End-user details
Name: Details withheld at reviewer request
SI details
Name: Warren Hofland
Designation: Systems Engineer
Company: Convenient Software Solutions
Phone: +27 (0)31 914 0040
E-mail: warrenh@cs-solutions.co.za
Product details
Product name and version: System Platform 2012 R2
Vendor: Wonderware
Phone: +27 (0)11 607 8100
E-mail: contact@wonderware.co.za
URL: www.wonderware.co.za
Application details
Location: Port of Durban, Durban, KZN
Industry: Logistics
Project start date: 2013-04
Project end date: 2014-01
Application: Control and monitoring of medium voltage distribution and standby diesel power generation
Server OS: Windows Server 2008 R2
Client OS: Windows 7 Professional
Application statistics
Tag count: >5000
Updates per day: Approx. 7 200 000
Disk space for one day’s updates: 20 MB
Physical I/O count: 1600 Digital; 400 Analog
Front ends:
13 * Schneider Electric PLCs
8 * Schneider Electric remote I/O stations (all PLC I/O remote)
Licences:
1 * Application Server 2012 R2 25 000 I/O
1 * Development Studio
2 * Device Integration Servers 2012 R2
1 * Wonderware Historian Server
5 * Wonderware Historian Client + 3 * Add on client licences
16 * InTouch for System Platform
1 * Software Toolbox OPC
13 * Modbus Suite drivers
Scada configuration man-hours: 300 man hours
End–user responses
General
Q: Briefly describe the application including information on any pre-existing control system.
The application involved the expansion of an existing Wonderware InTouch scada system to include Wonderware’s ArchestrA-based System Platform, Historian and Schneider hot-standby PLCs. The system monitors and controls 9 MV (11 kV & 6.6 kV) substations and 4 2,5 MVA standby diesel generators at the Port of Durban over an area of approximately 30 square km.
Q: What was the primary motivation for the project?
To improve Port Authority asset availability in the face of electrical supply uncertainty from the grid.
Q: What were the main goals established for the project?
1. Reduce port downtime related to power supply disruptions.
2. Provide remote access and safe, secure switching of reticulation.
Q: In the procurement decision making process what were the primary considerations that influenced the product selection?
Existing track record with Wonderware solutions and Wonderware Southern Africa, support from the vendor and local support from SI. Product scalability, versatility, redundancy features and favourable TCO.
Q: What Project Management principles and/or methodologies did you employ as end-user to mitigate risk, ensuring the project came out on time and within budget?
Weekly project review and progress meetings with all associated parties.
Licensing, maintenance and support
Q: What upgrade agreements are in place for this application?
Upgrades are covered under a paid annual maintenance agreement.
Q: How is after-sales support handled on this application?
Support is covered under a paid annual support agreement and includes remote desktop support, site visits and system maintenance.
Integration, reporting and archiving
Q: Is the scada system integrated onto an intranet or the Internet?
The system can be remotely accessed for control in emergency situations via a VPN login connection, allowing remote desktop access to relevant control scada stations.
Q: Do you run the scada in conjunction with any other third-party application software?
IFM vibration monitoring software monitoring generator bearings and Cogent Datahub software package to SMS/email critical alarms to management/standby.
Q: Does the application include data archiving / historian capabilities with an historical data reporting system?
The system uses Wonderware’s real-time Historian as well as Historian Client and Wonderware Information Server for reporting.
Maintenance, reliability and asset optimisation
Q: What maintenance, reliability, asset optimisation and/or continuous improvement criteria were included in the user requirements specification for this project?
Introduced reporting and data for operation and efficiency analysis.
End-user conclusion
Q: What was the predominant feature (or features) that made you decide to purchase this scada product over all others for this application?
Scalability, versatility, redundancy features and favourable TCO.
Q: What was the most significant change that you implemented in scada engineering practice / technology in this project?
The peer-to-peer Application Object Server (AOS) strategy with 13 local AOSs failing over to a centralised standby AOS.
Q: What single operational feature most impresses you about the product now that it is in operation?
The adopted Wonderware solutions readily lend themselves to easy implementation and rapid reconfiguration to cater for changing needs.
Q: What impresses you most about the architecture?
Redundancy, hot standby, remote access with stable security and ease of modification.
SI Responses
Project details
Q: What human factors were taken into consideration as principles or development standards in the HMI design process?
Navigation is designed to minimise the number of clicks to get to the full information for the targeted device. Colours used are minimised pastel colours for process layouts with brighter colours used to prompt operator action. Process screens are simplistic and minimal to show key data for running operations with more detail available inside faceplate objects.
Q: For the graphics development process did you use standard library images, or did you have to draw images from scratch?
Where applicable, standard library objects were used.
Q: How would you describe the library of graphic images?
Comprehensive for most needs.
Q: Did you use any ‘special’ images?
Yes, photographs and map layouts.
Q: What alarm management standards or best practices were adopted in configuring the scada system alarms?
Best practices were followed in reducing alarm count for non-critical indications, graphical filtering of alarms to allow operator for area-specific alarms, alarm diagnostic information leading operator to fault all following ISA 18.2 principles.
Q: What are the key physical communication layers and communication protocols employed in the system?
Ethernet over fibre and copper, Ethernet dual-redundant ring over fibre and wireless radio telemetry for monitoring purposes.
Q: What is the network speed and communications medium of the slowest link in this project’s scada network?
10 Mbit/s over copper.
Q: What is the network speed and communications medium of the fastest link in this project’s scada network?
1 Gbit/s over fibre.
Q: What levels of redundancy are incorporated in this scada application?
Each of the 13 local PC stations are the AOS (I/O server) for their area’s remote I/O. Should the local station fail, it will do so to the centralised communication AOS server. The 42 km fibre optic network ring between all key sub stations and control areas is redundant. Critical processes run on hot-standby controllers.
Q: What specific custom code or scada scripts were written for this project?
Scripting was used for varying switchgear operating security rights.
Project management
Q: What project management principles and/or methodologies did you as SI employ to mitigate risk and to ensure the project came out on time and within budget?
We followed a four-stage project methodology: initiation, planning, implementation and closure. We reduced re-engineering by ensuring that the preceding step was completed and signed off before moving into the next development phase. FAT simulations and testing for various conditions including faults reduced the risk at hot commissioning.
Security and data protection
Q: How have authentication, authorisation and role management been configured?
We incorporated system platform-based security roles e.g. operators, supervisors, managers and administrators.
Q: Does the design make provision for a DMZ and firewall segregation of process (scada) network and business networks?
A VLAN was created for the process network which is a DMZ area.
Q: What intrusion detection has been incorporated on the plant network(s) on which this scada system exists?
Cisco-based intrusion detection was incorporated to log any attempted unauthorised access.
Q: What configuration backup and data archive backup methodologies have been adopted?
Backups are done on changes made during project modifications and are stored on local machine, off site in the depot office and SI-support system backup servers. A quarterly backup of all servers’ bare metal backup as well as PLC code and scada development and objects backup is performed. The historian server data files are also stored in these backups.
Q: Did you use any integrated or third-party configuration control system for the scada configuration during the engineering of this application?
Yes. MS Access designed tag tool software developed in house to automatically create the import and export of both PLC and scada objects as well as address allocations and variable-based tags.
SI conclusion
Q: What impresses you most about the architecture?
The ease with which the architecture scales from a simple client-server to a multi-tier application capable of installation on this geographically large site, centralised development, scalability for massive future expansion expectations.
Q: How would you rate the ease of use of the historical reporting system?
Simple to use.
Vendor responses
Product
Q: Vendor comments on product / modules?
Wonderware System Platform offers excellent ease of use, template objects and connectivity capabilities across multiple platforms.
Operating systems / VMware
Q: Vendor comments on operating systems
Microsoft provides Wonderware with architectural guidance, development and technical support, product roadmap coordination and scalability testing of Wonderware software solutions, ensuring that the Wonderware product suite is coordinated with the Microsoft development roadmap.
Licensing, maintenance and support model
Q: What sort of licensing agreement options are offered?
Only those licences applicable to the modules necessary for a system’s operation need be purchased.
Q: Are licences sold outright or subject to periodic (e.g. annual) renewal?
Licensing is a once-off purchase for a particular version.
Q: What upgrade agreements are offered?
The annually renewable Customer FIRST Support and Services Program helps clients protect and extend the value of Invensys products and solutions. Patches and version upgrades are available at no-charge as part of the program.
Q: What after-sales offerings iro support and maintenance are available, and which technologies are used to deliver them?
Support is covered under a paid annual support agreement and includes remote desktop support via VPN, e-mail and telephonic response. Wonderware also offers advanced remote monitoring technology that enhances the vendor’s ability to deliver higher availability and reliability of plant assets to the client company.
Q: Do you have a documented process in place to manage and test OS patches and to release scada system software patches?
Wonderware tests its products on platforms that are configured with all cumulative Microsoft Updates to-date. The goal of Wonderware is to support Microsoft Security Updates within 15 business days of release. Any exceptions to this are listed on the Wonderware Security Central Web page.
Technology incorporated
Q: What new technology has been introduced into the product in the last 12 months?
ArchestrA System Platform 2014 R2 has introduced, inter alia:
• New animation capabilities
• Situational awareness technology
• Improved script editor features
• XML import and export capability for graphical elements
• HTML 5 support
Integration and reporting
Q: What generic and/or product specific interfaces does the product have iro well-known MES packages?
Web Services, File Drop, FTP, MSMQ, XML, HTTP, and SOAP, B2MML, MS SQL Server, SAP (SAP Netweaver certification), SYSPRO e.NET interfaces, OPC UA and OPC .NET v4.0.
Q: What native historical data reporting options are available?
Wonderware Historian Client generates data charts and reports directly from the Wonderware Historian. Reports and data charts from Wonderware Historian Client can be integrated with information from other Wonderware applications and made available over the Web using Wonderware Information Server.
PLC configuration and programming
Q: What capabilities does the scada offer in terms of generation and/or management of PLC configuration files or PLC application code?
Wonderware System Platform can auto-assign PLC addresses to configured field inputs, keeping the functionality of maintaining the PLC tag database at the PLC level.
Security and data protection
Q: What authentication, authorisation and role management models are available for the runtime environment?
Roles and privileges are configured in Wonderware System Platform, Wonderware MES and Wonderware Information Server or through Microsoft Active Directory.
Unique selling proposition (USP)
Q: List the top five feature/benefit pairs that contribute to this product’s USP.
To view the unabridged version of this scada review, please visit http://instrumentation.co.za/+C20139
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