By Richard Brown

Scada means Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. Programs coded in Scada are used for controlling various industrial processes and complex equipments. There are various scada systems in use today. These are called MMI or man machine interfaces.

These are managed via a central computer that can guide various devices connected to it. Many methods are used for communication between the master and the other devices. The most commonly used ones are Ethernet, radio links and modems. The data about various devices is gathered with the help of sensors.

In some cases there are instruments that have different types of data communication interfaces. In such cases, we can use converters for conversion of signals. All the information from various systems can then be viewed on the central location.

All the information is stored in the central database. It is where all parameters of various equipments are continuously tracked and controlled. These can be modified if a read / write permission is provided to them. All the equipments located near or far, will have them monitored this way.

There are two types of parameters used. These are analogue or digital. The SCADA software fetches them continuously and stores them. The program can then makes its calculations based on all those stored parameters.

The calculations made are dependent upon these parameters. The software shows a graphical interpretation of the data received from various equipments via various communication links in real time.

Various details are fetched from equipments used all over the industrial unit. Some important parameters are pressure, liquid level, temperature, etc. These details can be seen on the computer screen graphically too.

Advanced SCADA software also allows administrators to set up some functionality to alert them when any parameter reaches a certain value. Automatic SMS or email alerts can be set up. Thus a plant is controlled from a central location using SCADA systems.

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