Siemens Hosts 2018 SCADA/IPS Days

Siemens Factory Automation hosted this year’s SCADA/IPC Days February 19-22, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. Approximately 130 attendees gathered for product presentations, emerging technology discussions and a market trend outlook. Members of the company’s management, sales and support team joined solution partners and end-user companies from various market segments to review the company’s new IPC product offerings and SCADA platforms. The event was hosted by the Factory Automation product marketing teams based in Norcross, Georgia. 

SCADA stands for supervisory control and data acquisition, while IPC stands for inter-process communication.

Siemens management and technical thought leaders gave presentations covering the digital factory strategy and the company’s forward-thinking move to digitalization. The theme was that SCADA will be the “digital doorway for data” in the transition to digitalization, as it impacts all industries, both discrete and process. 

Attendees also saw presentations on cloud computing and edge computing, the constituent elements of the digitalization trend comprising both hardware and software elements. This discussion led into the introduction of thin-client IPC product offerings and the latest version of Simatic WinCC SCADA systems.

The event also included a review of new IPC products and emerging technologies, as well as product and software breakout workshops. 

Attendees also received direct consultation from product specialists, including solutions partners, who represent system integrators that bring products, application engineering, installation and service as well as data gathering and process control products to the process industries. In addition, those interested in becoming a WinCC specialists had the opportunity to take the certification test. 

Guest instructors for the workshop sessions discussed topics including automation for networks, using WinCC to build a toolbox, batch tracking made easier with WinCC archives, Mindsphere and cybersecurity, and the industrial PC of tomorrow. MindApps for performance optimization on all types of industrial manufacturing and process machines were also discussed, as the company seeks to assist its customers and machine builders to gather, process, analyze and apply data. Data enable process control and KPI development and can improve machine liability, insurance, warranty and energy savings.