Changing role of SCADA in manufacturing plant

Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) was meant primarily for remote monitoring and/or control function of a number of widely distributed sites. However, the expectations from a SCADA system in manufacturing industry is not as well-defined as that in the power/utility industry. SCADA in a manufacturing environment is caught between control system and management functions. The intelligent human-machine interface (HMI) is often visualized as SCADA central station due to task overlaps. Physical difficulties and vision problems in implementation of a successful SCADA in manufacturing environment is discussed. The importance of having a SCADA central computer is stressed. The efforts like 'Cooperative Automation' where users, suppliers and integrators would work as partners to develop the anticipated solution are already under way.