We haven’t quite reached the age of James Cameron’s Terminator world of machines, but we are getting close with the emergence of artificial intelligence in supervisory control systems.
Computer protocols and digital interfaces continue to emerge in the supervisory control system trends, but will it knock out HMI (human intelligence interface) completely? Probably not, and here’s why. While systems have moved toward open architecture control systems, there are still many human-controlled industrial procedures that are outside the scope of industrial automation. Mental and sensory skills still win out over even the “smartest” computer system.
Tasks reliant on human intelligence include planning, safety checks and quality evaluation (for example the scent, taste or look of a product). The automated side of this relationship is controlled by PLCs, or programmable logic controllers. These are industry-specific computers which synchronize flow from sensors with output flow to actualize events. Such a system allows accurate and precise control of a wide range of industrial procedures.
Needless to say, these interfaces are always overseen by a human.
Best-in-Class Supervisory Control Systems feature:
- Open architecture system that integrates extra functionality on top of standard system functions
- Reliable design coupled with on-line configuration to promote the highest levels of efficiency in industrial processes
- A system wide SCADA system that consists of an HMI interface in which the human operator monitors and controls the process
Top Considerations Before Buying Supervisory Control Systems:
Supervisory Control Systems usually link HMI to the SCADA system to provide trending, diagnostic data, and management information, such as logistic information, scheduled maintenance procedures, logistic, detailed schematics, and expert-system troubleshooting guides.
Key Providers:
1. The RST-5001 Network/Web Enabled 4-20 mA Input Controller by the Automation Products Group, Inc. provides your system with better remote access of your system. HMI is connected through email or text message alerts whenever user defined limits are reached. Users can access the sensor data from any internet connection and the system is programmable via an internal web page instead of requiring special software. A data logging service is also available with this hardware device. Automation Products Group,Inc., was originally a division of Scientific Technologies,Inc. In September of 2006, Omron Corporation acquired the safety product business of STI,
and APG was formed and purchased by the family that founded STI. Although a new company, our roots in the sensor business go back as far as 1971.
2. Consider CSI’s UCOS system for your complete control solution. UCOS stands for User, Configurable, Open, Systems and prides itself on being a highly scalable, real-time solution. It supports traditional control systems including, SCADA and PLC+HMI, and DCS. The UCOS development tool lets the user graphically configure object-oriented control logic and simultaneously generate operator interface graphics and device faceplates with no additional effort. Additionally, this system has the ability to import/export project configuration data into the database, support host-level control sequences, handle multiple I/O chains simultaneously and has no requirements to change logic programming when controllers are upgraded. Founded in 1968, CSI pioneered the application of microprocessor and networking technology for real-time control problems.
3. Couple Wonderware InTouch HMI Visualization and AarchestrA-based Wonderware System Platform by Invensys Systems, Inc. for your complex HMI/SCADA system. This comprehensive system provides HMI visualization and geographically distributed SCADA through an easy configuration and implementation from inception. It has virtually unlimited scalability for data collection and analysis for various systems and open access to historical data. Invensys Operations Management is a leading provider of automation and information technologies, systems, software solutions, services and consulting to global manufacturing and infrastructure industries. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, its solutions are used by more than 40,000 clients around the world in over 200,000 plants and facilities.
4. Mattec’s ProHelp EPM (4th generation) provides real-time production and process monitoring system that is capable of tracking up to 4,096 machines while simultaneously supporting hundreds of users. System features include SPC/SQC Analysis, preventive maintenance, operator tracking, and cavity pressure control. Mattec Corporation was founded in 1983 for the purpose of creating a real-time shop floor monitoring system, primarily for the plastics industry. Mattec's staff provided the technical and business tools to design and create the data collection hardware and software for ProHelp®, the first generation product from Mattec.
Supervisory Control Systems
Definition: Supervisory control is a general term for control of system interfaces, whether by a human or an automatic control system, although almost every real system is a combination of both.
