What is SCADA Software?

The SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) software is a business application that monitors and manages various industrial operations across several physical locations through real time integration. The tool allows businesses to monitor various equipment and processes by integrating with multiple devices including programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and PID (proportional integral derivative) controllers. With PLCs and PID, the users to interact with the various equipment that rely on sensors to control them.

SCADA system application is generally used by manufacturing units, utility companies, facility management businesses, or any other enterprise that relies on alarms and sensors for managing the business processes.

The software can be successfully integrated with multiple business systems to manage other business operations. For example, businesses can integrate it with manufacturing execution systems to monitor equipment and with quality management (QMS) software to measure manufacturing processes’ performance. Therefore, SCADA software has been an essential component of manufacturing and industrial units to monitor their business operations.

Features of SCADA Software

The SCADA software has gone through multiple transformations recently and comes with several modifications and key features as given below.

• Analog Inputs: The analog inputs feature present within the SCADA software enables users to live monitor the equipment across multiple platforms. This allows users to know the precise working of every equipment and its accurate real time data. Real time data helps in early detection of issues.
• Graphical Control: Monitoring and controlling all the equipment with text-based interface could be complex for users. The SCADA system has a graphical interface enabling users to check the working status of any industrial equipment conveniently.
• Useful Alarm Description: Whenever there is an issue with the equipment, the software would alert the concerned authority with. The information would be concise, explaining the equipment issues in simple terms. This will save time and help users to act immediately.
• Alarm Handling: The alarm handling system allows the users to monitor multiple alarms at different locations through a single dashboard. The software can detect any type of discrepancy in any equipment or alarm system. This helps users to easily make changes within the alarm system and to get notified of any emergencies.
• SBO Points for Remote Access: To efficiently manage the operational network, the software provides SBO points or control relays to users. These points will help users to control, access, and monitor all equipment that works with buttons and switches. Instead of doing these operations manually, users can manage them with the software.
• Integration: Users can integrate the software with many other ERP systems like manufacturing or quality management systems to oversee, streamline and automate the industrial procedures.
• Scalability: The solution can be scaled in the future to meet the demands of the enterprise in the future. It can easily handle the addition of new facilities or production lines without slowing down the existing processes. It can adapt to the latest technologies to maintain work efficiency at the best.

The benefits of SCADA software

Deploying SCADA software can benefit manufacturing and utility companies in multiple ways as

• Prompt Responses to Problems: One of the foremost benefits of using SCADA solutions is that it helps in responding to problems promptly. The software helps in detecting any issues within the equipment at the earliest with alarm notifications via calls or text. Therefore, helping operators to resolve issues at the earliest.
• Quick Maintenance: SCADA systems help in the repair and maintenance of the equipment by identifying and resolving the issues with the equipment in the shortest possible time. The data stored by the software helps in analyzing the condition of the equipment in real time so that any faults or issues can be addressed at the earliest.
• Customized Alerts: The best thing that comes with SCADA software is that it enables users to customize their alerts and notifications. The users can customize the option of receiving alarms for relevant and major issues. In addition to that, the users can also set alerts to be received only by concerned authorities.
• Detailed Reporting: The software collects the data from all the equipment and processes it and stores it within the central operational system. The data stored through networked devices and sensors can be used to evaluate and analyze the working efficiency of all the equipment with much ease. Therefore, making it easier for users to track the performance of equipment without manual tracking.
• Secure Your Data: The SCADA tools aid users in protecting their data from any type of unauthorized users. With the help of RADIUS authentication, Strong passwords, user-level access, etc. Moreover, the data is stored in encrypted form that can only be read by the recipients with the encryption key. Therefore, helping operators to keep their data safe and secure.
• Improves Work Efficiency: The integration of the solution within the existing solutions such as quality management solution can help operators in enhancing the working efficiency of the enterprise. The users can monitor, manage, and make changes to working protocols within a single solution.

Types of SCADA Software

There are two forms of SCADA software as given below.

• Proprietary SCADA Software: It is a type of software that has copyright and holds certain limitations against the use, alterations, and distribution put by the developer. It is also known as closed-source software.
• Open-Source SCADA Software: The open-source software does not have any copyright protection. Therefore, it has had any limitations against the use or distribution.

Implementation of SCADA Software

Here are the steps to implement SCADA software in your business

• Clearly understand what you want to monitor
• Learn about the data of your current store and how
• You need to add gateways to join data collection points.
• Centralize all the data to the desired controlling location.
• Integrate the data within the SCADA software
• Integrating the software with the existing equipment and systems
• Defining automation rules and control to the team
• Lastly, you need to check the test run the system