- October 14, 2008
October 14, 2008 - AREAL introduces the latest version 5.0 of its TOPKAPI SCADA platform. With a SQL interface based on ADO.net technology, it is located at the heart of the company’s information system, and offers a flexible and effective link with database management systems such as Oracle, SQL Server, and many others. It saves the historical data of the process and reads any type of data submitted to the operator.It is also able to carry out high level tasks usually assigned to systems much more cumbersome and complex.Today, supervision must be more and more part of the company’s global information system. With version 5.0, TOPKAPI puts emphasis on interoperability by recording historical production data directly, into DBMS system(s) used by the company (Oracle, SQL Server, etc.).TOPKAPI relies on SQL and the latest Microsoft's ADO.net technology to handle data. These allow the use of robust and efficient exchange mechanisms within the DBMS. Thousands of events per second can be recorded simultaneously without causing overload or loss of data.The data may be forwarded into multiple databases via separate routes to distinct systems, or replicated between two or more servers to provide redundancy. Buffers managed by TOPKAPI can store information locally if the system is not accessible, until the situation returns to normal.TOPKAPI can also, through SQL requests, use the data stored in the DBMS, whether it was generated internally or by another application. Users can customize queries to view and use the data into graphs or in the alarms and events windows of Topkapi, and define their own criteria for selecting and sorting.Mastering SQL is not necessary for implementation in standard conditions; the criteria for selecting and sorting can be adjusted in the standard TOPKAPI interface.For applications handling large amount of data, a load balancing system provides the ability to optimize distribution on different servers.In conclusion, it should be noted that this new version of TOPKAPI allows SCADA software to integrate data to the global production management system of the company, without the need to use dedicated tools to implement specific developments.Based on analysis and reporting tools provided by TOPKAPI, the proposed EMC Pack solutions (Energy Monitoring and Control) provide real time synthesis indicators from raw data collected from field equipments to gauge and monitor energy efficiency. Automatic generation of pre-configured and pre-formatted operating reports simplifies the diagnosis and monitoring.Reducing energy costs in the industry and building management has become a major environmental and economic issue. Companies can assess the extent of their energy consumption by reviewing their energy bills; however, it is much more difficult for them to identify exactly how and where their energy is being used.Currently, there are instrumentation solutions related to the measurement and metering of energy used to collect data from facilities. However, they produce large data tables which are cumbersome to analyze and are insufficient as a practical measure of energy consumption. With its EMC pack (Energy Monitoring and Control) based on the SCADA software TOPKAPI, AREAL offers predefined graphical objects to have a direct and synthetic "visual" reading of energy consumption. By simply instantiating an energy counter, consumption levels, displayed as bar graphs, are directly presented as raw values, weighted by produced unit (quantities in the industry, square meters in the buildings) and corrected according to the season (HDD & CDD). The comparison from one period to another is immediate; the graph of monthly consumptions, for example, shows directly in the background, a consumption of previous years or months. The results are recorded as they are computed, making them available permanently and instantly without waiting for their preparation to each new request. Automatic generation of energy reports can also ensure that the contract for the supply of electric power fits best with the consumption levels, taking into account the hourly consumption and the periods where the requested power exceeds the subscribed power.For workshop and office buildings, calculation of the ratio kWh / m² / Day Degree for heating and cooling, true reference of energy performance, will provide the ability to compare buildings, to measure the effectiveness of actions taken, and to verify in case of investments that the results are in line with forecasts. The set of pre-programmed and ready to use software components eases fast and inexpensive deployment, and makes energy management intelligence available to everyone. To meet the needs related to the use of increasingly widespread geographic information systems (GIS), AREAL implemented on his SCADA software TOPKAPI the support of WMS functions (Web Map Services), complying the standard published by the OGC, Open Geographical Consortium.In all applications involving remote devices geographically dispersed, technical information acquired through SCADA systems combine with maps information. Maps information change permanently and, rather than updating repeatedly the SCADA system (TOPKAPI supports import of DXF and MID / MIF file type), it is attractive to obtain them directly in real time by a request to a referent geographic information system (GIS).With its new WMS functions, TOPKAPI displays onto a graphical view both the animated items featuring the data acquired and a map or a network view obtained from a GIS.This applies to all applications monitoring distribution networks (electricity, gas, water, sanitation, telecommunications and so on.), but also - in conjunction with the automatic acquisition of GPS position - to the management of mobile fleet and operators on duty (for example DATI, alarm devices for isolated workers). The WMS standard can be used with most major GIS products such as Arc GIS, Autodesk, Map Info, Star Apic, etc., and was recently extended to allow access to Google Maps. Other services like MAPPY or Yahoo! Maps are also available.TOPKAPI can select in a WMS server the layers to be displayed, and superimposes on the image provided its own objects with conventional control / command features. When creating applications, TOPKAPI allows automatic generation of the related devices and their associated variables processing thanks to its SOFTLINK wizard and / or by importing the parameters of blocks provided by DXF files.