No Wincc Project Activated On This Computer

[Timmy Tatel]

Expertevaluation:

WinCC Project Manager startup mode

Project Opening

When WinCC is started for the first time, the WinCC Project Manager without projects will open. Every time WinCC is started again, the last opened project will be opened again.

Use combination keys and to avoid WinCC immediately opening projects. When starting WinCC, press the and keys at the same time. Maintain key press until the WinCC Project Manager window appears. The WinCC Project Manager will open, but the project will not open.

Active project

If a project is deactivated when WinCC is running, when WinCC is restarted, the project will be opened again in the runtime system.

If a project is closed and another project was opened in the deactivated state, WinCC will again open the project in the runtime system.

Use combination keys and to avoid WinCC immediately activating the runtime system. When starting WinCC, press the and keys at the same time. Maintain key press until completely opening and displaying the project in the WinCC Project Manager. The first project opened in WinCC, but the runtime system is not activated.

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Certain control systems require operation 24/7, 365. That is: these systems should always be in action! In such applications, a fault in the controller or computer could prove disastrous. Therefore, redundant systems are introduced to handle automatic fail-over in the case of a primary system fault.

SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems are a prime candidate for redundant applications, as they monitor and control the status of the entire operation. DMC has worked with several redundant SCADA systems over the years. Additionally, we have seen an increasing number of redundant WinCC 7 SCADA systems.

Before we begin, there is one crucial aspect that I should note. There are two different ways to configure and maintain a redundant WinCC 7 SCADA system: locally on the redundant server pair or through an Engineering Station (ES). The latter allows the project to be managed on a third computer, where edits can be made and tested without interrupting the operation of the redundant server pair.

Because of these benefits from hosting the project on an ES, this blog will focus on the steps for this configuration. However, for those of you interested in the former, local hosting configuration, I will provide one hint: use the WinCC Project Duplicator tool after making edits on one project to duplicate the project for the redundant partner.

After deployment of the application, the server project may connect clients. Assuming these clients will only connect to the redundant servers (not multiple distributed servers), they will not need their own Client project. Therefore, we can connect the clients to the server project.

To do this, we will setup AutoStart Configuration, allowing the client to connect to the server and launch the runtime application on startup. Once set up, the client can be restarted to connect to the server project anytime at least one of the server projects are in runtime.

With the servers activated, clients connected, and the PH logging data, the application is up and running! But what happens when we need to make a change, you ask? Easy! We go back to the ES to open our WinCC project through SIMATIC Manager again and make changes just as we had done during the development phase.

Once you have tested out the edits that you wanted to make, you can perform an Online Load of the changes, where the runtime remains active on both redundant servers. See the Online Loading supported changes at the end of the steps below.

One final note concerning the operation of the redundant servers is the operating mode. Operating mode is found within the computer properties of WinCC Explorer, under the Operating Mode tab. By default, the project will run as the Standard operating mode, meaning the user must be logged into the computer. However, you can also run WinCC as a service.

Running WinCC as a service is important if multiple users will be logging in and out of the computer, but the application should not be stopped. This is especially applicable if a user is using Remote Desktop to access the computers running WinCC. Therefore, the redundant WinCC servers should run as a service if they need to run headless in the server rack. A user can access them and start the project via Remote Desktop without affecting Runtime.

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The response was to marshal all the plant sensor outputs onto a CRT or, as they became available, a flat panel display. Operators could respond to displayed plant status using a keyboard and mouse, or, more recently, a touch screen. Note that this did not entirely eliminate discrete input and output (I/O) components, which in fact are still have a role today alongside the more advanced HMI solutions.

Yet digitalisation, and the growth of Industry 4.0 since around 2014, meant that simple flat panel solutions in turn became inadequate. For various reasons which we will explore, Industry 4.0 environments generate vast amounts of data, which have to be presented to operators in readily-assimilated formats. They have to be given information rather than data. Operators also have to respond in more nuanced and sophisticated ways.

This all means that although most HMIs are still based on flat panel displays, their hardware, software and processing power are vastly different to those of, say, 20 years ago. And flat panel systems are no longer the whole story; some applications are now benefitting from Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies.

Accordingly, we will now look at the nature and volume of data generated by Industry 4.0 installations, why this presents a challenge to HMI design, and the software and hardware solutions now available to address this challenge. We also review the more recent trends related to AR and VR, and their impact on HMI design.

Autonomous systems work on specific tasks autonomously without human interaction by leveraging AI algorithms. In manufacturing, autonomous systems can collect information from the surrounding environment, adapt, and make data-driven decisions without the intervention of a human user.

Firstly, the amount of equipment of various types and diverse applications that must now be managed is much greater. Secondly, the volume of data generated by each machine may be much higher. For example, a machine that once just fed back real time data about its throughput and current operating conditions may now provide further status data related to, say, motor temperature and vibration to inform predictive maintenance analytics.

HMI and embedded PC manufacturer Advantech sees connectivity and Big Data as key issues for Industry 4.0 HMI design: In intelligent manufacturing, more control functions are required to process higher data complexity and larger data quantities. HMIs have to be capable of a new generation of communication protocols to ensure the stability and the immediacy of data transmission between PLCs.

In traditional process or production control systems, HMIs have tended to use a broad spectrum of colours, with unnecessary graphics, visual distractions, and lack of overall situational awareness. Such displays can suffer from inconsistent navigation, presenting data that is difficult to understand, improper depiction of alarms, and a lack of display methodology .

Proper use of colour: Instead of intense and colourful graphics, the High-Performance HMI is developed in grayscale, with colour intended to be the attention-getter. In a grayscale screen, the use of colour is meant to indicate an abnormal situation very quickly. It has been shown that the new use of colour alone has resulted in a 48% improvement in detecting abnormal situations before alarms occur.

A pressure indicator could read 900 psi, but is that a good thing or a bad thing? By utilising an indicator of normal range with a process variable, the operator can make a quick decision to take action to correct a situation that is trending away from normal.

The standard also defines a display hierarchy. Creating a hierarchical system of displays gives the operators overall situational awareness, and the ability to drill down to very specific data points when necessary.

Although capacitive touchscreens are more sensitive and responsive than resistive touchscreens, they require direct contact with a conductive object, such as a finger or a special stylus. In industrial environments with operators needing to wear gloves, resistive touch screen (RTS) types perform better, while being reliable and cost-effective.

Voice activated interfaces: Voice-activated interfaces, also known as voice recognition systems, enable users to interact with HMI systems using spoken commands. These interfaces can be highly advantageous in situations where the user is unable to interact with traditional input devices like keyboards, mice, or touchscreens. Voice-activated interfaces have become more popular in recent years due to advancements in natural language processing and machine learning algorithms. These greatly improved the accuracy and responsiveness of speech recognition systems .

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