SCADA SYSTEMS
The term SCADA is an abbreviation for supervisory control and data acquisition. SCADA systems integrate the data acquisition and system monitoring and control activities using graph- ical software packages. A SCADA system is nothing but a customized graphical applications program with all the necessary hardware components. It can be developed using the popular visual programming languages such as Visual C++ or Visual Basic. Good human–computer interface techniques should be employed in the design of the user interface. Alternatively, graphical programming languages such as Labview or VisiDaq can be used to create powerful, user-friendly SCADA systems.
In a SCADA system the user can have access to a graphical screen in order to monitor or change a setting in the plant. SCADA systems consist of both hardware and software and are usually implemented using personal computers (PCs). Typical hardware includes the computer, keyboard, touch screen, sensors and actuators. The software is in the form of a graphical user interface, where parts of the plant, sensor data and actuator data can all be displayed in various colours on a screen. The advantage of a SCADA system is that the user can easily monitor the status of the overall system. It is important that a SCADA system should be secure and password protected to avoid unauthorized access to the control screens.