PC-based kiosks are located in key satellite areas such as water treatment and gas turbines. A user slides in his or her access card and a touchscreen keyboard comes up. Users can get the same information at a kiosk that they can anywhere else in the plant, but user-based restrictions prevent unauthorized access.
Because iFIX easily enables multiple methods of secure access to important systems, AEPCO can do more with less. For example, "it used to take three operators to run a facility," said Franklin. "Now they can start or stop any facility from a kiosk."
Franklin's department has merged site security access control into the SCADA system as well, using tools such as Windows PKI implementations and smart cards for both user log-ins and physical access. When someone swipes their card at a door and is let in, the system posts a picture of the person and what door they came in. If an operator is at his workstation, he or she uses the card to log in. If the person forgets to log out, the computer automatically logs him out. This helps AEPCO comply with National Energy Regulatory Commission (NERC) standards.
"We've been doing this for five years," said Franklin. "It was our way to track who started what pump, and now it helps with compliance. We don't use electronic signatures, but this tells us what everyone is doing."
Franklin said insisting on a single HMI has allowed AEPCO to stay uniform in its approach to control and monitoring, and enabled the coop's two-level lockdown method for security and logging of all user events. "It also means we don't have to train on other HMI packages. This has kept the facility clear of any parasite or mini HMIs that tend to pop up with new projects," said Franklin.
The iFIX open architecture makes upgrading the applications easier, because "we can focus on getting the most out of our field hardware choices without fearing communication issues," said Franklin. "With environmental regulations always changing, we have to be able to add or remove components to our reporting systems. iFIX allows for this to happen with minimal impact to the operations staff."
Renee Robbins Bassett,renee.bassett@automationworld.com, is Managing Editor of Automation World.
For more information related to utilities products and applications, see//www.myenum.com/Utilities-112.
