SCADA / Telemetry Monitor and Control System

SCADA, an acronym for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, is the remote control and monitoring of devices such as pumps, valves, pressure transducers, etc. and the acquisition and transmitting of the device’s data from a remote location to a central point generally known as the System Control Computer (SCC) where the data is logged, displayed, and analyzed.

Programmed Logical Controllers (PLCs) or Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) perform the control or monitoring functions at the remote site and are monitored and supervised by a centrally located PC usually referred to as a System Control Computer (SCC) that has been tasked with software that graphically depicts each remote site. Communication between the SCADA System’s RTUs and SCC is by wide area network either radio, hardwire, phone, cellular, fiber optic or internet.

Example – Water Application:

In the town of Anywhere, USA, the Robins Road tank site is 25 miles from City Hall where the System Control Computer (SCC) is located. Currently the SCC indicates that the tank is 50% full or has a water level of 15 feet. At City Hall’s SCC, the water operator turns the pumps ON at the Robins Road tank site to increase the tank’s water level to 85% full or 25 feet. The pumps turn OFF when the targeted water level at the Robins Road tank is reached. (See Telemetry System graphic for other monitored and controlled points).

SCADA / Telemetry Monitor and Control System generally consists of:

System Control Computer (SCC) with monitor and control software also known as human machine interface (HMI), communication drivers, alarming, data logging and report generation software and peripherals such as printer, modem, and UPS. A system controller such as a Programmable Area Remote Terminal Unit (A-RTU) may be used in smaller systems and provides an alternative to PC based monitor and control systems without sacrificing future expandability to a SCC or basic functionality within the Telemetry Monitor and Control System. Communications equipment for the wide area network either radio, hardwire, phone, cellular, fiber optic, or internet. DFA most frequently utilizes a Motorola radio in DFA’s Radio Telemetry Systems or an alternate radio as appropriate to the application. Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) at each site to be monitored or controlled.

The Telemetry Monitor and Control System allows wide control of a Utility System rather than local site control. The water operator can affect multiple remote sites from a central location or SCC. A low water tank level can turn a pump ON at a remote pump station miles away. Software can alternate pumps or control LEAD/LAG pump starts reducing the need for dedicated pump controllers.

This Utility System control significantly reduces operational expenses and material requirements. As sites are monitored and controlled from a central point or SCC, the need to drive to a remote site is reduced saving on the number of vehicles required, manpower and operational expenses. Records of pump operation and usage can aid in maintenance and alarming capabilities can reduce damages due to pumps running dry, etc.

DFA provides a fully integrated turnkey SCADA / Telemetry Monitor and Control System for water, wastewater, environmental, natural gas, electrical, industrial and irrigation applications.

All of DFA’s SCADA / Telemetry Monitor and Control Systems vary according to the application and the customer’s specification, but the basis of each system is DFA’s programmable Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) that is manufactured in a UL508A certified shop in Hueytown, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama.

DFA, as an original equipment manufacturer, takes full responsibility for the system design, software interface, software configuration and functionality, hardware integration, field installation, commissioning, instrumentation calibration, wiring, and related control functions. DFA offers a one-year warranty on system material and labor in accordance with the terms and conditions of the DFA General Warranty Statement.

Having a specialty in radio networks and Radio Telemetry Monitor and Control Systems, DFA coordinates with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to obtain for the owner the required UHF/VHF radio frequency license and prepares the propagation and topographical studies necessary to determine the optimum radio transmission communications path.

DFA is committed to prompt service, reliable system performance, and customer satisfaction with every installed system. We invite you to talk to our customers about our after-sale service, reliability and the value delivered by the DFA Telemetry Monitor and Control System. Our customer list and warranty is printable from the PDF Gallery accessible from the sidebar on this page.