Five Critical Factors In Industrial Control System Integration
Industrial automation would not be possible without control system integration. Factories, manufacturing plants, and many more depend on control system integration to operate daily. There are five critical factors involved in industrial control system integration, read more below.
Software Infrastructure
Software infrastructure is important for system integration because modern automation systems need configuration, monitoring, AND integration. OPC-UA technology, designed by OPC Foundation, is designed to provide clients with real-time, historical data exchange and simpler browsing. This technology also allows integrators, such as RL Consulting Inc., flexibility to integrate desired configurations for a wide range of different systems, instead of being locked into a specific setup.
Process Database
There are three main components that the database primarily includes: tables for the data, forms for entering or displaying data, and a query language. Customized page views of data and reporting tools are additional components that may be included. A DBMS (database management system) collects interrelated programs files and allows users to modify files. A query language such as SQL is used to interact with a DBMS. Basically, a database is a collection of different items used to view, process, and access data.
Human-Machine Interface
HMI (Human-machine interface) means operators have the benefit of treating a machine much like they would a human worker. This includes monitoring the state of a control process and issuing commands to change that objective. It can also be used to manually override automatic controls in an emergency situation. Graphics, historical trends, reports, scripts and alarms are all primary aspects of HMI.
Alarm Management
When integrating different control systems, alarm management is critical because they are designed to alert operators when there are critical issues. Alarms are used to mark the boundary between abnormal and normal conditions in the process. In order to be effective they need to be relevant, prioritized and timely.
Network Security
With organizations increasingly sharing information between industrial and business systems, ICSS (Integrated Controls and Safety Systems) operate alongside each other within a complex environment. Industrial systems that include safety systems, process control systems, and PLCs (programmable logic controllers) rely on off the shelf products such as Microsoft Windows, Ethernet, and TCP/IP for noncritical and critical functions. However, in the event of a security breach, there is more worry surrounding the loss of production life, environmental damage, and operational safety than losing any trade secrets.
RL Consulting Inc. is a controls integration company specializing in PLC Programming, integration and more. If you would like to talk more about programming your PLC, contact us today.
