Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) allows companies to manage their production processes by accessing data that makes them more efficient and economical.
Through Big Data and IIoT platforms or as the Nexus Integra integrated operations platform it is possible for companies to take the step to start experiencing the benefits of digital transformation.
What is a SCADA: supervision, control and data acquisition
SCADA or supervisory, control and data acquisition systems are born with the objective of providing a tool for companies to control their industrial assets and equipment and collect data from them.
In general, management can be applied to a complete industrial plant or to several but locally, remotely controlling different local equipment. Ideally, this process will be done from a single platform, which simplifies the tasks of managers.
The managed equipment (motors, pumps…) are in turn sensorized, so that they are able to collect data in real-time and archive them. Thus, the company acquires information about how the plant is working and can access valuable data to improve their processes.
Before the emergence of today’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition software, this type of management depended on workers controlling equipment and production manually. Little by little, progress was made in automation and the possibility of controlling equipment remotely, incorporating the first computer systems or timers.
The latest step in this direction has been the SCADA equipment, which allows remote and automatic control of many pieces of equipment and processes from a single platform. This software has thus become a source of competitive advantage for industrial companies. However, these solutions are usually subject to the technology suppliers that offer their equipment and their SCADA solutions.
Some of the tasks that companies carry out through a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition software include:
- Control of systems through Human Machine Interface (HMI) software
- Possibility of doing it locally or remotely in each of the installations
- Data collection through sensors, monitoring and analysis of this information
- Generate real-time performance reports.
- Possibility of automating processes. It is possible to give orders to the machines and give the alarm in case any of the systems are not working properly. The control of energy consumption or the forecast of production peaks can also be monitored through SCADA systems.
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition equipment is already being used by different industries, such as automotive, pharmaceutical, construction or energy, among others.
Benefits of using SCADA systems
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems give companies access to many advantages:
- Improved efficiency. It consists of software that, through real-time and historical data, allows the generation of informed decision processes. This includes, on the one hand, the possibility of automating actions. But its potential goes further since these teams also have the ability to reveal trends and opportunities for better equipment performance. All this generates more efficient management of industrial equipment.
- Cost savings. Access to information allows companies to control energy expenditure according to the reality of production.
- Easier automation. SCADA systems allow users to manage complex processes automatically and easily.
- Prevention of failures in production in an automatic and predictive way. Through the analysis of real-time and historical data, SCADA systems are able to detect problems in production before they occur.
Once detected, the systems can also be programmed to give an alert in case they detect problems, generating a warning that allows the predictive maintenance of all systems.
These alarms can also be programmed in case the sensors detect problems in the quality of the manufactured products.
How a SCADA system works
In simple terms, there are three elements within a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition: PLCs, RTUs, HMIs. These tools work together to allow companies to access the data that will make their processes more efficient and automatic.
The PLC tools (Programmable Logic Controllers) together with the RTU terminals (Remote Terminal Units) are in charge of controlling the data and processes generated during production. These systems have the ability to communicate with the sensors installed in machines and to send the data obtained to the next level of the SCADA software.
This level consists of the HMIs (Human-Machine Interfaces), where the operators can receive information and communicate with all the systems that are part of the SCADA ecosystem.
Nexus Integra, and its Smart SCADA application
Nexus Integra is the open and standard industrial systems integration platform capable of generating a global operations and monitoring environment for large-scale industrial asset management.
This software manages and controls all the data generated by industrial companies and displays them in the most intuitive way, always adapting to the customer’s needs.
The Nexus Integra platform has been designed to allow integration and use of open data. This implies information without restrictions or limitations on the part of the property of these data that we can manage with permissions, as well as by any other actor that can be interested in interacting with them.
It deals with:
- Acquire data from any source of data and information BBDD, SCADAS, OPCs, …
- Standardize and unify data, allowing companies to exploit them in a simple and methodical way.
- Remote management. Users or algorithms can use the information provided by these data to act remotely directly on the assets of any plant in the company globally.
- Historical and real time data. Nexus Integra allows users to know at all times the real status of assets and review historical data to make the best decisions.
- Standardized and unified data. The information comes from a wide variety of assets (IoT sensors, databases, ERP systems, SAP, MES…) and Nexus Integra makes it possible to communicate easily in the same language and to use this data independently of the source in your Smart SCADA application.
Advantages of Nexus Integra compared to other platforms
A single integrated operations platform
This is a management software that unifies all the equipment, processes and people in a single platform. Thus, Nexus Integra users can visualize on a world map all the integrated plants and navigate through each one of them quickly and easily with a single click. With only one license for all the installations.
It unifies in a single platform all the processes and information sources regardless of the supplier, geographical location and type.
Control and manage all your assets and facilities from a single platform at any time.
Simple access from the web
It allows access to the platform and all the functionalities from any place and from any device through a web interface. Nexus is not a local application.
Simple and intuitive configuration and operation
Nexus integrates and its Smart SCADA application has been designed to improve the user experience by making the platform’s usability and interface as simple and attractive as possible. We encourage the use by users without programming knowledge and the autonomy of our customers.
High levels of customization
In Nexus Integra, screens can be configured by users to include all the information they want at a glance.
Our user manager allows having detailed control of the accesses and permissions of the users.
Easily integrated and scalable
Nexus Integra has very short deployment times, in just four weeks it can be deployed and operational. Being able from the moment of the deployment to control and give visibility of the state of the facilities and assets.
On the other hand, being an integrated operations platform and having all the data of the facilities and assets centralized, it allows to clone SCADAS, replicate reports, dashboards,… facilitating the scalability of the companies.
Concurrent users and environments by profiles
The Nexus Integra platform is a web platform that allows the access of different concurrent users, which is capable of generating different environments and of controlling the permissions of each one of the users to the smallest detail.
Autonomy without programming knowledge
Nexus Integra facilitates the use of its platform by eliminating the programming part for the modification and creation of Synoptics in its Smart SCADA application. Users add and modify their designs by simply dragging widgets and selecting information. This facilitates the work of maintaining the screens allowing people without programming knowledge to use the platform.
Connection with other applications
The Nexus Integra platform is an open solution that allows the integration and connection with external applications, the objective is that the information can be shared in a simple way and the clients can obtain the maximum value of their data.
The Nexus Integra installation process
For the installation of Nexus Integra, our technical team goes to the company’s facilities and evaluates the best way to introduce the software to extract the full potential of the data. Thus, the project is dimensioned and the business development team comes into play, which sends the company an offer to start the project.
Our clients have already achieved 1 million euros in energy cost savings, 20% in maintenance cost reduction and 70% in cost reduction in the development of new SW verticals.
Sectors such as the automotive industry, smart cities, food and energy management have already applied it, and we have participated in numerous success stories, becoming the solution par excellence for companies in various areas.
Are you looking for the best solution to implement a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition? Contact us and let’s talk about how Nexus Integra can help your company.
