Brigitte Händler discusses the requirements for a SCADA system in an age of digitisation.

Ben Savage explores the advantages and disadvantages of converged devices for industrial applications and offers advice on what specifiers should be looking for.

Suzanne Gill reports on the use of mobile devices in industrial applications. It appears to be a slow-burn technology on the plant floor and there are some hurdles that need to be overcome before mobile devices become more widely used.

It is important to ensure that HMIs have the capability to work with devices and platforms being used to implement the IoT and Industry 4.0, says Fabio Terezinho.

Many control room engineers are working in an uncomfortable environment with outdated equipment. Tightening margins and higher production targets further add to the pressure on them and it is important that operators have the tools they need to meet the demands of their job, and enable them to add value to the process operation, says Bruce Calder, vice president of Technology at Honeywell Process Solutions.

Control Engineering Europe spoke to Carsten Meier, marketing manager TIA Portal, Siemens AG, Digital Factory Division, to find out what benefits TIA Portal can offer users today, and in the future.

Control Engineering Europe looks at some recent enhancements and additions to offer additional versatility to SCADA and visualisation solutions.

The increasing degree of networking in automation calls for a new generation of intelligent, decentralised networked devices. Standardized Computer on Modules with the SMARC specification with ARM SoCs are now enabling this new class of device to be developed efficiently. Martin Unverdorben, product manager, Computer-on-Modules at Kontron, explains.

The process of dying and knitting yarn for textile process has long been machine automated. However, advanced SCADA software has provided an intuitive development environment for robust monitoring and data acquisition applications, making it possible to follow that process through every step – from raw material to finished product.

A control system is helping machine-tool expert Halifax Numerical Controls (HNC) to achieve success in the competitive market for roll grinders for rubber-coated rollers.

Ellyn Foltz, managing director, Worldwide Process Manufacturing at Microsoft Corp, discusses the issues of visualising and making the best use of the increasing amounts of data that are being created by industry today.

The Cern Europe Nuclear Research Center in Meyrin in the Swiss Canton of Geneva is home to the world’s biggest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Alongside the control, monitoring and documentation of experiments conducted in the LHC, since 2001 all technical processes at Cern have been monitored and controlled by a SCADA system from the Simatic HMI family: Simatic WinCC Open Architecture (WinCC OA).

Veolia has selected ARC Informatique PcVue SCADA software to monitor and control services and operations at its Super Rimiez water treatment plant near Nice in France. Key factors in its SCADA choice were performance, ease of use and lower total cost of ownership.

SCHAD, the developer of the EXTEND7000 mobile SCADA system has implemented a mobile solution for BAUR, a German multichannel retailer.

Virtualisation for SCADA systems brings many benefits such as time and cost savings, greater levels of security and operational efficiency advantages. Tony Chapman from Siemens Industry Automation highlights some of the key areas where SCADA virtualisation can add real value.

Mitsubishi Electric and Adroit Technologies have jointly addressed the shortcomings of traditional PLC-SCADA integration tools with a new technology that was first introduced at SPS/IPS/Drives 2010.

CEE looks at how one utility company has ensured security of its SCADA control networks.

Many PID control loops are still operated manually. CEE looks at an auto tune solution which offers the benefit of having a clear view of the information on a large-screen HMI.

Traditionally, users have had a choice between a DCS or a PLC/SCADA approach when selecting a control system for use in process control applications. Richard Sturt, Rockwell Automation business development manager, process Industries, believes that Rockwell can offer a solution for users needing elements of both of these approaches.

Honeywell has announced the availability of virtualisation support for its Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) for both DCS and SCADA applications which are said to establish the company as the only process industry vendor to offer a comprehensive virtualisation solution.