Application in Focus
Stanfield International Airport
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Trihedral developed and installed a centralized Baggage Handling System for the Halifax International Airport Authority, providing monitoring of the airport’s domestic and international baggage handling systems. The system includes fully redundant server/client computer architecture with data storage to ODBC-compliant databases for external reporting software access. Networked clients utilize the VTScada Internet Client, which is a full-functional ActiveX control available as part of the VTScada software suite.
Hardware Communication
The system monitors 1600+ values from conveyor, diverter/pusher, fire and security door, and X-ray equipment. PLCs communications are via Siemens S7-400 series and Allen Bradley 5 series and SLC series PLCs. All control device connectivity was made redundant by converting serial PLC connectivity to Ethernet.
Baggage Handling System HMI Displays
The application is configured to display various components of the system on 17 display screens. Screens are arranged in menus with sub-trees for clarity. Additionally, buttons along the lower section of the screen provide single-click access to frequently used screens.
Alarm and Event Management
Alarms and events are automatically colour coded to match predefined levels of priority (i.e. red = critical alarm, orange = high alarm). The colour of each alarm/event is recorded in an alarm/event history list. A dynamically updated alarm list is placed at the bottom of all screens. Additionally, a full screen alarms list allows filtering by priority, sorting by time or area (i.e. sub-system), acknowledging, silencing, muting and printing of alarms.
Report Generation
Authorized users can use the VTScada Reports Page to generate reports of alarms and event lists. They can also print screen shots from any SCADA server or Internet client computer running the application.
System Security
VTScada used a unified security system across all servers, clients, and Internet clients. Security is privilege based, allowing each user’s account to be ‘tuned’ to his/her specific needs. Security changes are network wide and immediate, extending to all clients and Intranet clients. Additionally, Intranet client activity can be monitored closely, allowing administrators to remotely disconnect users as necessary or to send messages to users, informing of planned network service interruption or pending disconnections. User profile data will be stored in VTScada’s encrypted security manager database.