Industrial control system (ICS) is general term that
encompasses several types of control systems used in industrial production,
including ‘Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems.
ICS’s are typically used in industries such as
electrical, water, oil, gas, and data. Based on data received from remote
stations, automated or operate driven supervisory commands can be pushed to
remote station control devices, which are often referred to as field devices.
Field devices control local operations such as opening and closing valves and
breakers, collecting data from sensors systems, and monitoring the local
environment for alarm conditions. SCADA system
is one of those.
SCADA is an industrial automation control system at
the core of many modern industries, including:
- Energy
- Food and beverage
- Manufacturing
- Oil and gas
- Power
- Recycling
- Transportation
- Water and waste water, And many more,
SCADA is a system used for remote monitoring and
control, it operates with coded signals over communication channels. The
control system may be combined with a data acquisition system by adding the use
of coded signals over communication channels to acquire information about the
status of the remote equipment for display or for recording functions. It is a
type of industrial control system (ICS). Industrial control systems are
computer-based systems that monitor and control industrial processes that exist
in the physical world. SCADA systems
historically distinguish themselves from other ICS systems by being large-scale
processes that can include multiple sites, and large distances. These processes
include industrial, infrastructure, and facility-based processes.
In simple, SCADA
software works like this, information from sensors or manual inputs are
sent to PLCs (programmable logic controllers) or RTUs (remote terminal units),
which then send that information to computers with SCADA software. SCADA
software analyses and displays the data in order to help operators and other
workers to reduce waste and improve efficiency in the manufacturing process.
In all, having and using a SCADA system can in turn save a lot of money and time for the
industries.
