The Paths to OnPing SCADA Migration

In order for SCADA to work we need Data! That means gathering lists of devices, logins, IPs and addresses that we will pull.

This process can take anywhere from hours to weeks depending on how organized the input data is.

Each SCADA install requires different migration strategies. Individual Cell modems are by far the simplest. If we are installing our lumberjack on site we will need to coordinate with field personnel to get them distributed and installed. We can do this, the customer can or a 3rd party can.

If we are polling the device remotely the question is, on our sim or the customers. If it is the customers sim, we only need an IP and the device lists. If we are providing the sim, we need to again get those distributed out to the field.

In addition to the physical part of the migration, milestones need to be established about handoffs from existing SCADA.

• Is there an “All at once” switch over date or a phased migration?
• Is a period of shared access desirable/possible?
• Are there any pieces of data being created by the SCADA itself?

Answering these questions is an investigation and requires time.

Shutins, Alarming, Remote Kills and Remote starts are all key elements of a Control System. Understanding where and how these are set up is important in order to properly migrate a site.

We will work with your people to identify desired behavior on well kills, water line kills and other critical components.

In addition to making sure all the critical points are in correctly, we need to make sure that where possible values are cross checked with known values and expected ranges.

If available, we can add historical data so you have a single source of truth for your SCADA information.

We usually create a set of “Routes” that pumpers use to navigate through and see the data they need to see. We will work with individuals you select to make sure these screens are set up to everyone’s liking. Though every set of operators are different generally these screens focus on.

• Key Values
• Easy to read Alarming
• Field Naming schemes

Creating visuals that work for operators and that work for engineers is a notoriously hard problem. By allowing different screens to be built for different users, we can side step the problem elegantly.

Engineering screens usually focus on dense information presentation.

Tables, graphs, rollups.

OnPing leans heavily on Scout for the presentation of data to Accounting and production systems but we do allow easy inspection of what values are being sent and when. We can set up verification tables and other things to help with this.