The energy industry is on a mission to become more efficient by automating routine operations. These automation efforts involve SCADA systems, or supervisory control and data acquisition systems. Instruments and data monitoring devices are located on equipment to read flows and levels, sending that information to centralized locations where supervisors can assess the data and determine if adjustments are necessary. These systems can also provide information on the operational performance of equipment, enabling management to better manage routine maintenance and to anticipate premature equipment failures.

What is often overlooked in decisions surrounding SCADA systems is a risk assessment of having the digitalization aspect of the system disrupted. Disruptions can be as minor as electric power failures, or as major as equipment malfunctions. Sometimes, the systems need to address failures of sensors and measurement devices, which may involve rerouting flows or stopping them temporarily. But what about the risk from people interested in disrupting operations for their own benefit – hacking?

Colonial Pipeline recently experience this when it was hacked by foreign operatives interested in holding the system hostage until the company paid $5 million. This event introduces another risk into operating decisions – dealing with bad actors. This risk, to the extent it was not previously considered, will force energy companies to evaluate how to best improve efficiency through better management of SCADA systems, while minimizing risks.

Should the SCADA system be self-contained and controlled exclusively by the company? Maybe it should be cloud-based, offering better security protection? Will it be better, and cheaper, to turn to third-party cloud-based SCADA software providers? Every management team will need to make its own decision, but in the push for greater efficiency, it cannot lose sight of the wider array of risks now evident. It is equally important to understand there are many more options now available when evaluating those SCADA policy decisions. Exploring the broader range of SCADA solutions available today will be critical when assessing risk minimization steps.

For this Company Spotlight, we interviewed Iron-IQ’s CEO (Michael Ligrani), Chairman (Matt Showalter), and Chief Revenue Officer (Josh Spraker) about how the company is enabling the energy industry to minimize the cost of building and maintaining monitoring and control systems while also automating workflows to maximize efficiency. Iron-IQ is a cloud-native industrial internet of things (IIoT) supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) platform that allows energy companies to remotely monitor and control devices from anywhere in the world. Iron-IQ provides a complete turnkey solution that replaces legacy on-premise SCADA systems. For more information on Iron-IQ, please visit www.iron-iq.com.

Background: In 2019, after spending most of his career focused on implementing and maintaining SCADA systems in the energy industry, Michael Ligrani merged his company, ATLAS SCADA Systems, with Drillbox, a data platform with a mobile app serving the energy industry that……..…..READ MORE

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Energy Technology Musings

Efficiency, Efficiency, Efficiency Versus Cyberattack Risks