Industrial control system

Industrial control system (ICS) is a general term that encompasses several types of control systems and
associated instrumentation used for industrial process control.

Such systems can range from a few modular panel-mounted controllers to large interconnected and interactive
distributed control systems with many thousands of field connections. All systems receive data received from remote
sensors measuring process variables (PVs), compare these with desired set points (SPs) and derive command
functions which are used to control a process though the final control elements (FCEs), such as control valves.

The larger systems are usually implemented by Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, or
distributed control systems (DCS), and programmable logic controllers (PLCs), though SCADA and PLC systems are
scalable down to small systems with few control loops.[1] Such systems are extensively used in industries such as
chemical processing, pulp and paper manufacture, power generation, oil and gas processing and telecommunications.

Contents
Discrete controllers
Distributed control systems
DCS structure
SCADA systems
Programmable logic controllers
History
See also
References
Additional reading
External links

Discrete controllers
The simplest control systems are based around small discrete controllers with a single control loop each. These are
usually panel mounted which allows direct viewing of the front panel and provides means of manual intervention by
the operator, either to manually control the process or to change control setpoints. Originally these would be
pneumatic controllers, a few of which are still in use, but nearly all are now electronic.

Quite complex systems can be created with networks of these controllers communicating using industry standard
protocols, which allow the use of local or remote SCADA operator interfaces, and enable the cascading and
interlocking of controllers. However, as the number of control loops increase for a system design there is a point where
the use of a PLC or DCS system is more cost-effective.

Distributed control systems

A distributed control system (DCS) is a digital processor control system for a process or plant, wherein controller
functions and field connection modules are distributed throughout the system. They are used when the number of
control loops makes DCS more cost effective than discrete controllers, and enable a supervisory view over large
industrial processes. In a DCS a hierarchy of controllers is connected by
communication networks, allowing centralised control rooms and local on-
plant monitoring and control.

The introduction of DCSs enables easy configuration of plant controls such

as cascaded loops and interlocks, and easy interfacing with other computer
systems such as production control and scheduling. It also enabled more
sophisticated alarm handling, introduced automatic event logging,
removed the need for physical records such as chart recorders, allowed the
control racks to be networked and thereby located locally to plant to reduce Panel mounted controllers with
cabling. integral hard displays. The process
value (PV), and setvalue (SV) or
setpoint are on the same scale for
DCS structure easy comparison. The controller
output CO is shown as MV
A DCS typically uses custom-designed processors as controllers, and uses (Manipulated variable) range 0-
either proprietary interconnections or standard protocols for 100%
communication.Input and output modules form the peripheral
components of the system.

The processors receive information from input modules, process the

information and decide control actions to be performed by the output
modules. The input modules receive information from sensing instruments
in the process (or field) and the output modules transmit instructions to
the final control elements, such as control valves.

The field inputs and outputs can either be continuously changing analog
signals e.g. 4~ 20mA dc current loop or 2 state signals that switch either
A control loop using a discrete
"on" or "off", such as relay contacts or a semiconductor switch.
controller. Field signals are process
variable (PV) from the sensor, and
DCS systems can normally also support such as Foundation Fieldbus,
control output to the valve (the Final
profibus, HART, Modbus, PC Link and other digital communication bus
Control Equipment - FCE). A valve
that carries not only input and output signals but also advanced messages positioner ensures correct valve
such as error diagnostics and status signals. operation.

SCADA
systems
Supervisory control and
data acquisition (SCADA)
is a control system
architecture that uses
computers, networked data
communications and
graphical user interfaces
for high-level process
supervisory management,
but uses other peripheral
devices such as Functional manufacturing control levels, DCS and SCADA operate on levels 1 and
programmable logic 2.
controllers and discrete
PID controllers to interface to the process plant or machinery. The operator interfaces which enable monitoring and
the issuing of process commands, such as controller set point changes, are handled through the SCADA supervisory
computer system. However, the real-time control logic or controller calculations are performed by networked modules
which connect to the field sensors and actuators.

The SCADA concept was developed as a universal means of remote access to a variety of local control modules, which
could be from different manufacturers allowing access through standard automation protocols. In practice, large
SCADA systems have grown to become very similar to distributed control systems in function, but using multiple
means of interfacing with the plant. They can control large-scale processes that can include multiple sites, and work
over large distances.[2] It is one of the most commonly-used types of industrial control systems, however there are
concerns about SCADA systems being vulnerable to cyberwarfare/cyberterrorism attacks.[3]

Referring to the functional hierarchy diagram in this article:

Level 1 contains the PLCs or 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.

Programmable logic controllers

PLCs can range from small "building brick" devices with tens of I/O in a
housing integral with the processor, to large rack-mounted modular
devices with a count of thousands of I/O, and which are often networked to
other PLC and SCADA systems.

They can be designed for multiple arrangements of digital and analog

inputs and outputs (I/O), extended temperature ranges, immunity to
electrical noise, and resistance to vibration and impact. Programs to
control machine operation are typically stored in battery-backed-up or
non-volatile memory.

It was in the automotive industry in the USA that the PLC was created.
Before the PLC, the control, sequencing, and safety interlock logic for
manufacturing automobiles was mainly composed of relays, cam timers,
drum sequencers, and dedicated closed-loop controllers. Since these could
number in the hundreds or even thousands, the process for updating such
facilities for the yearly model change-over was very time consuming and
expensive, as electricians needed to individually rewire the relays to change
Siemens Simatic S7-400 system in
their operational characteristics.
a rack, left-to-right: power supply
unit (PSU), CPU, interface module
When digital computers became available, being general-purpose
(IM) and communication processor
programmable devices, they were soon applied to control sequential and
(CP).
combinatorial logic in industrial processes. However these early computers
required specialist programmers, and stringent operating environmental
control for temperature, cleanliness, and power quality. To meet these challenges this the PLC was developed with
several key attributes. It would tolerate the shop-floor environment, it would support discrete input and output, and it
was easily maintained and programmed. Another option is the use of several small embedded controls attached to an
industrial computer via a network. Examples are the Lantronix Xport[4] and Digi/ME.

History
Process control of large industrial plants has evolved through many stages.
Initially, control would be from panels local to the process plant. However
this required a large manpower resource to attend to these dispersed
panels, and there was no overall view of the process. The next logical
development was the transmission of all plant measurements to a
permanently-manned central control room. Effectively this was the
centralisation of all the localised panels, with the advantages of lower
manning levels and easier overview of the process. Often the controllers
were behind the control room panels, and all automatic and manual
A pre-DCS era central control room.
control outputs were individually transmitted back to plant in the form of
Whilst the controls are centralised in
pneumatic or electrical signals. one place, they are still discrete and
not integrated into one system.
However, whilst providing a central control focus, this arrangement was
inflexible as each control loop had its own controller hardware so system
changes required reconfiguration of signals by re-piping or re-wiring. It
also required continual operator movement within a large control room in
order to monitor the whole process. With coming of electronic processors,
high speed electronic signalling networks and electronic graphic displays it
became possible to replace these discrete controllers with computer-based
algorithms, hosted on a network of input/output racks with their own
control processors. These could be distributed around the plant and would A DCS control room where plant
communicate with the graphic displays in the control room. The concept of information and controls are
"distributed control" was realised. displayed on computer graphics
screens. The operators are seated
The introduction of distributed control allowed flexible interconnection as they can view and control any
and re-configuration of plant controls such as cascaded loops and part of the process from their
interlocks, and easy interfacing with other production computer systems. It screens, whilst retaining a plant
overview.
enabled sophisticated alarm handling, introduced automatic event logging,
removed the need for physical records such as chart recorders, allowed the
control racks to be networked and thereby located locally to plant to reduce cabling runs, and provided high level
overviews of plant status and production levels. For large control systems, the general commercial name "Distributed
Control System" (DCS) was coined to refer to proprietary modular systems from many manufacturers which had high
speed networking and a full suite of displays and control racks which all seamlessly integrated.

Whilst the DCS was tailored to meet the needs of large industrial continuous processes, in industries where
combinatoric and sequential logic was the primary requirement, the PLC (programmable logic controller) evolved out
of a need to replace racks of relays and timers used for event-driven control. The old controls were difficult to re-
configure and fault-find, and PLC control enabled networking of signals to a central control area with electronic
displays. PLC were first developed for the automotive industry on vehicle production lines, where sequential logic was
becoming very complex. It was soon adopted in a large number of other event-driven applications as varied as printing
presses and water treatment plants.

SCADA's history is rooted in distribution applications, such as power, natural gas, and water pipelines, where there is
a need to gather remote data through potentially unreliable or intermittent low-bandwidth and high-latency links.
SCADA systems use open-loop control with sites that are widely separated geographically. A SCADA system uses RTUs
(remote terminal units, also referred to as remote telemetry units) to send supervisory data back to a control center.
Most RTU systems always did have some limited capacity to handle local controls while the master station is not
available. However, over the years RTU systems have grown more and more capable of handling local controls.

The boundaries between DCS and SCADA/PLC systems are blurring as time goes on.[5] The technical limits that drove
the designs of these various systems are no longer as much of an issue. Many PLC platforms can now perform quite
well as a small DCS, using remote I/O and are sufficiently reliable that some SCADA systems actually manage closed
loop control over long distances. With the increasing speed of today's processors, many DCS products have a full line
of PLC-like subsystems that weren't offered when they were initially developed.

This led to the concept and realisation of a PAC - programmable automation controller - which is programmed in a
modern programming language such as C or C++, - that is an amalgamation of these three concepts.

See also
Automation
Industrial safety systems
MTConnect
OPC Foundation
Safety instrumented system (SIS)
Control System Security
Operational Technology

References
This article incorporates public domain material from the National Institute of Standards and Technology website
http://www.nist.gov.

1. NIST SP 800-82
2. Boys, Walt (18 August 2009). "Back to Basics: SCADA" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfxr5DikdP0).
Automation TV: Control Global - Control Design.
3. "Cyberthreats, Vulnerabilities and Attacks on SCADA Networks" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120813015252/ht
tp://gspp.berkeley.edu/iths/Tsang_SCADA%20Attacks.pdf) (PDF). Rosa Tang, berkeley.edu. Archived from the
original (http://gspp.berkeley.edu/iths/Tsang_SCADA%20Attacks.pdf) (PDF) on 13 August 2012. Retrieved
1 August 2012.
4. "Lantronix Device Networking" (http://www.alphamicro.net/components/product~line~11~id~251.asp). Retrieved
6 March 2017.
5. "Introduction to Industrial Control Networks" (http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?tp=&arnumber=62486
48). IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials. 2012.

Additional reading
Guide to Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Security (https://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-82r1), SP800-82
Rev1, National Institute of Standards and Technology, May 2013. Accessed June 5, 2014.

External links
New Age of Industrial Controllers (http://www.aandd24.in/pi-india/index.php?StoryID=189&articleID=125366)
Proview (http://www.proview.se) Open source Process Control System
A simple guide to Embedded PLCs (http://plccompare.com/embedded-plc-guide/)

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