Building A Flexible Non-Proprietary SCADA System

By Christopher Little, Daniel Clevenger and Kevin Monk

In 2008, Chatham County Public Works was using three different SCADA systems to monitor and control their remote tanks and pump stations. One was a sole-source software and hardware solution that used a unique communication protocol. This meant that only this vendor could expand, upgrade or service this part of the system. In 2009, the new Director of Public Works decided to standardize on VTScada HMI software, which would allow them to communicate with any industry-standard monitoring and control hardware. In this article, Daniel Clevenger of Chatham County and Kevin Monk, of Custom Controls Unlimited describe their experience developing a flexible, user friendly SCADA system that can grow with the county’s needs.