Citect has extended its mobility solutions to allow operational and management personnel to monitor their factories, plants and mining sites from any location. These solutions enhance the capabilities of a SCADA network by providing access via a greater range of mobile devices.

CitectSCADA’s mobility solutions provide greater flexibility, decreased downtime, increased plant productivity and a lower total cost of ownership by allowing employees to be mobile and giving them the freedom to observe plant operations first hand.

“The ability to be continually connected to plant data leads to more intelligent plant decisions, which can in turn increase productivity,” says Stephen Flannigan, Global Director, SCADA, Citect. “A consistent user interface across a wide range of hardware systems can increase an organisation’s competitive advantage through the decision-making power it brings operations and management staff.”

The mobility solution allows CitectSCADA to be viewed over multiple hardware systems, such as thin-client terminals, PDAs and even mobile phones. The solution also includes a CitectSCADA Web Client, a maintenance free, fully functioning extension of a SCADA network that is accessed via Windows Internet Explorer. Citect’s mobility solutions also allow for all clients to be managed from a central location, reducing the operational overheads associated with control system maintenance.

“Centralised software administration and management lowers IT costs by reducing the number of servers hosting the software,” explains Flannigan. “This approach also means that upgrades are automatically rolled out across all mobile clients, reducing software administration and minimising downtime for upgrades.”

Another advantage of the mobility solutions is increased data security, as a centralised server can be more easily protected. Security measures are focussed on the server, where all data is processed, with operators having no direct access to the servers. If a mobile device is lost, SCADA information is safe because the data remains on the server, not on the device.

Citect’s mobility solutions are currently available to all CitectSCADA customers and by using a mixture of fixed and mobile SCADA clients, the mobility solutions can enhance an organisation’s operations by creating a system that is truly tailored to its needs.

Courtesy of Citect