What is SCADA?
SCADA combines software and hardware to create a control system that is frequently referred to as automation technology. The system receives data about processes and related equipment, which supervisors then use to control and optimizse operations.
A SCADA system can be spread across different locations, sometimes over a wide geographical area, or contained within a single facility. SCADA is extensively used in the petrochemical industry, drinking water delivery systems, wastewater collection systems, pipelines and a range of other industrial processes.
But SCADA is not an end in itself.
Maintaining efficiencies and identifying problems as soon as they occur are just some of the ways SCADA systems can support your operation. They can also improve productivity, quality and profitability while keeping costs at a minimum.
SCADA is a significant long-term investment and choosing the right system is vital.
How SCADA software can benefit your operation
The best SCADA software will be of lasting value to your organizsation, helping you stay ahead of your competitors and grow. The best software should improve production quantity and quality, reduce costs, minimizse waste and be completely reliable.
SCADA software should also deliver efficiency gains across different systems in your organizsation, as well as improve the performance of your plant and equipment. To bring value to your organizsation, SCADA systems need to lengthen the lifecycle of your assets and reduce your maintenance costs.
AVEVA’s SCADA software solutions tick all those boxes.
AVEVA’s world leading SCADA software
AVEVA has a long history and unbeatable track record in delivering SCADA software solutions to organizsations large and small. We offer a winning strategy for meeting complex and evolving automation requirements, as well as solutions for more straightforward operations.
It’s almost impossible to predict your long-term technology requirements in this era of constant innovation and rapid change. That’s why our solutions are designed to evolve with technology and grow along with your business.
Our solutions help protect your engineering investments, improve machine reliability and uptime, improve operational efficiency, productivity and reliability.
- Operational Excellence
Our SCADA software delivers operational excellence within industrial automation and across our full Engineering and, Operations and Performance software portfolio.
- High Performance
Our SCADA software is reliable, flexible and high performance, and has been helping industries around the world for decades.
- Trusted Solutions
Our SCADA software is highly secure, scalable and offers real-time supervisory control. It’s trusted to manage critical infrastructures around the world.
Key features of AVEVA’s SCADA solutions
Operational Excellence
World-leading capabilities and innovative user experience empower operators to meet complex operation requirements.
- Securely visualizse enterprise-wide operations
- Quickly navigate displays following intuitive modern designs
- Create a single common information stream
- Continuous operational improvement and real-time decision support
High Performance
A strong track record in SCADA underpins our reliable, flexible and high-performance solutions for industrial process customers.
- Harness an increasing array of data sets
- Enhanced visualizsation capabilities offer an improved view of operations
- Real-time, holistic situational context helps improve efficiency and facilitate timely corrective action- see our HMI and SCADA Design Fundamentals whitepaper
- Powerful intuitive real-time monitoring
Trusted solutions
Our world-leading pipeline control and monitoring solutions integrate with oil and gas distribution operations to bring sharp and reliable control room awareness.
- Safety and security of assets sits at the heart of solution design
- Supported by a securely managed high-performance failover system
- Adheres to industry best practices
- Displays focus on pipeline operations, including control room management (CRM)
SCADA FAQs
SCADA stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. The term refers to a system that combines software and hardware, enabling industrial organizsations and factories to control processes and equipment. The system receives process-related data from devices and equipment across the operation, whether spread out in different locations or within one facility. SCADA operators and supervisors then use this data to monitor processes; maintain and improve efficiencies; improve quality and profitability; reduce waste; identify problems and emergencies and deal with them quickly and efficiently.
SCADA systems are found in a very wide range of factories and industries across the globe, from small operations to some of the world’s largest. SCADA systems are vital for organizsations to manage, control and monitor physical operations that are happening in one location or in several. SCADA is used extensively in the petrochemical industry, electricity transmission, gas and oil pipelines, water distribution systems, wastewater systems and traffic lights, to name a few examples.
SCADA software is the computer programme that helps to monitor plant or factory operations. The software processes data sent from microprocessors (Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) or Remote Terminal Units (RTUSs)) that communicate with equipment such as valves, pumps, scensors and HMIs. Find out more about HMIs.
The SCADA software receives the data collected from machinery, equipment and devices and processes it. The data is then displayed on screens and dashboards often in animated graphs, diagrams and images, so that operators know in real time what is happening on the floor or in the field. The operator can analyzse this data to determine whether operations are running optimally, or whether they need adjustment or urgent intervention. For example, operators can use the SCADA system to change rates and settings, recalibrate equipment or shut down a process altogether if necessary.
It is generally accepted there are four different types of SCADA or, in other words, four generations of systems. These are:
- Early or Monolithic SCADA systems (first generation) were independent, and not connected to other systems. This limited their scope to tasks like monitoring sensors and flagging emergencies.
- Distributed SCADA Systems (second generation) could control several systems.
- Networked SCADA systems (third generation) communicated through phone or data lines, with fibre optics or ethernet used to transmit data
- Internet of Things SCADA systems (fourth generation)
Selecting AVEVA as Your Industrial Software Provider
AVEVA has a long history in providing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition software and offers a winning strategy for meeting complex and evolving automation requirements while protecting engineering investments. Whether you are looking to start small or implement a comprehensive system, our software solutions provide operational excellence within industrial automation and across our full Engineering, Operations and Performance software portfolio.
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