SCADA - Intro Treatment (2 Contact Hours)

Learning Objectives for California Water Treatment – SCADA Systems Module

Module 1: SCADA System Overview and Core Functions

Define SCADA and explain its role in monitoring, control, and decision-making for water and wastewater systems.
List and describe the five basic functions of SCADA: data collection, data display, alarm processing, real-time and historical trending, and report generation.

Module 2: SCADA System Architecture

Identify and describe the four main components of a SCADA system: central processor, communication network, data historian, and intelligent end devices (e.g., PLCs/RTUs).
Explain the function of tag servers, tag databases, and communication interfaces such as Modbus TCP and OPC-UA.

Module 3: Communication Protocols and Network Infrastructure

Compare communication technologies including Ethernet, RS-232/422/485, wireless WANs, and fiber optics.
Differentiate between Modbus RTU, Modbus TCP, and Ethernet/IP in terms of application, structure, and security.
Explain polling, report-by-exception, and how SCADA integrates with PLCs via protocols and IP addressing.

Module 4: OPC Standards and SCADA Data Handling

Describe the evolution from DDE and NetDDE to OPC-DA and OPC-UA standards.
Identify how tags are structured and how metadata such as time stamps, alarm info, and quality are managed.
Understand SQL integration and how tag values are stored and visualized.

Module 5: SCADA Alarming Best Practices

Recognize the importance of alarm prioritization, escalation, and configuration to avoid nuisance alarms and alarm floods.
Apply best practices in alarm management including re-alarming, tagging, and documentation of near misses.

Module 6: SCADA Failures and Case Studies

Analyze real-world SCADA failures at Hyperion and West Point treatment plants to understand causes and mitigation strategies.
Identify critical control system failure points including PLC power status, data historian loss, and gateway redundancy.

Module 7: SCADA Security and Availability

Understand the concept of SCADA system availability (e.g., 99.999% uptime) and strategies like redundancy, crash carts, and server virtualization.
Learn from cyberthreats such as Stuxnet and discuss the role of network design and backup systems in protecting critical infrastructure.

Module 8: Interface Design and Operator Awareness

Apply principles from the ISA HMI Design Standard to improve operator visibility, reduce training time, and support situational awareness.
Recognize the impact of good screen design on operator response time and alarm mitigation.