Reviewer details
Reviewer: Joe Sothoane and Simon Lax
Position: Project engineer and managing director
Company: Industrial Technology and Systems Integration
Telephone: +27(0)31 279 3700
E-mail: [email protected]
Product details
Vendor: GE Fanuc
Product name and version: iFix v4.0
Telephone: +27 (031) 583 3640
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: www.gefanuc.com
Application
Industry: Water distribution
Server operating system: Windows Server 2003 R2
Client operating system: Windows XP Pro
Front end: 14* Rockwell CLX PLCs
Tag count: 2166
General
Q: Briefly describe the application including information on any pre-existing system that was in place.
A: This project for Botswana Water Utilities Corporation involved the upgrade of an existing GE Fanuc Fix scada system and the replacement of ABB RTU and PLC front ends with Rockwell Control Logix PLCs. The application monitors the North/South Carrier which supplies the south of Botswana with water.
Q: Who performed the scada configuration?
A: Industrial Technology and Systems Integration (ITSI).
Q: Approximately how many man-hours did the scada configuration take?
A: 900 hrs development plus 1400 hrs commissioning.
Q: Was a structured process followed to determine expected performance under full load and during abnormal failure conditions?
A: The failover between fibre-optic and radio networks was verified and proved to be transparent to the scada operator.
Q: What sort of licensing agreement applies to this particular system?
A: The client buys only the licences for the products he requires and the licences reside on rewritable USB Hasp keys.
Q: What upgrade agreements are in place? Are patches and version upgrades free, covered under annual maintenance or managed in some other way?
A: Patches are freely available from the GE Fanuc website. Version upgrades are discounted from full retail.
Q: How is after-sales support handled?
A: A tech support centre provides responses to e-mail and Web form submissions. There are also local support offices and a global call centre.
System architecture
Q: What impresses you most about the architecture?
A: The simple straightforward client/server architecture.
Q: What are the key physical communication layers and communication protocols employed in the system?
A: The primary communication medium is fibre backed up with an Ethernet radio network. GE Fanuc’s IGS driver uses TCP/IP to communicate with the Allen-Bradley Control Logix PLCs.
Q: Is the scada system integrated onto an intranet or the Internet? If so, what level of remote monitoring and control is configured?
A: No.
Q: Does the application utilise web services?
A: No.
Q: What redundancy is incorporated in this scada application?
A: Redundant servers were deployed at physically separate locations. The application was common to all control stations along the length of the pipeline and multiple PCs were installed at each location so that control would not be interrupted in the event of a single hardware failure.
Graphics
Q: Could you describe the graphics development process?
A: New graphic standards were developed in conjunction with the client rather than using standard graphics library elements.
Q: How would you describe the library of graphic images?
A: Average.
Q: What human factors were taken into consideration in the HMI design process?
A: A design standard was implemented for colour usage, device ‘Tool tips’ to provide additional information, embedded application-specific user help files and ‘Yes/No’ confirmations on all control functions.
Q: Did you use any ‘special’ images?
A: 3D graphics and symbols were used throughout at client request. These were developed from scratch.
Compatibility
Q: Do you run the scada in conjunction with any third-party application software?
A: No.
Q: Was any custom code or scada scripting written for this project?
A: Only general ‘animation’ type scripting.
Management reporting and integration
Q: Is a trending and historical data reporting system included?
A: Basic realtime and historical trend data are stored on the server. No dedicated historian was deployed.
Q: Is a management reporting system included in the package?
A: No.
Q: Is the system integrated with an MES / ERP or other management reporting or control system?
A: No.
Q: Are any production benchmarking tools configured as part of the scada system?
A: No.
System safety, security and data protection
Q: What alarm management standards or best practices were adopted in configuring the scada system?
A: First-up alarming was configured in the PLC to reduce the number of alarms coming through to the scada.
Q: How were the potential consequences of abnormal process conditions taken into consideration during the HMI design process?
A: Alarm suppression and alarm masking were used extensively and were handled in PLC code. (Eg, do not alarm the low flow if the corresponding pump is not running).
Q: Does the design make provision for a DMZ and firewall segregation of process network and business networks?
A: During installation we requested that the client implement structures to ensure that the PLC/scada network be segregated from other TCP/IP traffic.
Q: What intrusion detection is incorporated on the plant network(s) on which this scada system exists?
A: The WAN level security was not part of the SI’s scope.
Q: What configuration backup and archive backup methodologies have been adopted?
A: None.
Conclusion>
Q: What was the predominant feature(s) that made you decide to employ this scada, rather than another?
A: The project was an upgrade to an existing system and the end user had no reason to move away from the existing product.
Q: What impresses you the most about the system?
A: Ease of use during development and deployment.
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