Level 3 - Implementing OPC Projects & Advanced Architectures

OPC Architecture Design: As part of this module, students will be given a set of business requirements (including budgetary and hardware limitations) and asked to design and implement an OPC architecture based on those requirements. Once the OPC architecture has been implemented, the instructor will disrupt data flow and students will be asked to troubleshoot and resolve communication issues.

Implementing Security in OPC projects: Cyber security is necessary for process control networks if they intend to integrate with business networks. Due to the pervasive nature of Windows and DCOM, when the IT department locks down communication, many applications, including OPC applications, are frequently affected. Students will review how government legislations such as SOX, NERC can affect current OPC communication. Through this module, students will understand how to implement secure OPC architecture while complying with corporate and government legislations. 

Historical Data Collection and Distribution: Off-line analysis of historical process data is an integral part of process optimization and production analysis. Although a single process historian for an entire organization is a widespread model, this type of history management architecture is quickly becoming outdated. Linking a mesh of distributed operations historians can provide a cost effective alternative to this traditional history architecture. This module will allow students to understand remote and local Historical Data Collection, and OPC distributed architectures. Students will understand how to guarantee data delivery, and how it can be achieved using OPC HDA.

OPC Health Monitoring: Many companies have an increased focus towards predictive or condition based maintenance. However, in many cases, maintenance strategies do not include the IT hardware or software associated with the collection, transmission, and analysis of their process data. It becomes increasingly difficult to manage and predict when and why problems are occurring. This module focuses on the guiding principles for designing an OPC IT Health Monitoring architecture.