What is a SCADA system and how does it work?

A key technology as we drive towards ‘smart manufacturing’, SCADA technology can be the enabler to predict maintenance, monitor output speed, increase operator safety and more. But what is a SCADA system and how does it work? The experts at OnLogic have produced a high-level introduction to SCADA systems and how to get started.

With the amount of data being produced in modern industrial facilities, the opportunity for optimisation has never been greater. The concept of collecting and acting on data isn’t new, and today’s SCADA solutions offer incredible insights and capabilities that were previously inaccessible.

Author Cole Wangsness, leader of strategic partnerships at OnLogic, says: “We get asked all the time what a SCADA system and how it works. So we wanted to provide a high-level introduction.”

The article looks at exactly what a SCADA system is, the hardware that makes up the system, how the SCADA system works and how to implement a SCADA solution. It also looks at how OnLogic’s industrial computers integrate with SCADA software to help you get up and running with a SCADA solution more quickly.

OnLogic partners with the SCADA experts at Inductive Automation. They created the popular and powerful Ignition SCADA software which was specifically developed to streamline modern industrial automation implementations. OnLogic simplifies SCADA implementation through its line of hardware with Ignition Edge software pre-installed.