Integrated projects

The integrated project, called superproject in VISION, is a very important SCADA feature, though it is surprisingly missing from most process visualization systems. VISION can integrate and run individual and independent applications as if they would be one huge project. Subprojects usually run different tasks and eventually developed by different subcontractors for various purposes that isn’t created and installed at the same time. When using the superproject, the operator doesn’t need to switch tasks and toggle between applications, every image and service is accessible on the same workstation within the same window.

Superproject is a very convenient tool to integrate systems into higher level control center because we simply select and pick projects from a list without changing their own configuration and internal settings.

Of-course, the superproject inherits all services of the subsystem (trend, data acquisition, alarm, databases, processes…). But data can be selected between subsystems into common lists and tables and export them together to XLS, PDF, SQL etc. at the supervisory level – as you can see it in the following video:

Clients connected to the superprojects, either being desktop clients or web browsers, can show any part and any combination of projects of the complete system, or all together. Merely depending on the access rights of the user.

The above figure shows how independent supermarkets are integrated into a single huge project of all Auchan sites in the country. Local supermarkets are connected as clients to the central SCADA, thus integrating data, alarm, historical data and images. User can access any combination of the supermarkets from the central SCADA depending on the access rights. One can control, others just view, service can access everything. On the top of all that, images, variables, alarms etc. may be added to the system in the control center, the program is going to synchronize and download changes to the end stations.

Let’s summarize the advantages of superprojects:

· Different applications of several subcontractors can be integrated into one common project

· Select data between different projects into common charts, list and tables

· Integration doesn’t violate warranty because subsystems are untouched

· There may be common menu for images and services (Trend, Data, Alarm…)

· Subsystems can be local or remote

· Data may be accessed in any combination of its components and projects at a higher level

In summary, the superproject integrates data at a higher supervisory level using the subsystems as data sources. There are no limits for the number of projects except computer resources.

As a result, complete analysis, comparisons, energy or asset management may be accomplished from the common database of the individual SCADA applications.