Feature SCADA & Data acquisition Cloud-based SCADA cuts hardware costs
In the oil & gas industry, it’s especially important to stay ahead in terms of technology. The market is particularly sensitive to cost efficiency in production, so it’s critical to produce energy with a minimum investment and a maximum return. Darryl Vipond, president of Vipond Controls explains how his company developed a cost effective cloud-based SCADA system optimised for the oil & gas industry
n addition to cost-effective solu- tions, the oil & gas industry requires real-time information in order to maintain constant control over pro- duction facilities. It’s critical that com- panies are able to monitor conditions in real time in order to protect their work- ers and make the necessary adjust- ments to maintain the maximum safe output. This has led to a demand for real-time, web-based Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) solutions that take advantage of the latest technologies.
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As a company based in Alberta, Canada and focused on the oil & gas industries, Vipond Controls under- stands the need for real-time data to manage oil & gas operations effectively in terms of both cost and time. To address this need, the company developed a cloud-based SCADA solution that relies on InduSoft’s Web Studio software. Critically for its cus- tomers, the solution eliminates the expense, time and manpower required to purchase, install and maintain local SCADA hardware and software at each site.
Previous Internet-based SCADA Like any new technology implementa- tion, developing a cloud-based SCADA application presented some obstacles that we needed to overcome. The company needed to create a solu- tion that enabled users to access real- time data over the Internet, and to offer this solution at a competitive price.
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Vipond’s iSCADA provides a much- needed portable, remote SCADA sys- tem for oil and gas companies.
Multiple clients can simultaneously and safely access only their own data from the company’s highly available cloud computing data centre
Indusoft Web Studio software is distributed in the UK by AdProSys
One of the greatest challenges in developing a cloud-based SCADA application is the state of the Internet itself. Internet protocol and web browsers aren’t designed for real-time data and control. Customers using older Internet-based SCADA systems often have to hit the submit button then wait an inordinate amount of time for an update, or press refresh buttons multiple times to show new data. These slow response times can be very frustrating for remote opera- tors, and can also cause mistakes in data entry and even in control of the remote site. We were confident, however, that our 20 years’ experience working with cus- tomers in the industry and with Internet technologies would enable us to develop a cloud-based SCADA appli- cation that would address these issues. After years of research and develop- ment, we’re now offering our iSCADA cloud-based solution that offers remote HMI functionality with fast response times and high availability, all at a very attractive price. The market has responded favorably to iSCADA, and we’ve deployed multiple applications.
Vipond Controls T: +1 403 456 6472
vipondcontrols.ca Enter 216
Indusoft T: +1 877 463 8763
www.indusoft.com Enter 217
AdProSys T: 0161 610 3538
www.adprosys.com Enter 218
Creating a cloud-based SCADA We started by looking for a web-based SCADA package that could deliver full HMI functionality for remote users. Flexibility and scalability were major concerns, as many of our cus- tomers start off with small projects that grow along with their operations. We also needed very quick remote response, such that the remote HMI experience closely approximated local operator interface.
Another important factor in select- ing a SCADA package was the ease with which it could be programmed. It had to support easy template design and object-oriented programming techniques. We needed SCADA soft- ware that contained a library of simple objects and templates specifi- cally for the oil and gas industry, along with the capability to generate more complex objects.
While looking at available SCADA development software, we understood that remote viewer functionality would be critical to the success of iSCADA, so we needed a user-friendly remote viewer that customers could use to access data via the Internet. Other challenges included finding software with good data trending, alarms and events. Moreover, we had to have the ability to customise every- thing easily. We found that many web- based SCADA development software packages made customisation tedious, but in order to deliver a different user experience for each customer, we needed software that provided effort- less customisation.
Perhaps the key factor for our new product was the elimination of SCADA hardware and software at the customer site. Traditional solutions require instal- lation and maintenance of a PC and SCADA software at the site. We needed to instead provide a solution that elimi- nated this requirement by hosting the SCADA software in the cloud.
SCADA as a service
After researching the market for some time, we found that InduSoft Web Studio met the challenging criteria for our iSCADA product. InduSoft’s Web Studio was specifically designed to deliver Internet-based SCADA with full functionality, making it a good fit for our needs.
The price, flexibility and program- ming power of the package made it extremely attractive as a tool for the development of our web-based SCADA project. In addition, its remote viewer feature offered the look and feel of a fully visualised remote HMI solution that our customers demanded. We have been able to develop a software as a service (SaaS) SCADA solution that creates a unique experi- ence for each client. With iSCADA, each customer has their own virtual machine running within Vipond’s server cloud. All data is kept safe and independent of other machines run- ning in the cloud.
JUNE 2012 Automation
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