Topic: HMI

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Security: It's Not Just Cyber Anymore
How Long Can We Wait Before We Begin to Actually Put Policies in Place to Improve Reliability in the Electric Utilities, Rather Than Assuring Legal Compliance?

Operator Is Focus of Latest System 800xA Enhancements
'Essential Automation' Portfolio Complements Feature Pack 4 Release

PLCs Help Optimize Alternative Energy Processes
Even in the Harshest Environments, ABB Extends the Power Available From Wind and Sun

Process Automation Operator Performance Gets Better
Prioritized Data, Simpler Displays, Human-Factors-Designed Equipment, Fatigue-Reduction Efforts, Alarm Planning and Other Tools Can All Improve Situational Awareness and Operator Performance. So How Much Do You Need of Each?

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White Papers: In Depth Research

Industrial PCs: Addressing the Top Five Challenges on the Factory Floor
Author: Phoenix Contact
Posted: 12/28/2012

With the gaining popularity of PC-based control systems, plant engineers are turning to industrial PCs (IPCs) for control, HMI and data collection applications. Industrial PCs set themselves apart from office-grade PCs by offering touchscreen operation, industrial-grade mounting option and overall more rugged design. As in any control system, uptime is critical for an industrial application. From high-output machinery to time-sensitive data to critical processes, machine downtime is the dreaded scenario for every plant.

This white paper identifies the top five challenges typically encountered on the factory floor, and offers some criteria to consider when selecting industrial PCs and associated components.

Applying Color Science to Design Effective Human-Machine Interfaces
Author: Dirk Beer, Harvey Smallman, Cindy Scott, Mark Nixon
Posted: 10/09/2012
Human operators are a key part of any process control system. As such, they constitute part of a complex, causal chain of overall system processing. Human machine interfaces (HMIs) form a key link in that chain by bridging the physical world where processes reside with the perceptual reconstruction and representation of those processes in the heads of human operators and supervisors.

If an HMI design gives rise to a flawed or inaccurate representation of a process, then error and suboptimal task performance may result. HMIs have become increasingly important links in this chain for two reasons. First, the arrival of distributed control systems (DCS) in the 1970s distanced operators from the physical entities they controlled, requiring all interaction be mediated by HMIs. Second, the ongoing introduction of complex automation into process control is increasingly changing human operators into supervisors. Supervision has complex decision-making requirements that must all be conveyed via HMIs.

Download this entire white paper to learn more.

Touch-Screen LCD Monitor Buying Cheat Sheet
Author: Herb Ruterschmidt
Posted: 06/02/2011
What You Need to Know to Select the Best One for You.

Analysis of the ICONICS GENESIS Security Vulnerabilities for Industrial Control System Professionals
Author: Eric Byres, P. Eng., ISA Fellow, Joel Langill, CEH, CPT, CCNA, Tofino Security | SCADAhacker.com
Posted: 03/31/2011
A number of previously unknown security vulnerabilities in the ICONICS GENESIS32 and GENESIS64 products have been publically disclosed. The release of these vulnerabilities included proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit code.

While we are currently unaware of any malware or cyber attacks taking advantage of these security issues, there is a risk that criminals or political groups may attempt to exploit them for either financial or ideological gain.

The products affected, namely GENESIS32 and GENESIS 64 are OPC Web-based human-machine interface (HMI) / Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. They are widely used in critical control applications including oil and gas pipelines, military building management systems, airport terminal systems, and power generation plants.

Of concern to the SCADA and industrial control systems (ICS) community is the fact that, though these vulnerabilities may initially appear to be trivial, a more experienced attacker could exploit them to gain initial system access and then inject additional payloads and/or potentially malicious code. At a minimum, all these vulnerabilities can be used to forcefully crash system servers, causing a denial-of-service condition. What makes these vulnerabilities difficult to detect and prevent is that they expose the core communication application within the GENESIS platform used to manage and transmit messages between various clients and services.

This White Paper summarizes the current known facts about these vulnerabilities. It also provides guidance regarding a number of possible mitigations and compensating controls that operators of SCADA and ICS systems can take to protect critical operations.

Learn more about Tofino at www.tofinosecurity.com/blog

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