"SCADA" System

I'm trying to set something up, not quite sure what to call it. I want to call it a SCADA system but I don't know if that's correct.

Our product utilizes 1 Micrologix 1400 PLC and 1 PanelView Plus 600 terminal. These products are installed into a room and generally are operated from that room.

We have a customer who would like to view realtime information from our machine (and possibly change settings) on their PC computer located in another room (away from the installation room).

What software is best suited for this type of application? I was looking into RSView SE or FactoryTalk SE but at first glance they seem like overkill? Also I'm wondering why I would want to buy separate software that needs to be programmed when I already have the FactoryTalk View Studio program used for the PVP 600.

Definitely could use some guidance.

Thanks in advance!!

My first question is who is your customer and where are they located?

if they are within your plant then thats one thing, if they are 50 miles away that's a totally new ballgame.

You (meaning your company) must maintain the process and keep unwanted changes from being made (even by others in your plant), who do not really know the process. I have been down this road before and i won't do it again. Someone makes an unwanted change and several weeks later your customer says that you are making ****. An investigation reveals an unwanted change but by who? in the mean time, several hundred thousand dollars (or more) worth of product has to be scraped. Who pays for it? In my case, i had a signed change order in our posession with the requested changes. The cost was well over 10 million dollars. He got fired and my customer ate the bill.

If they are in the plant, you can set up a display over an ethernet cable to view the process only. If they want changes, they cal call/visit and discuss the changes. This keeps you in control.

regards,
james

Unfortunately your PanelView Plus is one size too small to use the FactoryTalk ViewPoint webserver.

The larger (700-1500) PanelView Plus terminals can take a memory upgrade and firmware upgrade and run a little embedded Microsoft SilverLight webserver so that a remote user can view the current screens on the PanelView.

Because they haven't hashed out security issues yet, it's a read-only service.

I have a few customers who run their FTView ME on Windows XP boxes then use Remote Desktop or VNC to allow remote operation of the operator interface Again, it's only as secure as you make it. A lot of facilities I've worked in lately have some very strict rules about using Remote Desktop... you're not allowed to make changes to a machine or process you cannot physically see.

What about FactoryTalk View ME Station?

"FactoryTalk® View ME Station provides the run-time environment for the applications you design using FactoryTalk View Studio. You can run machine-level applications on PanelView™ Plus terminals, on PanelView Plus CE terminals with the Windows CE 4.1
operating system, and on personal computers."

You could use the (free) Vision Panel version of Ignition on the PC. This will give you the ability to view and change settings in your PLC. It includes an OPC-UA driver that supports your Micrologix 1400. The only requirement is that it have network connectivity to your PLC, but it doesn't matter if the physical location is in the same room or across the country.