OPC500: Industrial OPC Software for Communications and Control - Theory

Duration: 1 Day Classroom or 6 hours Online
Audience: Process Control Engineers, Application Engineers, Analyzer Technicians, DCS technicians, Instrument Engineers and Supervisors.
Prerequisites: Some plant experience and/or a 2-year associates diploma in technical field.
Course Material: OPC training slides, various OPC software products – OPC Servers, OPC Clients, OPC Explorers and OPC Browsers.

Course Description and Objectives: OPC (OLE for Process Control) is now the latest, most modern and powerful communications protocol for the industry. Using OPC, many data transfers can be quickly and effectively facilitated. In addition, many powerful, custom applications can be developed and implemented on an OPC server-based computer connected to the DCS.

This course shows you how to use OPC for many important DCS connected applications, e.g.: bringing online data from gas chromatographs into the DCS, allowing operator entered data on an operator HMI screen to get downloaded into the DCS.

This course also shows you how to connect two independent OPC servers together easily with special software. The course covers how to pull/push data to and from DCS/PLC to host computers. It teaches how to use signal processing and validation for increasing safety and reliability in chemical processes.

The course teaches how to conceive, design and implement new process control, advanced control and communications-related applications using OPC, level-3 computers and DCS/PLC.

At the end of the course, attendees will clearly understand important concepts about OPC and its use in the industry.

Attendees will be able to connect any OPC server together, transfer data two-way to DCS/PLC, perform custom calculations directly on an OPC server and then talk to the DCS, decipher, troubleshoot and solve OPC problems.

Attendees will understand COM, DCOM, DA, HDA, UA, AE and all commonly used OPC concepts.

Attendees will have the skills and knowledge to develop new applications using OPC, save costs using modern OPC technology and implement new APC and primary control schemes faster and with lower costs.  The following topics are covered in this course:

• History and Vision behind OPC technology
• Basic Concepts of OPC
• OPC Specifications
• Benefits of OPC Solutions
• Connection Parameters in OPC Servers
• Configuration of OPC Clients
• OPC Redundancy OPC DA and HDA
• OPC Client and Server Architecture
• OPC Tunneling Technology
• OPC Alarms and Events
• Windows Security
• OPC options and industry vendors
• XML Overview
• COM and DCOM Troubleshooting
• DCOM Problems
• Systematic Detailed Procedure for Correctly Setting DCOM Configuration
• OPC Diagnostics
• SCADA applications using OPC
• OPC Alarms and Events
• Server-Client-Server (SCS) OPC Applications
• OPC UA (Unified Architecture)
• Overview of connecting OPC clients to OPC servers