Reviewer details
Reviewer: Milton Summers
Position: Manager Process Development
Company: Atomaer RSA
Telephone: +27 (0)11 977 6100
E-mail: [email protected]
Product details
Vendor: SCADAgroup
Product name and version: ClearSCADA 2007
Telephone: 086 1000 SCE
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: www.controlmicrosystems.com
Application
Industry: Mining water treatment
Server operating system: N/A
Client operating system: Windows XP Pro
Front end: 1 * Siemens S7-300
Tag count: 1000
General
Q: Briefly describe the application including information on any pre-existing system that was in place.
A: The scada system has been installed on a pilot plant, which is used to test different process technologies for the treatment of acid mine drainage.
Q: Who performed the scada configuration?
A: Supervisory & Control Expertise (SCE).
Q: Approximately how many man-hours did the scada configuration take?
A: Less than 80 hours.
Q: Was a structured process followed to determine expected performance under full load and during abnormal failure conditions?
A: No.
Q: What sort of licensing agreement applies to this particular system?
A: One licence included all options (server, client, redundancy, historian, alarms and PLC driver).
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 and version upgrades are free for 18 months from purchase under the ScadaCare program offered by ClearScada.
Q: How is after-sales support handled?
A: Telephonically, by e-mail and through SI site visits. A remote dial-up facility is planned.
System architecture
Q: What are the key physical communication layers and communication protocols employed in the system?
A: Modbus RTU, Ethernet, TCP/IP and Siemens S7 are used.
Q: Is the scada system integrated onto an intranet or the Internet? If so, what level of remote monitoring and control is configured?
A: Yes. This was achieved using the zero engineering WebX option, which allows systems to be viewed and controlled from anywhere.
Q: Does the application utilise web services?
A: No.
Q: What redundancy is incorporated in this scada application?
A: None for the pilot plant. The full-size plant will probably use a dual-redundancy option.
Graphics
Q: Could you describe the graphics development process?
A: We used the standard library and special vector-based graphics.
Q: How would you describe the library of graphic images?
A: Adequate.
Q: What human factors were taken into consideration in the HMI design process?
A: None.
Q: Did you use any ‘special’ images?
A: We used photos for plant overviews and bitmaps for logos.
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: No.
Management reporting and integration
Q: Is a trending and historical data reporting system included?
A: Yes. The historian runs on the same database as the whole system and handles all trends and historical. Reports are generated using the built-in Crystal Report Client.
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: Was any additional software development needed?
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: We used a three-tier alarm structure.
Q: How were the potential consequences of abnormal process conditions taken into consideration during the HMI design process?
A: Not required.
Q: Does the design make provision for a DMZ and firewall segregation of process network and business networks?
A: The design used physically separate networks.
Q: What intrusion detection is incorporated on the plant network(s) on which this scada system exists?
A: None.
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: Because we had to support these plants remotely, we looked for a scada that would have a small footprint if remotely accessed. The WebX thin client and vector-based graphics of ClearScada, in conjunction with its wide usage in telemetry applications were deciding factors.
Q: What impresses you the most about the system?
A: The ease with which new plant sections can be deployed by virtue of the template-within-template object orientated structure and bulk edit facilities of ClearScada. That additional features can be added at a single point and automatically deployed to all instances where these were used.
© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved
printer friendly version