Luxury hotel turns to industrial SCADA for safety and security

A hotel sought out by the rich and famous for its understated luxury and discrete security, has employed Movicon industrial SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) to illuminate its extensive gardens and create a high-performance CCTV protection system. The Hotel Ramazzino on Sardinia’s fabled Emerald Coast maybe one of the best kept secrets in European…

Hey good looking! Latest SCADA offers enhanced process visualisation without the configuration pain

Enhanced graphics within SCADA systems makes it far easier to visualise production processes, but does that have to be at the cost of increased configuration complexity? Paul Hurst of Products4Automation argues that it does not, and that today’s SCADA solutions can combine the highest levels of visualisation performance with an intuitive interface for ease of…

Is there one kind of SCADA for all applications?

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems have been helping various industries to control and refine their processes for over 30 years. Thanks to its relative maturity and the level of investment made in SCADA platforms over the years, there are several tried and tested options available. As a technology it is helping users improve…

SCADA for renewables

Flexible modular SCADA adapts to emerging demands in green power generation The shift to renewable fuels for power generation is leading control engineers to adopt new ideas and find flexible solutions for the greater variety of technologies and sizes of plants now being built. Paul Hurst of Products4Automation (P4A) reviews some recent projects and explains…

Making SCADA scalable with next generation architecture

Scalability and flexibility are the new watchwords in industrial control technologies, as manufacturing and processing plants must be able to adapt almost instantly to changing market requirements. Movicon.NExT™has been designed to ensure maximum scalability while offering an all-inclusive configuration environment through the selection of modular options that enable the easy development of bespoke solutions. Modern…

Developing today’s SCADA solutions

SCADA technology is constantly evolving to keep pace with demanding production management requirements, as companies strive for greater productivity, increased energy efficiency and more efficient use of resources they are also looking for better benchmarking and traceability. To achieve all this the new frontier for SCADA development is modularity and connectivity. Clearly defined functionality and…

Quantify and improve plant productivity with Pro.Lean

Pro.Lean software from UK based SCADA specialist Products 4 Automation (P4A) measures real-time productivity through key performance indicators (KPIs) and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). By flagging underproductive areas, Pro.Lean enables users to boost plant performance in real-time, track success and plan for future improvements. The first step in plant productivity optimisation is to measure it,…

Connext: multi-tasking communication server for smart factories

Products4Automation (P4A) now offers Progea’s Connext Communication Server for companies investing in automation platform compatibility and data processing. The innovative product is much more than an ordinary server: it offers connectivity for different types of field devices as well as powerful data recording tools. Connext is an open, flexible and modular I/O server solution based…

Latest version of Movicon.NExT 3.3 SCADA software released

Products4Automation (P4A) has announced a new version of Progea’s latest platform Movicon.NExT SCADA software. The V3.3 release is a free update for existing users and provides additional drivers for SMS messaging and SQL Server, plus new security features. The latest version of Movicon.NExT from Products4Automation (P4A) is free to download for all Movicon.NExT users and…

SCADA used to automate fire training for Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Services

A PC based SCADA system has been used to upgrade a fire behaviour training rig at Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Services Headquarters. This is used to show fire fighters how fire spreads through buildings, where temperatures build up fastest and which parts can be expected to remain relatively cool. The control system monitors the temperature…