Programming code is the invisible magic that runs our entire world. It is not only in automation equipment like PLC and SCADA systems but also the majority of electronic equipment and services we use every day including computers, phones, TV’s and even our cars.
 
Coding is responsible for the clean water we drink, the telephone calls we make, the TV shows we watch and more. It has a big influence in our lives whether we know it or not, and poorly developed code can not only cause great frustration but it can also be very costly, even dangerous!
 
This is why we want to point out how if you’re a programmer you can improve in your coding, and if you’re a manager or user you can ask the right questions of your programmer and better understand the coding process.

How can you start anything without a plan? If you want to build a house you don’t just start nailing bits of timber together and hope for the best, no, you put pen to paper and draw up a plan showing what rooms will be where. This is the same for code development. A good plan will save development time, minimise mistakes, and you will end up with a program that better suits the application.

The more detailed your plan the better it will be for your code development, having said that even a few notes on a piece of paper that outlines the basic functionality is better that nothing. Quite often a functional description has already been put together by the process engineers that describes the requirements and functionality of the process you are trying to control.

You cannot write any program without understanding what it is you’re trying to achieve. You will be a better programmer, and write better programs, if you have a core understanding of how the process works. Do some research into the process and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Your knowledge doesn’t need to be at a process engineer’s level, but a core understanding as to why that motor is turned on then, or why that chemical is added will help you in writing a well-rounded and functional program.

There are several different methods of programming, each with its advantages and disadvantages. The most common types in automation are;

There is nothing wrong with sticking to one type of method if that is what you are comfortable with, but there will be circumstances where a combination of these methods would be the best approach in which you can draw upon the strengths of each method for a strong, well-rounded program.

The development method and structure of your code can be just as important as the actual code itself, and these are the basics you should consider when developing a program. You could also apply the same considerations and techniques to other forms of programming, not just automation programming.

Finally, and most importantly, enjoy your programming experience. It is a wonderful feeling to see all of your hard work and clever ideas in action. Standing back and watching the process working with your program and remembering all of the obstacles you had to overcome to achieve success is very rewarding.
 
So take this knowledge and make your next program better than your last.
Happy Programming!

Thank you Telstra for that brief period this week where our mobiles remained silent, we put our phones down, our efficiency soared and we were able to get a ton of work finished without disruptions!
 
Thank you Telstra also for reminding us that we need to be mindful of the points of failure within our own systems and processes, because if your chief operations officer Kate McKenzie is correct, this large and sophisticated system of yours can be brought down by one person’s simple mistake!

Telstra’s official statement was that a field technician “failed to follow the correct procedure” and brought a major telecommunications system to its knees due to an “embarrassing human error”. Comforting to know that a specific procedure needs to be followed to keep Australia’s biggest telecommunications network running.

It is estimated that of the 16.7 million Telstra customers, several million were affected by this week’s network outage and the true cost of this will never be known as lost sales and production for businesses who rely on Telstra’s mobile network can never be accurately counted. We here at Automated Electrics use the 4G network for remote connectivity to automation and control systems on various sites for our clients. Fortunately there wasn’t too much going on during the network outage, otherwise we would have been left high and dry also.

All automation and control systems require some amount of human involvement, including the Telstra communications network, and human error is an inevitable fact of life. If plant managers are not careful, they could face a similar scenario with a simple error crippling their entire operations. Careful consideration is always required to identify the points of failure in a process which can often be counteracted with specific checks and balances to ensure that mistakes are caught and filtered out before the worst happens.

Points of failure are not just processing techniques or operational methods, they can be within the programming functionality also, and quite often the automation system controlling the plant can have simple tweaks or changes made to the programming code for a more robust and self-managed fault protection mechanism. For example, if the operator can shut down an entire section of the plant from the SCADA with the click of a button, a simple check might be a message popping up asking the operator “Are you sure you want to ……” requiring a double action from the operator to confirm that this is in fact what they want to do, and giving them an option out if it was a mistake.

We often say that programming is the brain of your automation system and the smarts to make your plant reliable and profitable. In this day and age with all the technology available, there should be no excuse for such a catastrophic failure from a simple “embarrassing human error”. Who knows, maybe this entire Telstra nightmare could have been avoided with a simple message popping up for the field technician!
 
Food for thought, Thank You Telstra.

Power surges, power spikes, dirty power, however you want to describe them, they are something that cannot be prevented unfortunately and we just have to understand that it does happen within our electricity distribution system. More importantly you need to know that you don’t have to put up with them or suffer their consequences!
 
We have had numerous calls from plant managers on various sites effected by the recent thunder storms sweeping the country, and we thought it would be a great time to raise the issue of power surge protection so it is in the forefront of people’s minds. We will look at why power surges occur and what you can do to protect yourself against them. Surge protection is an interesting topic that can get quite in-depth, but we will keep this brief and light.
 
Although in this article we are focusing on power surge protection for the automation industry, you can apply the same theory and methodology for the commercial and residential sectors.

Power surges are sudden, sharp high voltage rises in the electricity supply and are one type of electrical disturbance that causes dirty power. The extremely high voltage spikes of a power surge can last for anywhere up to a few milliseconds and damage sensitive electronic equipment and systems.

There are various types of electrical disturbances such as;

Any disturbance in the mains power is bad, but arguably the most common and one that causes the most damage are the power surges.

Power surges occur generally from one of two instances;

It is estimated that up to 85% of all power surges occur within the customer’s own premises. Surges caused by electrical flow disruptions are the most common and are generally less severe as compared to lighting events. They can occur when a heavy load suddenly stops or is disconnected from the electrical network, for example large motors. When a large motor is stopped, the demand on the electrical transformer in the street that was supplying all of this energy is suddenly reduced. The problem is that the transformer needs to dissipate all of this built up energy in the form of a magnetic field which was used to power the motor. This magnetic field suddenly starts collapsing within the transformer causing a spike in the supply voltage.
 
The second major cause of power surges are lightning events. With each bolt of lightning producing up to 300,000 amps and one billion volts of electricity, it’s no wonder they can wreak so much havoc! A direct strike to the building itself will cause major issues, but not every building though is susceptible to a direct strike. Depending on a number of factors including the geographical location and surrounding infrastructure, a lot of premises will suffer more from the effects of either a surge coming in through the power lines, or lightning induced surges coming in from underground services. When lightning hits the earth, the energy directed into the ground causes a rise in ground voltage radiating outwards from the point of impact. The high voltage from the lightning strike is then induced into the underground services such as electrical, plumbing and communications that are within this point of impact area.

When you have a look at any electronic product you will see that internally it is made up of small, low powered components that are sensitive and have low voltage thresholds. During a power surge, the voltage on the electrical network spikes and the components within the various electronic devices connected to the network are hit with a voltage that they can’t handle. The voltage thresholds of these electrical components are exceeded, causing them damage.
 
All power surges will cause some sort of damage, but not all power surges will cause your equipment to instantly fail. A series of smaller surges can end up hurting your electronic equipment just as much as one large surge. Each surge wears the electronic components down bit by bit until one day they will completely fail.
 
Think of it like a boxer in a fight. There could be one large knockout punch that takes the boxer out in the first round, or their opponent could wear them down with a series of smaller jabs until they are too tired to continue.
 
One thing is for sure, power surges do happen no matter where you are and they do cause damage!

Nobody wants to replace their equipment unnecessarily, and breakdowns are an expensive exercise for any plant or process to go through. That is why it is absolutely crucial that each surge protection design is properly engineered as each installation is different and each plant will have its own requirements that need careful consideration.

A surge protection system should have the following considerations in its design;

One thing to remember is that there is no one device that will protect the entire installation. Generally, depending on the manufacturer, there are 3 different classes of surge protection available and each class handles a specific part of the surge.

Unfortunately there are a lot of automation systems out there that do not have any surge protection for their plant’s electronic equipment, and it is possible that they don’t understand the risks they face by not having one. Whether the surge protection system was an over site in the engineering and design phase of the project or it has been left out due to budget restrictions, the lack of surge protection could prove to be a very costly mistake down the track when the owners have to start paying for brand new equipment and parts to replace the ones damaged from a power surge.

The risks of inadequate surge protection include;

Added to these risks, we are hearing throughout the industry more often that some insurance companies are no longer covering surge damage unless the site has a proper surge protection system installed. After reading this guide you would agree that a surge protection system for your site is an insurance policy you will never be able to beat!

SCADA, which stands for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition, is the graphical user interface for an automation control system and is a critical piece of infrastructure that allows the plant operator to efficiently monitor and control the automated process. So imagine the chaos when the SCADA system suddenly dies! The operators are left blind and unable to properly control their plant. This is why it is absolutely critical to have a Disaster Recovery Plan for all SCADA systems.

It is not a case of IF a system will fail, it is a case of WHEN. SCADA systems are computer based and even the best system will fail at some point due to various reasons like;

Your SCADA Disaster Recovery Plan should start with asking a few questions to identify what sort of system you have;

The best part of these various disaster recovery methods we have discussed above is that you can use several methods together to create a tailored solution that suits your needs. You might want to have a SCADA Virtualisation plan with the virtualisation software pre-loaded on a Spare SCADA PC, or you might like a Full Redundancy system with System Images backing up all your SCADA servers and workstations to the cloud for off-site disaster recovery protection.

In any case, we cannot emphasis enough how important it is to back up your SCADA system, it's absolutely critical. The SCADA Disaster Recovery Plan is easily the most over looked part of any plant's maintenance routine, and failure to have an effective plan in place will have disastrous repercussions down the track when the entire plant is brought to its knees because the SCADA system has died.