New Regulations Drive Expanded SCADA Curriculum

The regulatory and standards framework for the operation, maintenance and security of critical infrastructure is rapidly evolving.

Many standards and regulations affecting pipeline SCADA operations are under review or in some stage of draft. This evolving framework requires a new understanding of the operating challenges for the pipeline industry.

Many operators are working to understand the requirements and to proactively develop changes to control-room protocol, controller training, and SCADA infrastructure. The question of how to both comply and gain the benefits of upgrading operating procedures, heightening security, improving alarm management, enhancing graphic displays and improving human factors is challenging in itself. Regulations, by their nature, leave much to interpretation. In some cases, the standards conflict, making the objective of better equipping the controller to meet operational challenges more daunting and, at the same time, more important.

Energy companies rely upon Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems for monitoring and control in both the oil and gas transmission pipeline industry and in natural gas utilities. According to industry participants interviewed by Newton-Evans, 85% or more of the world’s operating pipelines of more than 25 kilometers are controlled by a computer-based SCADA system, which requires a skilled team of professionals to manage all aspects of the operation.

Traditional fundamental SCADA certification training covered the basic SCADA components, categorized into the following areas:

• Field devices
• Remote terminal units, programmable logic controllers and flow computers Communications
• Data acquisition strategies
• Host systems
• Graphical user interfaces
• Networking
• SCADA maintenance

In the past, an understanding of the various hardware and communications components was adequate for a good foundation in SCADA fundamentals. Today, the fundamentals of SCADA include:

• Workflow
• Work environment and operations reliability

These issues are process vs. component issues. This is often a new idea for those responsible for the SCADA system.

Keeping SCADA Training Current
As critical lessons are learned from industrial mishaps, standards and regulatory requirements are revised, requiring operators to re-examine their control-room operations and control systems. Naturally, this leads to a reassessment of SCADA training requirements and the development of curriculum to support the new reality.

Regulatory agencies are driving companies to further examine their SCADA processes. It is important to recognize that the knowledge needed to operate effectively in the pipeline industry has changed substantially over the last five years. To train effectively, the traditional curriculum for SCADA fundamentals certification needs to be expanded to encompass the following: