The idea of collecting and visualizing plant data in one place is not new in itself: SCADA systems have been used for years wherever a lot of information from different sources and locations has to be processed together - for example in the monitoring of supply networks, in water treatment or in infrastructure projects. However, the central evaluation of information is also becoming increasingly important in the context of the growing networking of plants and locations in practically all areas of the manufacturing industry.

Production lines are no longer viewed in isolation, but in conjunction with other systems and plants. Stock levels must be matched to the actual production quantities required, orders are processed faster and in a resource-optimized manner and the energy consumption of production facilities is made transparent and minimized. Data must be provided, recorded and processed for each of these tasks - the volume of data generated around industrial production processes is increasing accordingly. At the same time, the targeted processing of this information no longer only serves to control processes, but also forms the basis for operational decisions that significantly influence efficiency and therefore profitability. SCADA systems must therefore meet the same safety and availability requirements as classic automation components in the machine-related environment - because a failure of the system visualization can have serious consequences and cause high costs. In order to minimize such downtimes or, ideally, avoid them altogether, reliability must also play a decisive role when selecting the PC hardware on which all SCADA systems are installed.

Hardware requirements

As a hardware platform for SCADA solutions, industrial PCs compete with proprietary solutions. In contrast to conventional PC hardware, only industrial-grade technology can guarantee the required high computing power and openness for connecting both the automation level via fieldbuses and the higher-level IT structure - with maximum system availability. Modern industrial PCs also support innovations from the consumer sector, such as gesture control when using smartphones or tablets - adapted for industrial use.

Simatic industrial PCs are available in different performance classes and designs - tailored to industry-specific requirements.

© Siemens

A key requirement when selecting a PC platform is that the systems must also function flawlessly and in continuous operation in harsh industrial environments. While commercially available PCs often fail here, industrial PCs have been specially developed for these conditions. They are characterized by a robust and maintenance-friendly design, certified protection classes and durable components. Depending on the location, rack, box or panel PCs are used. For all designs, individual components are easy to replace in the event of a defect and are also available in the long term. Siemens equips its industrial PCs with special mainboards, which the company develops and manufactures itself. The components are available for a period of five to six years, with a further five years of repair and spare parts service guaranteed. The reliability and long-term availability of the IPCs ensures high system availability and investment protection. This reduces the total cost of ownership over the long-term service life of such systems.

In some industries, specific requirements are also placed on systems. For example, special safety and hygiene requirements must be met when processing food. Simatic Inox Panel PCs with easy-to-clean stainless steel fronts can be used here. At the same time, there are industry-specific requirements on the software side - in the food sector, but also in the pharmaceutical industry, the requirements of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for user administration and genealogy should be mentioned here. These requirements are met by the central user administration Simatic Logon, a security system integrated in WinCC, which accesses the Windows user administration.

If such coordinated hardware and software solutions are already taken into account during the system planning phase, subsequent testing, validation and integration costs can be reduced in advance.

Flexible software in demand

The interaction between the IPC system diagnostics and the SCADA system prevents failures and reduces downtimes, as relevant diagnostic data can be displayed and monitored.

© Siemens

The most visible component of a system for the user during operation is the visualization in the SCADA system. This is not only crucial for ergonomic operation, but must also be easily adaptable during the operating time of a system, both in terms of data acquisition and processing as well as access and display options. It is therefore important that the software is not only powerful and modular, but also flexible and open.

With the SCADA system Simatic WinCC, a scalable process visualization system, solutions can be implemented for all industries as well as with a wide range of sizes and complexity: from single-user systems to multi-user systems with redundant servers or a central process historian. In addition, plant information must be available regardless of location - even from mobile devices.

The combination with Simatic industrial PCs offers many advantages: from a maintenance perspective, efficient process diagnostics are supplemented by integrated system diagnostics for industrial PCs. All relevant diagnostic data from the Simatic IPC, such as fan runtimes, operating hours or the status of the storage media, can be easily displayed and monitored in the runtime environment of the SCADA system. By integrating diagnostic information into the SCADA system, it is also automatically available for remote diagnostics via the network or web server. This means that even widely distributed IPCs can be monitored centrally. The integrated monitoring of the PC hardware identifies impending problems even before a system failure occurs. Necessary maintenance work can thus be planned and carried out preventively during regular downtimes. Intelligent and integrated diagnostic functions for the overall system consisting of PLC, network components and PC hardware help to detect and thus rectify faults more quickly. This interaction makes the integrated solution consisting of SCADA components and industrial PC a decisive factor for increased system availability, reduced service costs and shorter downtimes.

Trend towards cloud technology

Virtual solutions can also be implemented on the basis of Simatic components. For this purpose, the system is implemented in the company's own private cloud. Siemens also offers special services for virtualization.

© Siemens

Another trend that is also driving new solutions in the manufacturing industry is the cloud. Particularly in the industrial environment, where data integrity is crucial, company-wide server solutions are still an alternative to cloud approaches in the consumer sector. These so-called private cloud approaches are based on the virtualization of PC hardware. Simatic IPCs are the only system on the market for industrial applications to be certified as a server station by the provider of the virtualization software Vmware. This proves the performance and reliability - also in combination with the SCADA software WinCC approved for virtualization - while at the same time reducing inspection and test times.

Protection of process data

It is clear that despite all the openness and flexibility, the security of the process data must not be neglected. On the one hand, this is essential for reliable long-term archiving of plant data in the process historian. On the PC side, fail-safe RAID hard disk systems and integrated, uninterruptible or redundant power supplies ensure data availability. On the other hand, the archived data must be protected against unauthorized access and manipulation. The defense-in-depth security concept, as supported by the Simatic systems, offers protection against this. If required, Siemens Services can support the user in developing a solution for this particularly sensitive issue.

With the end-to-end system solution comprising industry-standard hardware and software, companies are already creating the basis for the requirements that the increasing digitalization of manufacturing processes will bring. Networked and in some cases largely autonomous production units are monitored, controlled, maintained, configured and optimized - throughout their entire life cycle, from planning to service and modernization. The amount of data that is not only continuously recorded for this purpose, but also continuously maintained, evaluated, archived and condensed into meaningful information is correspondingly large. An important factor in ensuring the performance of SCADA solutions in the future is the interaction between the open and versatile software and the robust, reliable and industry-standard system hardware.

Authors:
Brigitte Händler is Marketing Manager SCADA at Siemens;
Martin Krenzer is Marketing Manager Simatic IPCs at Siemens.

Advantages over the entire life cycle

Simatic WinCC and Simatic industrial PCs together form a platform for data acquisition, evaluation and visualization. Coordinated development and integrated hardware and software functionality result in advantages over the entire life cycle.

In the planning phase ...

• ... system-tested components reduce testing, validation and integration costs and shorten the time-to-market.
• ... components with long-term availability and upward compatibility ensure the availability of spare parts, planning reliability and simple modernization or expansion of the system.
• ... solutions based on coordinated components enable certified industry-specific solutions both on the hardware side (Inox, Ex devices) and for the software (Track&Trace, Audit Trails, Electronic Signatures).
• ... create coordinated packages of hardware and software cost advantages when purchasing and ensure a uniform system environment.

In the operating phase ...

• ... intelligent diagnostic functions minimize downtimes and enable preventive maintenance.
• ... high system availability and data security support smooth operation, protect critical data from unauthorized access and enable secure recording and tracing of production data.
• ... a certified solution for virtualization allows central administration of the system with reduced testing and commissioning times.
• ... innovative operating concepts with multi-touch technology enable operation via gesture control or mobile monitoring and control using a tablet or smartphone.