Industrial IoT and the connected factory concept are hot
topics. Yet often, there is confusion among professionals and students in both
on and offline discussions around the role of Industrial Internet of Things
(IIoT) applications.
Essentially, IoT should be viewed as a technology that is
implemented on top of PLC. It makes things like scalability, data analytics,
and standardization and interoperability realities.
So, does the Internet of Things replace SCADA/PLC,
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition? With the implementation of IoT,
Industry 4.0 and the interaction with the well-established SCADA systems, these
questions of uncertainty are being raised more and more.
According to many IoT experts and data scientists Internet
of things can surely help in boosting SCADA systems to the next level. Instead
of fighting against each other, the two technologies can instead integrate to
push industry even closer to the edge.
What is SCADA?
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition is just as the name
suggests. Essentially, it is a system of software and hardware that allows
industries to control industrial processes locally or at remote locations,
monitoring, gathering and processing real-time data. It also allows direct
interaction with smart devices and human-machine interface software and records
events into a log file.
So, SCADA is much like IoT. Yet IoT, the shiny new
technology, is developing faster than anything we’ve seen in recent years.
However, SCADA is still an important concept in the oil and gas industry.
Especially when it comes to monitoring offshore or onshore extraction processes
or pipeline from a central remote location. It is used similarly in the mining
industry to monitor environmental factors and to track assets. Power utilities
use SCADA in Energy Management Systems (EMS) as well as Distribution Management
Systems (DMS) to optimize the performance of transmission and distribution
networks and to protect the grid network. Then, SCADA is also used by railways
to control traction power supply, implement train control automation, and
manage communication, electrical and mechanical assets at stations.
So, SCADA systems are still predominant within heavy asset
industries. With three generations of SCADA – standalone, distributed and
networked – some industries are starting to utilize what some known as the
fourth generation SCADA application. Some also know this to be the Internet of
Things. And, as the fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us, implementing
fourth generation SCADA with the revolutionizing technology of IoT seems very
fitting.
What is PLC?
One technology that has been running relatively parallel to
SCADA over the past few decades is the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). The
PLC is yet another form of technology that is believed to be becoming slightly
outdated due to so many IoT developments within Industry 4.0.
The Programmable Logic Controller receives information from
connected sensors or input devices, processes the data, and triggers outputs
based on pre-programmed parameters. Essentially, a PLC can monitor and record
real-time data such as machine productivity or operating temperature. It can
also automatically start and stop processes, and generate alarms if a machine
malfunctions.
Many of the functions of a PLC operate in correlation to
those of SCADA and IoT. However, in Industry 4.0, programmable controllers are
still being called upon to communicate data via web browser, connect to
databases via Structured Query Language (SQL) and to the cloud via Message
Queuing Telemetry Transport.
A partner in IoT
Ease of installation, reduced cost, increased data accuracy
and worldwide remote control and monitoring are all things that IoT offers
heavy asset industries. However, as IoT is a relatively new technology in
relation to SCADA and PLC, its capabilities are naturally adaptable to modern
industry demands. That being said, when SCADA began, it allowed manufacturers’
systems to work together in real-time, much like IoT is doing now. Therefore,
it’s very much apparent that the strength of SCADA systems and its
technological capabilities are still relevant even in industry 4.0.
Currently, IoT is revolutionizing SCADA by offering more
standardization and openness. IoT is also providing scalability,
interoperability and enhanced security by introducing the concept of the IoT
platform. Essentially, both platforms are used to increase overall productivity
by integrating smart maintenance. As well as waste reduction, increase in
efficiency, a decrease in downtime and the extension of equipment life.
So, while the IoT market is still in early production, it
can coexist with SCADA and PLCs. IoT is bringing about a wave of new business
models and technologies that are changing the landscape of industrial
automation.
Integrate or die
Admittedly, the SCADA platform is lacking particular
innovations, otherwise, the need for IoT would be far more subjective. SCADA is
currently being influenced by IoT concepts and solutions that are quickly being
integrated into SCADA architecture. This is done so seamlessly that we won’t
ever notice a difference.
However, SCADA is still currently limited to the factory
floor. Data taken from the factory devices are being viewed only inside the
plant. Whereas IoT takes that data, offers insights to the user and makes it
available anywhere, anytime. This, in turn, enables new business models to be
created. Without the supportive innovations that IoT offers the SCADA and PLC
platforms, it is possible that these technologies could, down the track, lose
some necessity as more technologies come along that don’t consist of the same
integrative nature that IoT carries
How IoT can help
If you already have a SCADA system in place, you can
integrate the IoT solution with your SCADA system and collect data from a Data
Acquisition Systems (DAS) machine. By leveraging the power and scalability of
IoT, you can use collected data to create a wide range of reports such as
Overall Equipment Effectiveness reports, Production Data reports as well as
utility reports (gas, water, power).
In the future, it’s likely that SCADA systems will evolve
into those of IoT. Equipment and PLC will become more intelligent and will be
able to integrate different cloud platforms. This will enable new security
platforms that will further secure any data that is recorded. This means that
improvements that will save money can be performed.
SCADA is more about allowing humans to interact remotely
with a process. Whereas IoT is generally used as a machine-to-machine
communication tool. Rather than something that exists primarily to present
information to a human. That is just a small part of its process. IoT ensures
that information is shared with both people and machine, rather than just
people. In short, it makes sure that everyone and everything is kept in the
loop at all times.
The comparative analysis
In the end, both SCADA and IoT involve sensors and data
acquisition. Although they do differ in many aspects, they both share the one
common goal. The optimization of use and, eventually, better control over some
devices or a process. The whole idea of a smart grid leads to SCADA and IoT
integration. As SCADA is not a full control system, rather a computer system
that gathers and analyses real-time data, it is useful in monitoring and
controlling a plant or industrial equipment. It will gather information about a
mishap, transfer it back to a central site and alert the home station. It will
then carry out any necessary analysis and control and display the information
in a logical and organized fashion for humans to then interpret and use
accordingly.
The Internet of Things is made up of a network of physical
devices connected via electronic embedding, software setups, sensor-actuators
and network connectivity which all act together for the objects to connect and
exchange data. IoT allows objects to be sensed or controlled remotely across
different networking infrastructures. Therefore, it creates opportunities for
more direct integration of the physical world into computer-based systems. This
results in improved efficiency, accuracy and economic benefit and also cuts
down on human intervention.
Both platforms offer an abundance of advantages, as well as
some vulnerabilities. It is predicted that by 2020, 50 billion devices or
things will be connected to the internet. Therefore, the dynamics of an
Internet-based control system are becoming a living reality. Industry 4.0 is an
era in which emerging trend automation and data exchange in manufacturing
technologies are allowing for a shift from traditionally implemented SCADA to
an IoT implemented one. With SCADA, cyber-physical systems, the Internet of
Things, cloud computing and cognitive computing, Industry 4.0 is an era that
will change the dynamics of the entire automation industry.
source:
https://www.controleng.com/articles/
