with non-intrinsically safe (IS) requirements, which are often needed in food processing

and petrochemical facilities. The point is, each situation is unique, and we have to ask questions to

learn what each one needs."

Before buying and installing mobility devices, Lauber explains, it's important for users to ask

and answer several questions:

• In what operational area are mobile devices going to be used?

• What restrictions exist in those areas?

• What safety levels are required?

• How durable must mobile devices be to be viable in those settings?

• If durability is unavoidably limited, how many spare devices will likely be needed?

"If you're going to use mobile devices in tank fields and other outdoor applications, they'll

also have to deal with inclement weather and need protection," says John Lee, department

manager of the Manufacturing Systems and Solutions division at Matrix. "These are the same

questions we have to answer for cabinets, panels, electronic components and any other equip-

ment in those environments."

Lauber explains, "It may turn out that a mobile device requires a hot work permit to be used.

In these scenarios, its use must be treated like welding or similar actions. Some recent consumer

devices, like the Galaxy Note 7 mobile phone, are known to catch fire, so devices need to be

tested and certified for use in industrial areas."

Lee adds that Matrix has always interviewed clients and onsite stakeholders about their busi-

ness needs, pain points and what they're trying to accomplish before trying to standardize their

work processes and further digitize their applications, and that mobility is a logical add-on to

this process.

"If a customer wants to start using iPads, then we also talk about security because home use

is different than the proper execution, requirements, solutions, safety and protecting intellectual

property needed in manufacturing," he explains. "If staff wants to take tablet PCs home from

work, is critical information going with it? There's a lot to be gained with mobility, but users have

to follow sensible procedures and best practices."

Defined, tailored, protected mobility



“We use drones because they can give us

more information about sites,” says MR’s

Touchton. “We’d already been doing 3D

renderings of facilities, but drones can add

a lot of data because many water/waste-

water plants don’t have any aerial pictures,

which can help them orient and place

equipment during design and installation, or

show, for example, where special mounting

brackets need to be installed.”

INFORMATION ON THE MOVEIn the past, if the proverbial mountain of

data couldn’t come to its users, then they’d

have to go to the information. However,

some recent mobility solutions are loosen-

ing up the constraints of that old reality,

and just as often putting “wheels” on data

and bringing information back to users.

“Mobility can be transformative because

it gives more data to the right individuals,

brings in transparency and visibility to show

what’s going on, lets managers see from a

high level how efficiently their operations

and facilities are running, and lets users

interact with each other more effectively,”

says John Lee, manager of the Manufac-

turing Systems and Solutions division at

Matrix Technologies (www.matrixti.com),

a CSIA-certified system integrator, this

time in Maumee, Ohio. “Mobility can assist

maintenance rounds, data collection and

commissioning. Where users previously

gathered information on Excel spread-

sheets and sampled, audited and validated

it, mobile devices let them collect and

analyze data much closer to real-time for

almost immediate feedback and distribution

to other users. In one large refinery where

we worked with thousands of instruments,

mobility enabled better maintenance accu-

racy, less errors due to manual entry, and

immediate and thorough data tracking.”

To aid these efforts, Lee reports that Matrix

produces software for tablet PCs and other

mobile tools that queries operators for their

one- or four-hour checks, data reads and

log entries for their processes, and asks

dynamic questions based on the differ-

ent shifts peculiar to each application. “As

production workflows get more digitized,

mobility can help enforce them, and make

sure that standardized, required steps and

action sequences are performed, tracked

and followed up,” he adds. “This also gives

users better analytics about operations per

day, overall process performance, or how

long future installations or other changes

will take.”

Eric Lauber, project engineer at Matrix, adds

that mobile interfaces also make it easier for

users to employ metadata—or information

about other data collections—to improve

their decisions. “Previously, we might know

how many process inspections were made

for scheduling and staffing,” he says. “But

now, we access central data repositories

with mobile devices, put that data into his-

torical and future contexts, compare the



performance of different sequences and

teams, gain insights and find bottlenecks we

couldn’t expect to know about before, and

make adjustments for individual applica-

tions and clients.”

HMIS EVERYWHERENot surprisingly, mobility these days often

means proliferating interfaces in new sizes

and formats, putting more cameras, moni-

tors and eyeballs in the field or close to it,

and sometimes supplementing displays with

virtual- and/or augmented-reality overlays

containing useful support information.

To manage increasing demands on their

water/wastewater, transportation, environ-

mental and renewable power systems more

efficiently, Carson City Public Works (www.

carson.org/government/departments-g-z/

public-works) recently deployed several

mobile and virtualization technologies. The

utility daily purifies and delivers more than

22 million gallons of water and recycles 6.9

million gallons of wastewater, controls solar

plants that generate 748,000 kwh per year,

and manages the municipality’s truck fleet

and traffic signals.

New technologies adopted include iPads

and smart phones that allow the utility’s

operators and managers to increase their

remote monitoring capabilities across three

Nevada counties. The devices were inte-

grated with Wonderware SCADA software

that Carson City has used since 1992, and

with its Wonderware InTouch HMI software,

both from Schneider Electric (www.schnei-

der-electric.com). Remote operations were

brought to the mobile interfaces by imple-

menting the Wonderware Mobile Reporting

application with SmartGlance software,

which makes their information, key perfor-

mance indicators (KPIs) and Wonderware

Historian data easy to read and manipu-

late using smart phone screen navigation

(Figure 1).

“SmartGlance gives our staff instant access

to KPIs and process information on their

iPads and smart phones, which increases

situational awareness and allows us to be

more efficient,” says Darren Schulz, deputy

director at Carson City Public Works.

James Jacklett, electrical/signal supervi-

sor at Carson City Public Works, adds that,

ALWAYS-ON AWARENESSFigure 1: Operators and managers at Car-son City Public Works use iPads and smart phones with Wonderware by Schneider Electric's SCADA, HMI and SmartGlace software to improve operational awareness and efficiency of their water/wastewater, solar power and transportation applications, and save 15% on drive-time hours. Source: Schneider Electric



“Integrating with Wonderware also gives us

real-time status indications, alarm notifica-

tions and communications historization for

effective monitoring of our transportation,

power and water systems, providing better

operational readiness.”

So far, Schulz and Jacklett say their Won-

derware-enabled iPads and smart phones

have reduced operations staff hours by 15%

due to drive-time savings, and allowed the

department’s more than 120 staffers to tran-

sition their workweek schedules from five

eight-hour days to four 10-hour days.

Likewise, when Prima Frutta (www.pri-

mafrutta.com) in Linden, Calif., sought to

revamp its cherry production line in 2015

to make it the world’s largest by increasing

throughput 50% without increasing staff, it

enlisted Industrial Automation Group (IAG,

www.automationgroup.com), a CSIA-cer-

tified system integrator in Modesto, Calif.,

to help with the upgrade and expand its

existing implementation of Ignition SCADA

software from Inductive Automation

(https://inductiveautomation.com) to the

new cherry line. Ignition lets Prima Frutta to

share line data with 10 managers and 900

workers via more than 120 screens scat-

tered throughout the facility.

“Every second counts, so it’s very import-

ant to provide data to our staff on the plant

floor,” says Tom Augello, production man-

ager at Prima Frutta. “If a change is coming,

whether it’s in size, quality or variety, our

people have a very short time to react, so

we put that information up, flash alerts or

use different colors to make sure every-

one sees it. The large productivity increase

we’ve seen with Ignition is from these

added screens.”

Beyond its larger, fixed monitors, Prima

Frutta uses 10 tablet PCs from Dell to

directly control the cherry line. The tablets

have stationary holders, but they can also

be carried around the plant for full SCADA

with Ignition and networking via four wire-

less access points from Moxa (www.moxa.

com).

Jason Kieffer, project manager at IAG,

reports that Prima Frutta could have used

industrially hardened tablet PCs, but chose

less costly, consumer-grade tablets because

they’re easy to replace if needed, and were

easy to implement with Ignition. IAG also

mimicked Prima Frutta’s existing servers

by building a digital twin of them at IAG’s

office, which let the integrator develop

the new application in its native environ-

ment, and accelerated its installation and

accuracy. “It was so quick. Within two

hours of pulling a tablet out of the box, we

were running the application on it,” says

Kieffer. “We were really surprised at how

quickly it went.”

Greg Sinigaglia, production manager at

Prima Frutta, confirmed that using Ignition



on the tablets and larger monitors saves

time and money. “Let’s take grading of

the fruit as an example,” says Sinigaglia.

“Before, we had to walk down and look at

the quality and see what the sorters were

doing. Now, with Ignition, we have all this

information displayed on screens. There’s

no more running around from spot to spot.”

SIMPLICITY = USABILITYJust like a hiker with a lighter backpack,

mobility in process facilities is greatly aided

by newer tools that are simpler and lighter,

which allows them to be used more fre-

quently. For instance, Kice Industries (www.

kice.com) in Wichita, Kan., designs and

builds industrial air systems for the flour

milling, biofuels, food and energy indus-

tries, and staff in its system integration

division always welcome better ways to

migrate large distributed control systems

(DCS), building panels, and implement-

ing numerous valves, instruments and

other components.

“We just installed a good-sized biofuel proj-

ect with 600-700 instruments and valves,

and expanded another biofuel plant with

1,200-1,400 instruments and valves, and we

thought there had to be a better way than

the outdated, 15-pound, $6,000-$7,000

handheld we’d been using to program,

test and commission HART valves, check

instruments and do loop checks,” says Peter

Love, senior systems engineer for automa-

tion at Kice. “Eventually, we came across

DevComDroid smart device communicator

from ProComSol (https://procomsol.com),

which costs $1,000-$2,000, and includes a

Bluetooth HART modem and app for doing

complete HART device configurations with

an Android smart phone.”

DevComDroid uses registered device

description (DD) files from the FieldComm

Group (https://fieldcommgroup.org) for

complete access to all features of a HART

device. All members of Kice’s onsite teams

can use it, including electricians, field com-

missioning staff and plant DCS operators.

“The main advantage for everyone is that

DevComDroid is a lot less weight because

all we’re carrying is an Android smart phone

and the 2 x 3 x 3 in. modem in our pock-

ets. This portability means we can have it

with us at all times, and use it more often,”

explains Love. “Also, the battery on the

old communicator only lasted two or three

hours, so we had to haul a spare around.

DevComDroid lasts as long as our smart

phone battery, which is usually all day. The

modem also has wire leads that allow it

to be clipped to a scissor lift, or otherwise

brought close to an instrument, while we

make changes from a safe distance. With

the old communicator, we’d have to be

right at the device.”

Beyond the benefit that HART data appears

the same on a smart phone as it does

on the older communicator, Love adds



it’s easier to apply software updates to

DevComDroid and store information by just

plugging in the smart phone. “A multivari-

able flow transmitter has a commissioning

process, so you have to backup data from

the communicator to a PC. However, most

communicators have been limited in how

much configuration data they could store—

maybe 100 procedures—so active-stop and

storage operations were needed to free

space,” says Love. “With smart phones and

tablet PCs, we have far more data storage

available, and transfers are easier to file

servers, other PCs and the cloud. Plus, we

can backup configurations, store them a

PDF documents, and email them. With the

old communicator, we also had to deal with

complex file formats and proprietary soft-

ware to handle configurations.

“In all, I think we’ve saved 25-30% on our

commissioning time based on what we do

all day, added portability and battery life,

and the fact that we can do more by having

our smart phones with us all the time. Plus,

an old communicator can’t email you at 1

a.m., but a smart phone can do it. Also, a lot

of system integration work is done remotely

these days, so we’re also saving on travel

and achieving a better quality of life.”

STAY SAFE OUT THEREBeyond keeping networks and communi-

cations secure, many users and suppliers

stress that effective mobility tools must also

be employed to keep users and applications

safe, often by continuously monitoring

their locations.

To keep better track of its remote workers,

for example, pump and valve supplier KSB

Industrial Services (www.ksb.com) recently

adopted Spot LLC’s (www.findmespot.com)

Tracker device with satellite-based global

positioning system (GPS) chip to keep track

of staffers servicing equipment in remote

areas where there are often no cellular sig-

nals. Usually employed by backpackers,

Tracker was configured by KSB to transmit

GPS data in XML format. Next, Inductive’s

FactorySQL software collects the XML data

into an SQL database, and prepares it for

use by Inductive’s FactoryPMI software,

which can create dynamic applications for

analyzing lone worker whereabouts. KSB

calls this solution its Personnel On Site

Tracking System (POSTs). It’s now set up

on KSB’s servers, and users only have to

pay $100 per GPS unit and $80 per month

for unlimited monitoring, alerts and reports.

To protect mobile users wherever they’re

located, Jason Schexnayder, sales director

for the ecom division of Pepperl+Fuchs

(www.pepperl-fuchs.com), reports it

recently launched the world’s first explo-

sion-proof tablet PC approved for use in

Zone 1/Div. 1 and Zone 2/Div. 2 settings.

Developed in cooperation with Samsung,

Tab-Ex 01 can retrieve data in real time,

interact with remote experts and back-

end systems, and use optional cameras to



capture and respond to maintenance errors

and other issues.

“All kinds of technologies related to mobil-

ity, such as Bluetooth, RFID, tablet PCs,

smart phones, cameras, WiFi and cellular,

are combining to provide more data and

enable better decisions,” says Schexnay-

der. “However, if you need redundancy,

then you’re going to need at least a

couple of them.”

DRIVEN TO DRONESThough remote-controlled, multi-prop, min-

iature helicopters or drones for exploring

and monitoring process applications may

seem exotic, some plants report they’ve

been used for years to examine equipment

in especially inaccessible locations, such as

towers and remote pipelines and cables.

Instead of using cranes or building scaffold-

ing to reach the top of a flare stack with

no ladder, for example, they simply fly a

drone to the top, and use its high-resolution

video camera to gather detailed equipment

health data and wear-and-tear status. Sim-

ilarly, power companies have long used

full-size helicopters to let technicians check

power lines, and many of them now use

drones, too.

Touchton reports that MR has employed

drones for about a year in more than 10

projects. It often helps conduct surveys for

wireless/radio installations, which means

it’s no longer necessary for MR to bring in

and raise a tower. The system integrator

typically uses a Phantom 3 quad-copter

from DJI (www.dji.com) with 4K (four times

high-definition) camera with 1,920 x 1,080

pixels, which costs about $1,500, though

overall UAV prices have been dropping

recently (Figure 2).

MR’s drone usually flies at less than 300-

400 feet, and can stay up for about 30

minutes on one battery charge. Though the

system integrator doesn’t race its drones

like many recreational users, Touchton

adds that DJI’s drones can travel at up to

50 mph. These drones usually operate at

a maximum distance of three miles, but

Touchton reports that adding an ampli-

fier to MR’s has given it a range of up to

20 miles. [A video showing how MR uses

UP, UP AND UAV Figure 2: MR Systems uses its Phantom 3 quad-copter 4K camera with 1,920 x 1,080 pixels to fly at less than 300-400 feet and conduct surveys for wireless/radio instal-lations. The drone can stay up for about 30 minutes on one battery charge, and can travel at up to 50 mph. Source: DJI



drones to develop SCADA graphics is at

www.mrsystems.com/videos.]

“At height, the 4K camera’s real-time feed

shows the operator where the drone is, and

lets us zoom in but still maintain resolu-

tion, so we can see what’s happening,” he

explains. “The drone is controlled by an app

on an iPad, and it can be guided manually,

or it can execute a predefined flight. We’re

using it mostly for video surveys of proj-

ects, so we’re not using it to help assist any

operations yet, though it could be used for

that purpose.”

However, as MR’s operators gain experi-

ence with their Phantom 3 drone and its

controls, the applications where it can be

applied will almost certainly multiply. For

example, a drone with a tether and power

cable could remain aloft 24/7, and serve in

place of a tower. “For now, we just want to

rent a laser or radar unit for the drone, put

it in the middle of a room or facility, let it

scan, and automatically pull readings into

3D Max software to generate renderings.

This would let us scan and measure build-

ings that we usually have to measure and

model manually.”

Touchton’s advice to other potential drone

users is to buy or rent an affordable model,

practice with it, and learn where it might

be most useful in their own projects and

applications. “My eight- and 11-year-old kids

have flown ours, and even I haven’t crashed

yet,” he adds. “One of our other operators

did crash recently, but all we had to do was

replace a rotor.”

Likewise, IATEC Plant Solutions, an engi-

neering and construction firm in Sao Paulo,

SKY-HIGH SURVEYINGFigure 3: E&C firm IATEC used a DJI Inspire 1 UAV with 12-megapixel Zenmuse X3 camera con-trolled by Pix4Dcapture flight-planning software and compatible DJI SDK software to conduct an aerial, photogrammetric survey of a Petrobras-UTGCA gas-treatment plant in Brazil, fly automatic routes in 10 areas, and capture 2,588 images of the 750,000-sq-m plant in just three days. Source: IATEC and Pix4D



Brazil, recently used a DJI Inspire 1 UAV

with 12-megapixel Zenmuse X3 camera

controlled by Pix4Dcapture flight-plan-

ning software and compatible DJI SDK

software to conduct an aerial, photogram-

metric survey of a large Petrobras-UTGCA

gas-treatment plant in Brazil. The survey

was needed to update 3D models, draw-

ings and databases of the plant, but the

job needed to be done without costly laser

scanning or a risky, time-consuming visual

inspection (Figure 3).

“Using telemetry data from GPS and GloN-

aSS satellite systems, Pix4Dcapture’s app

allowed Inspire to automatically fly routes

optimized for mapping,” stated IATEC’s

Luciano Araujo and Henrique Marques. “In

just three days, Inspire 1 captured 2,588

grid-based nadir and free-flight oblique

images in 10 sub-sections of the 750,000-

sq-m plant, and stitched them together with

Pix4Dmapper software, which is compatible

with IATEC’s CAD/CAE software and con-

figuration settings.”



http://www.unitronicsPLC.com

Paul Studebaker is chief editor of Con-trol. He earned a master’s degree in metallurgical engineering and gath-ered 12 years experience in manufacturing

before becoming an award-winning writer

and editor for publications including Control

and Plant Services.

Starting up a new unit, facility or control

system can be the thrill of a lifetime, even

when everything goes according to plan.

An operator training simulator (OTS) can

contribute to that success by allowing

operators to be trained before startup, and

providing a way to test and improve the

controls. “You can shave off enough startup

time to pay for the system – it doesn’t take

many days to pay for it,” said Greg Rogers,

director of control engineering, Enterprise

Products. It also can help you achieve best

practices in operations, improve productiv-

ity and prevent upsets.

But only if it’s done right. Enterprise

Products is a leading North American

provider of midstream energy services

including natural gas processing, pipeline

transportation, storage and marine

services. “Enterprise exports more propane

than any country in the world, including

the U.S., if you take us out,” Rogers

told attendees of his session, “OTS: A

Safe BET,” on the topic of OTS benefits,

execution and traps (BET) at Honeywell

Users Group Americas 2016, this week in

San Antonio. He recently completed an

OTS project on a new system, and while he

didn’t go into details about the process, he

did say, “If it was just a simple fractionator,

we wouldn’t be here.”

Operator training simulator opens minds at EnterpriseEnergy services provider Enterprise Products describes how an OTS can be used to improve productivity, uptime and reliability – and pay for itself in just a few days.

By Paul Studebaker



LEARN BY DOINGLearning retention studies show that short

of actually teaching someone else, the most

effective way to learn is by practice, which

results in 75% retention. Simulation is a

safe way to allow operators to practice. An

OTS is a computer-based training system

that uses a dynamic simulation of a process

integrated into a replicated plant control

system. Components include dynamic sim-

ulation software, a process model, operator

and instructor interface, and control system

integration software. Depending on how it’s

specified and executed, the combination

of operator training and process simulation

can help:

• Better train operations staff on the pro-

cess; Train prior to startup

• Give better response to upsets and

at startup and shutdown; Reduce

startup time;

• Increase facility uptime with safer opera-

tions and improved reliability;

• Allow refresher training; Provide evalua-

tion tools;

• Standardize best practices among opera-

tors; Improve operating procedures;

• Protect production, prevent equipment

damage and avoid environmental upsets;

• Avoid costs of poor quality, material loss

and reprocessing; Validate control and

logic systems; and,

• Debottleneck and test plant oper-

ating ranges without upsetting the

running plant.

“Avoiding a mistake that costs two days of

downtime can save a lot of money.” Enter-

prise Products’ Greg Rogers discussed the

benefits, execution and potential pitfalls

of online training simulators at this week’s

Honeywell Users Group Americas.

Best practices can improve productivity

and increase reliability by retraining “the

overcautious control operator who is not

making you money, and the one who’s run-

ning the plant on the jagged edge,” said

Rogers. Well trained operators make fewer

mistakes, and “Avoiding a mistake that

“Avoiding a mistake that costs two days of downtime can save a lot of money.” Enter-prise Products’ Greg Rogers discussed the benefits, execution and potential pitfalls of online training simulators at this week’s Hon-eywell Users Group Americas.



costs two days of downtime can save a lot

of money,” he added.

Simulation also can be used to validate

the control logic, tuning and fidelity of the

models, and provide a test bed for process

improvements. “I can see issues and get

them fixed before they affect production,”

Rogers said. “We can try out changes to try

to relieve a bottleneck without swinging or

knocking down the plant.”

EXECUTION STARTS WITH A VISION“When you know what an OTS can do, you

can begin to develop your scope,” Rogers

said. “You can decide what you really want

the OTS to accomplish.” Is your vision

just to replicate the logic, or do you want

to simulate the entire operator environ-

ment – the room, the workstation and the

chairs? Do you want it to be “kind of like”

the operator station, or exactly? What level

of training do you want to accomplish,

and what level of function (how it looks to

the operator) and fidelity (how closely it

matches the process) do you need?

What system will you use – the vendor and

architecture? Where will operators access

the system from, who will maintain it, and

do you need to manage operator com-

petency? The answers to these questions

will help define (and largely determine the

cost of) the system components, including

functional fidelity, model fidelity, interface,

software license, hardware and long-term

support requirements.

Enterprise selected Honeywell Unisim Oper-

ations for its process based on its dynamic

model accuracy, instructor capability, pro-

cess and control simulation, instrument and

control system (ICS) interfaces, and trainee

evaluation tools. The choice was also influ-

enced by Honeywell’s background in gas

processing and fractionation, and its support

capabilities. Other selection criteria include

in-house capabilities for integration and

long-term support, ability to use remote sup-

port, and initial, annual, and license costs.

“Answer these questions for both the model

and the system, and budget for support

because you’ll need it,” Rogers said. “If

you’re not going to keep the system up to

date with process changes, don’t waste

your money buying it.”

TRAPS CAN BE AVOIDEDLike any project, agreeing on the right

scope will avoid many problems, but, “You

also need to understand the bill of materials

(BOM) – what you’re getting,” Rogers said.

“And the vendor also has to really under-

stand what you expect.” Go over the BOM

and be sure you agree on exactly what’s

included and what it will do.

Consider contingencies. “Our DCS system

was delayed, but the operators had to be

trained, so we had to break the system into



phases,” Rogers said. “It didn’t cost a lot

more, but it’s best to consider the possible

problems before you ask for the money in

the first place. Put in some contingency,

and you’ll be all right.”

Before you start, assemble a team with

engineering, operations, system and vendor

experts. “We put together an awesome

team, and you really need these guys. Also,

we had Honeywell, ourselves and pro-

cess licensor all give input on the models,”

Rogers said.

“We’re using the simulator now on one

system, but our goal is to use it for all of

them,” Rogers concluded. “Operations

loves it. At first, they were skeptical – they

thought they didn’t need it – but when they

saw it, they said it’s awesome.”



Don’t stop us if you’ve heard this one. “One co-op student this summer was looking for the Rasp-berry Pi he was using to set up an HVAC

damping system, and asked the 25 people

at our daily huddle,” says Sandra Buf-

fett, P.Eng., founder and CEO at Jordan

Engineering Inc. (www.jrdneng.com), a

CSIA-member system integrator in Niagara,

Ontario. “After the huddle, one guy asked,

‘What’s this pie everyone’s talking about?’ “

(Cue drum-and-cymbal.) Ba-dum, chhh!

While unfamiliar terms are quickly cleared

up, learning new concepts and technologies

usually takes longer. Even those in-the-know

at Jordan aren’t all Raspberry Pi experts yet.

“We began learning about it when one of

our chemical compounding clients put one

on the back of a wall-mounted TV monitor

with an Ethernet jack and WiFi to display

alarms and notifications on their plant floor,”

says Buffett. “This let them go from a typical

LED display scrolling text, upgrade to more

graphics, colors and maybe dashboards, and

gain those capabilities with less expense.”

Buffett reports some of Jordan’s engineers

bought a couple of Raspberry Pi kits and

adapters two years ago, started playing

with one, and gave the other away at one

of its annual automation workshops. “We’re

very relationship-based, and we partner

with our clients for a long time,” explains

Buffett. “We’ve been holding our workshops

for the past 14 years. They usually include

staff presentations and project demos, and

give everyone a chance to sit down and

swap useful information. This past May, we

Open-source computers arrive for monitoring and controlRaspberry Pi, Arduino and other computers on open-source silicon boards are on the way for do-it-yourself monitoring—and even control.

By Jim Montague



did workshops in three cities for the first

time, and gave away Raspberry Pi’s to 150

clients with help from Schneider Electric

Canada (www.schneider-electric.com),

which has been a partner for 18 years.”

During the workshops, Schneider Electric

conducted a lab for attendees to explore

Raspberry Pi. “To open their minds to its

possibilities, groups at each table came up

with different ideas about how to use Rasp-

berry Pi, such as monitoring the weather,

energy prices, interest rates and inventory

costs, which could empower their opera-

tors by helping them make better decisions

on the best times to make their products,”

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