Category: SCADA

Practical thoughts on HMIs and industrial software environments

By Mina 4 Jun, 2017 Leave a comment

Welcome again to the world of industrial software. This article is a collection of thoughts to provide practical exposure into the concept of HMIs, and why they are important. We will also cover important concepts that apply to the data performance of industrial software in general. The article will first go through the basic concepts around HMIs, their use cases, and how they work. From there, we’ll dive deeper into real world design and implementation considerations, that come along with embedding HMIs in industrial environments.

The basics

HMIs or Human Machine Interfaces are popular pieces of software, utilized by all … Read more

Practical thoughts on industrial OPC

By Mina 18 Dec, 2016 2 Comments

Industrial OPC is a vital, yet relatively small component in a SCADA system. This is because OPC is typically responsible for the software communication aspect between a piece of industrial software, and a monitoring or control device (sensors, PLCs..etc). It may not be as complex as analysis algorithms embedded in data historians , or as fancy as visuals reflected on HMI screens. However, Inspite of this, industrial OPC can never be ignored. OPC is the equivalent of those resilient nails that make a fancy piece of furniture come together.

What is OPC ?

OPC is popular because it is … Read more

Thoughts on Process historians

By Mina 20 Nov, 2015 10 Comments

Today, I found myself wanting to talk about a SCADA related topic a little bit. What is SCADA you say? Well, you can either check this article, or just read on. SCADA is a world that I live in, where software meets temperature sensors and pressure gauges. SCADA is the software layer that sits between a human being and a bunch of devices that control and monitor operations in a factory, oil pipelines in the desert , or power generation substations… you get the idea!! Process historians are not considered SCADA systems by themselves, however they are vital companions … Read more

How to build a Modbus driver in Go?

By Mina 26 Nov, 2014 2 Comments

This article serves as a practical guide into how to build a Modbus driver. I use the Go (Golang) programming language because I like it . However, the principles outlined should apply to any stack.

I happen to be a software engineer who works in SCADA. What does that mean?  it means that a lot of my days involve making various pieces of complex software work in harmony with industrial devices like one big happy family. In order to make software talk to industrial devices, we use protocols that both the devices and the software can understand. Some protocols … Read more

A dive into the industrial software industry

By Mina 19 Aug, 2014 2 Comments

This article serves to provide a decent overview of the industrial software industry. This industry is the gate to the intelligent solutions that drive the success of industrial operations in factories, plants, pipelines, electrical grids, and similar facilities. Let’s start the journey by covering SCADA which is the main component of any industrial software.

What is scada?

A SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system simply refers to the layers of software and infrastructure that sit between a digital screen, and any control or measuring device. SCADA is used to issue control commands to remote devices like valves or pumps, read values from those devices, and analyze device data when needed. SCADA … Read more