Industrial Control Network Supervision via Process Data Comparison
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial control systems face challenges in efficiently combining process-related information with network data for effective supervision and fault detection in industrial plants, particularly during commissioning and operational phases, leading to difficulties in identifying causes of problems in process-controlled systems.
Innovation Solution
A method that gathers process information and network information, comparing them in real-time using client/server networks connected to industrial controllers, with compatibility for standards like OPC and SNMP, to determine the cause of faults or potential faults, and includes network isolation and data servers for enhanced diagnostic capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If process information and network information are gathered and compared in real-time, then diagnostic capabilities are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines process information from control systems with network information from data communications infrastructure into a unified supervision system. This merging allows simultaneous monitoring of both process parameters and network status, enabling comprehensive fault diagnosis without requiring separate analysis systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an intermediary supervision system that acts as a mediator between the control network and data communications network. This intermediary gathers information from both networks, compares them, and provides integrated diagnostic information, thereby managing system complexity while improving diagnostic capabilities.
2Loss of information
If network information and process information are integrated for supervision, then cause identification of failed devices is improved, but information processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The supervision system implements feedback mechanisms where network information and process information are continuously compared. When discrepancies are detected between expected process behavior and actual network status, the system generates feedback signals that help identify the root cause of failures, thereby improving cause identification capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the information processing into distinct modules: one for gathering process information, another for gathering network information, and a third for comparing and analyzing the combined data. This segmentation reduces information processing complexity by organizing the integrated supervision task into manageable, independent components.
3Productivity
If real-time comparison of network and process information is performed, then plant supervision is improved, but computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The supervision system performs real-time comparison selectively rather than continuously analyzing all data streams. It focuses computational resources on comparing only the most critical process parameters with corresponding network status indicators, thereby maintaining high supervision efficiency while reducing unnecessary computational energy consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
Supervision of industrial plants can be improved by comparison and analysis of process information and network information. The comparison may be used to provide alarms and operator information for network-related or process device failures. The information may also be used to identify a cause of a failure. A method is described for supervising an industrial control system, including a plant network for supervision, a client/server network for server connection with workstations, and a control network connected to industrial controllers. The method comprises the steps of gathering process information, and gathering network information, and by comparing information provided by data communications network monitoring with process control information and using the result of the comparison to assist in determining a cause of a problem or possible problem in a process controlled of the industrial control system.