Dewberry instrumentation and controls engineer Tyler Knaup explains supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) in about 90 seconds.
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Hello, My name is Tyler Knaup, and I'm an instrumentation and controls engineer out of Dewberry's Raleigh, North Carolina, office. Today, I'm here to talk about SCADA systems. SCADA stands for supervisory control and data acquisition, and is defined as a system of hardware and software used to send commands and acquire data for the purpose of monitoring and control. As seen on this diagram, different market segments utilize different aspects of a SCADA system to best suit their process needs. SCADA systems are a crucial process tool to help maintain efficiency and provide insight to make smarter decisions. In its simplest form, SCADA systems can consist of a field device, whether process instrumentation or a final control element connected to a PLC, or programmable logic controller, to provide data acquisition or automation of a specific process. PLCs or any other microprocessor-based controllers are provided to convert these device signals into digital signals that can be used to create programmable logic. Programmable logic comes in many forms and is usually tailored to a specific application. All this automated logic is great, but generally, people like to be able to see what is happening with their system at any given time. Many SCADA systems have a visual component to them through the implementation of an HMI, or human machine interface. HMIs provide a user interface for a direct interaction to see current process and operating conditions, and additionally can help notify users of any abnormal process conditions. A well-designed HMI provides key performance indicators to easily spot process disruptions and take corrective action before any damage occurs to the system.