SCADA

Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems are widely used to monitor and remotely control the processes in utility industries such as electric power transmission and distribution, water distribution, and liquid and gas cross-country pipelines. A SCADA system enables an operator in a location central to a widely distributed process, such as an oil or gas field, pipeline system, irrigation system, or hydroelectric generating complex, to make set point changes on distant process controllers, to open or close valves or switches, to monitor alarms and to gather measurement information. The benefits of SCADA systems are best appreciated when the process is very large – hundreds or even thousands of kilometers from one end to the other in terms of reducing the cost of routine visits to monitor facility operation.