Design Like a Pro: Best Practices for IIoT

The industrial automation industry is benefiting from the incredible opportunities made possible by the Internet of Things (IoT). While the IoT has shown promise within the corporate and consumer environment, there is a great opportunity to unlock the data in the industrial space.

IIoT: Combining the Best of OT and IT

Two worlds are converging as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) takes the controls industry by storm. This white paper examines how professionals from Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) can find common ground to establish the IIoT. Through IIoT solutions such as MQTT, a lightweight communications protocol, industrial organizations can gain the ability to easily collect data from large remote systems and share it with the enterprise level.

What is SCADA?

SCADA systems are crucial for industrial organizations since they help to maintain efficiency, process data for smarter decisions, and communicate system issues to help mitigate downtime.

What is HMI?

A Human-Machine Interface (HMI) is a user interface or dashboard that connects a person to a machine, system, or device. While the term can technically be applied to any screen that allows a user to interact with a device, HMI is most commonly used in the context of an industrial process.

What is MQTT?

MQTT is a machine-to-machine (M2M) data transfer protocol that is quickly becoming the leading messaging protocol for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

What is IIoT?

IIoT promises to revolutionize manufacturing by enabling the acquisition and accessibility of far greater amounts of data, at far greater speeds.

21CFR11 Compliance for Ignition Software

When properly implemented, Ignition can help manufacturers in regulated industries achieve and maintain compliance with 21CFR11. 21CFR11 is a comprehensive legislation that addresses confidentiality, authentication, integrity, availability, and non-repudiation. Learn how to make your application compliant with this helpful white paper.

Ignition Security Hardening Guide

Included in this document are guidelines specifically for the Ignition software, as well as general suggestions regarding the hardware and network where Ignition is installed. The steps provided are recommendations rather than requirements and should be reviewed for relevance in each implementation.

Java Security and Ignition

Java has been in the headlines of late for all the wrong reasons and recent Java security concerns have raised some eyebrows among the Ignition user community. In an effort to help put those concerns to rest, this white paper will cut through the media hype and take a hard look at Java security.

Evolution of the Control System Engineer

Industrial organizations’ increasing demand for data is causing a convergence between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT). With their unique perspective on OT-IT convergence technologies and trends, control system integrators are incredibly vital to industrial organizations’ efforts to stay current. Based on an industry survey sent to over 9,000 integrators, this white paper examines the current challenges and future developments for industrial controls professionals.

3 Tips for Building Better Reports

Effective reporting is very important to an industrial organization: it helps to measure operational performance, identify areas for improvement, and increase accountability among team members. But any report is only as valuable as the data that goes into it. That’s why the key to building more effective reports is not to add fancier charts and graphs but to focus on the data and delivery methods you’re using. These basic factors are critical for effective reporting, regardless of which reporting system your organization currently uses.

3 Template Tips for HMI/SCADA Projects

Developing HMI and SCADA projects can be tedious and time-consuming, especially when they involve a high number of repetitive tasks. Copying and pasting components over and over again not only slows you down but also sets you up for problems in the future. Fortunately, there’s a better way to get your project done: templates.

Scalable SCADA: Deploying Ignition in Any Architecture

The Internet continues to transform the way business is done, industries are in transition, new markets are opening, and consumer habits are shifting. Even if your architecture is working well now, is it scalable enough to adapt to unpredictable changes?

Design Like a Pro: Optimizing Your HMI

To help you design HMI screens that are optimized to improve performance, we have assembled several design tips. This white paper covers some of the most powerful design principles you can use to optimize your HMI projects: analog displays, trends, emphasis, and navigation.

Four Ways Ignition SCADA Speeds Development

Have you ever been trapped in “development hell”? If you’ve been involved in developing software applications, you can probably relate to the feeling. Modern technologies offer many promising possibilities for your enterprise, but the actual process of development can feel endless and painful, especially for control engineers or other professionals who may not have extensive training in software development. In this white paper, learn about the development platform that goes beyond SCADA and gives enterprises in any industry the freedom to develop practically any type of industrial software application.

Quick Alarm System Self-Audit

Alarm systems are meant to help companies avoid costly catastrophes and keep their employees safe. However, the distractions caused by excessive alarm activity can cause serious problems to go unaddressed and grow worse with time. This short self-audit helps you to quickly evaluate how well your alarms are working.

5 Reasons Ignition is More Than Just SCADA Software

In a competitive global economy, it’s crucial to make the most of every asset your company has, including your software. Although supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) software is widely used for monitoring, gathering and processing data, and controlling automated processes, it has many drawbacks and limitations. To name a few: SCADA software is hard to customize, it doesn’t "play well" with other software and systems, it is very expensive to implement and expand, and it doesn’t let you easily access real-time data. See what sets Ignition apart from other SCADA software. Read the white paper for five reasons why you can do so much more with Ignition.

Why Software Pricing Kills Control System Projects & How To Get More Approved

Traditional SCADA software pricing models just aren’t practical in today’s fast-paced, competitive industrial-automation environment. If you’ve been in the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) or manufacturing execution system (MES) market for some time, you are probably familiar with purchasing software by-the-client or by-the-tag. And you know the cost of software adds up quickly!

The 3 Most Common Design Mistakes

To help you make the trip as painless as possible, this tip sheet will walk you through a list of some of the most common mistakes made when designing an HMI / SCADA project, along with how you can avoid them.

4 Graphic Design Tips to Improve HMIs

To help you design HMI screens that are optimized to improve performance, this tip sheet covers four ways to use one of the most powerful design principles to optimize your HMI projects – creating emphasis.

The New SCADA Movement That Is Changing Manufacturing

Inductive Automation has made SCADA technology more future-proof through its modular, web-based, and scalable software called Ignition. Many enterprises have been held back from innovating by SCADA software built on outdated technology and sold under restrictive licensing. Ignition, which is best described as The New SCADA, corrects this problem with modern technologies: it is web-deployed, flexible, database-friendly, performs true real-time analytics, features rapid installation and development, and is platform-independent.

The New SCADA

Technological change may simply be a fact of modern life but the changes have become bigger and faster in the last few years. Currently, a wave of new technologies is driving major disruption in the manufacturing sector. Big Data and analytics, the Cloud, the Internet of Things, and mobile and social technologies are changing our world and will affect how the successful manufacturers of tomorrow operate.

Innovation-Powered Manufacturing

As disruptive technologies transform our world, the greatest risk is not innovating too quickly, but not innovating quickly enough. In the latest thought leadership from Inductive Automation, learn how new technologies are changing the manufacturing industry and how to unlock innovation.

Ignition Technology Offers Potential to Disrupt HMI/SCADA Market

Read why ARC, the leading technology research firm for industry, says Ignition reinvents the SCADA business model and provides manufacturers with opportunities to innovate.

6 Ways to Sell Ignition Instantly

How can you sell Ignition more effectively? Focus on these compelling features that have been proven to capture customers' interest.

Smarter SCADA Alarming

One afternoon at a waste water treatment facility, an alarm goes off when the water pressure gets too high in one of the tanks. The alarm is set at priority level 4, which means "critical," but it doesn't stand out because almost every other alarm at the facility is set at that level. Besides, the operator can't acknowledge it right away because he's dealing with several other alarms that went off a few minutes earlier - which he doesn't yet realize are just "nuisance alarms."

Design Like a Pro | Part 1: Laying the Foundation for Successful HMI / SCADA Projects

Have you ever gotten to the end of a project and wished it had gone smoother? This white paper will walk you through how to set up your project from the start to reach a better end product.

Design Like a Pro | Part 2: Developing Dynamic HMI / SCADA Projects with Speed and Precision

Designing projects can take a long time and be filled with hours of tedious development tasks. Your workflow can be streamlined by using powerful time-saving tools - and understanding how to most effectively use them.

Design Like a Pro | Part 3: Securely Launching HMI / SCADA Projects

The success or failure of any HMI / SCADA project is judged by the final result. Learn how to put the finishing touches on your design and tailor it to fit your specific needs.

Making Your Old SCADA System New Again

When it comes time to update, it's a prime opportunity to consider switching over to new software that offers improved functionality instead of dumping more money into just keeping your existing software up-to-date.

SQL: The Midas Touch

SQL relational databases make time-series data from the plant floor accessible to the entire enterprise. Combining the power of SQL with your SCADA system facilitates more people to ask more important questions about your data - anyone from the plant operator to the CEO.

SQL: The Next Big Thing in SCADA

SQL databases have the power to unlock the full potential of your SCADA system and potentially revolutionize the way you do business. Discover the major advantages of using SQL and how SQL is redefining what SCADA systems can do.

3 Reasons SCADA Software is Going Nowhere

Discover the top 3 reasons SCADA software can hold you back, what technological advancements you can use to get ahead, and how merging SCADA and IT can have a powerful effect on your company.