Automation

The word ‘Automation’ is derived from Greek words “Auto” (self) and “Matos” (moving). Automation
therefore is the mechanism for systems that “move by itself”. However, apart from this original sense of
the word, automated systems also achieve significantly superior performance than what is possible with
manual systems, in terms of power, precision and speed of operation.

Definition: Automation is a set of technologies that results in operation of machines and systems without
significant human intervention and achieves performance superior to manual operation.

Automation Systems may include Control Systems but the reverse is not true. Control Systems
may be parts of Automation Systems.

Industrial Automation also involves significant amount of hardware technologies, related to

Instrumentation and Sensing, Actuation and Drives, Electronics for Signal Conditioning,
Communication and Display, Embedded as well as Stand-alone Computing Systems etc.

Most of industrial information systems have to be real-time. By that we mean that the
computation not only has to be correct, but also must be produced in time. An accurate result,
which is not timely may be less preferable than a less accurate result produced in time.
Therefore systems have to be designed with explicit considerations of meeting computing
time deadlines.

Automation also reduces cost of production significantly by efficient usage of energy, manpower
and material. The product quality that can be achieved with automated precision machines and
processes cannot be achieved with manual operations. Moreover, since operation is automated, the
same quality would be achieved for thousands of parts with little variation.

Automation also reduces the over all product life cycle i.e., the time required to complete (i)
Product conception and design (ii) Process planning and installation (iii) Various stages of the
product life cycle.

Types of Automation Systems

Automation systems can be categorized based on the flexibility and level of integration in
manufacturing process operations.
Fixed Automation: It is used in high volume production with dedicated equipment, which has a
fixed set of operation and designed to be efficient for this set. Continuous flow and Discrete Mass
Production systems use this automation. e.g. Distillation Process, Conveyors, Paint Shops,
Transfer lines etc.

Programmable Automation: It is used for a changeable sequence of operation and configuration

of the machines using electronic controls.

Flexible Automation: It is used in Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) which is invariably

computer controlled. Human operators give high-level commands in the form of codes entered into
computer identifying product and its location in the sequence and the lower level changes are done
automatically.

Integrated Automation: It denotes complete automation of a manufacturing plant, with all

processes functioning under computer control and under coordination through digital information
processing. It includes technologies such as computer-aided design and manufacturing, computer-
aided process planning, computer numerical control machine tools, flexible machining systems,
automated storage and retrieval systems, automated material handling systems such as robots and
automated cranes and conveyors, computerized scheduling and production control. Typical
examples of such technologies are seen in Advanced Process Automation Systems and Computer
Integrated Manufacturing (CIM).

Definition: Control is a set of technologies that achieves desired patterns of variations of

operational parameters and sequences for machines and systems by providing the input signals
necessary.

The main function of control systems is to ensure that outputs follow the set points. However,
Automation Systems may have much more functionality, such as computing set points for control
systems, monitoring system performance, plant startup or shutdown, job and equipment scheduling
etc.

Industrial Control System

Process control system (PCS), distributed control system (DCS), and supervisory control and data
acquisition (SCADA) are names frequently applied to the systems that control, monitor, and
manage large production systems. The systems are often in critical infrastructures industries, such
as electric power generators, transportation systems, dams, chemical facilities, petrochemical
operations, pipelines, and others, giving the security of PCS, DCS, and SCADA systems evaluated
importance in the increasingly networked world we live in.

SCADA especially is a term that has fairly recently been deprecated. IACS included SCADA
services and reflected the wider and broader industrial infrastructures that were based on IP and
interfaced with IT systems. A process control system allows operators to make control decisions,
which might then be relayed upstream, downstream, or to parallel processes for execution by the
same system. These systems could be within the four walls of one building, or could be spread
throughout a potentially massive geographical region (in the case for items such as pipelines,
power distribution, water and wastewater management). For example, an ICS might gather
information from endpoint devices that allow operators to assess that a leak may have opened in a
pipeline.
The system aggregates this information at a central site, which (hopefully) contains intelligence
and analytics alerting a control station and operators that the leak has occurred. Operators then
carry out necessary analysis to determine if and how the leak may impact operations, safety, and
regulations (environmental, health, and safety). ICS displays the information gathered from
endpoint devices in a logical and organized fashion, and keeps a history of the parameters received
from the endpoint device.
Difference between SCADA and DCS (DCS vs SCADA)
Although both DCS and SCADA are monitoring and control mechanisms in industrial
installations, they have different goals. There exist some commonality between DCS and SCADA
in terms of hardware and its components, however, there are certain requirements by the end
applications that separates a robust and cost-effective DCS from the viable SCADA system. Some
of the differences between DCS and SCADA are listed below.

1. DCS is process oriented, whereas SCADA is data-gathering oriented. DCS emphasizes

more on control of the process and it also consists of supervisory control level. And as
a part of doing so, it presents the information to the operator. On the other hand, SCADA
concentrates more on acquisition process data and presenting it to the operators and
control centre.
 2. In DCS, data acquisition and control modules or controllers are usually located within
a more confined area and the communication between various distributed control units
carried via a local area network. SCADA generally covers larger geographical areas that
use different communication systems which are generally less reliable than a local area
network.

3. DCS employs a closed loop control at process control station and at remote terminal
units. But in case of SCADA there is no such closed loop control.

4. DCS is process state driven where it scans the process in regular basis and displays the
results to the operator, even on demand. On the other hand, SCADA is event driven
where it does not scan the process sequentially, but it waits for an event that cause
process parameter to trigger certain actions. Hence, DCS does not keep a database of
process parameter values as it always in connection with its data source, whereas
SCADA maintains a database to log the parameter values which can be further retrieved
for operator display and this makes the SCADA to present the last recorded values if
the base station unable to get the new values from a remote location.

5. In terms of applications, DCS is used for installations within a confined area, like a
single plant or factory and for a complex control processes. Some of the application
areas of DCS include chemical plants, power generating stations, pharmaceutical
manufacturing, oil and gas industries, etc. On the other hand SCADA is used for much
larger geographical locations such as water management systems, power transmission
and distribution control, transport applications and small manufacturing and process
industries.

In spite of these major differences, the modern DCS and SCADA systems come with common
standard facilities while dealing process plant automation. However, the choice between DCS and
SCADA depends on its client and end application requirement. But if the client choice between
these two, by gaining equal requirement from the process, DCS is the economical choice as it help
to reduce the cost and offer better control.