PECM Issue 31 2018 | Page 105

A PC based SCADA system has been used to upgrade a fire behaviour training rig at Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Services Headquarters (Photo courtesy of Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service). training situations that the trainees have been exposed to. It also generates a record of the warnings of when pre- agreed temperature limits are about to be exceeded, which can be used to identify individual fire fighter’s successful decision- making sequences and for condition monitoring of the equipment. Based on Movicon NExT, Progea’s revolutionary future-proof SCADA platform, the fire training rig is fully modular, scalable and open. Movicon.NExT is designed so that users can easily achieve optimum solutions for HMI, supervision, MES, historian and analysis duties, yet it also provides a flexible solution that can be reconfigured if requirements change. Further it can easily integrate with cutting edge technologies and solutions, such as 3D graphics, animation, multimedia, augmented reality, Industry 4.0 and the IoT to expand systems capability. Paul Bunn at S&H Systems says, “After four months of use, the fire trainers have given positive feedback regarding the ease of use of the system, security of data and the reliability/stability of the control system. Since these were key parameters set-out when we embarked on the project that is a great compliment to us and the software we chose to build the system around.” S&H Systems has been supplying control systems for fire training rigs and many other applications for over 20 years now. It has an international client base and installs and supports systems worldwide. Mr Bunn says that standardising on the Progea Movicon/NeXT SCADA platform from P4A ensures a cost-effective solution for both basic HMI and complex SCADA type applications. Web: www.products4automation.co.uk The control system monitors the temperature within a number of training rigs to drive read outs that display the temperature at a number of different points in a burning building.