The key attribute of a SCADA system is its ability to perform a supervisory operation over a variety of other proprietary devices.
The accompanying diagram is a general model which shows functional manufacturing levels using computerised control.
Referring to the diagram,
Level 0 contains the field devices such as flow and temperature sensors, and final control elements, such as control valves.
Level 1 contains the industrialised input/output (I/O) modules, and their associated distributed electronic processors.
Level 2 contains the supervisory computers, which collate information from processor nodes on the system, and provide the operator control screens.
Level 3 is the production control level, which does not directly control the process, but is concerned with monitoring production and targets.
Level 4 is the production scheduling level.
Level 1 contains the programmable logic controllers (PLCs) or remote terminal units (RTUs).
Level 2 contains the SCADA software and computing platform. The SCADA software exists only at this supervisory level as control actions are performed automatically by RTUs or PLCs. SCADA control functions are usually restricted to basic overriding or supervisory level intervention.
For example, a PLC may control the flow of cooling water through part of an industrial process to a set point level, but the SCADA system software will allow operators to change the set points for the flow. The SCADA also enables alarm conditions, such as loss of flow or high temperature, to be displayed and recorded. A feedback control loop is directly controlled by the RTU or PLC, but the SCADA software monitors the overall performance of the loop.
Levels 3 and 4 are not strictly process control in the traditional sense, but are where production control and scheduling takes place.
Data acquisition begins at the RTU or PLC level and includes instrumentation readings and equipment status reports that are communicated to level 2 SCADA as required. Data is then compiled and formatted in such a way that a control room operator using the HMI (Human Machine Interface) can make supervisory decisions to adjust or override normal RTU (PLC) controls. Data may also be fed to a historian, often built on a commodity database management system, to allow trending and other analytical auditing.
SCADA systems typically use a tag database, which contains data elements called tags or points, which relate to specific instrumentation or actuators within the process system according to such as the Piping and instrumentation diagram. Data is accumulated against these unique process control equipment tag references.