Hints of a 'micro DCS.' (digital control system)

One DCS package is much like another. So a system that could avert even one unplanned shutdown per year could be an order clincher.

One could express surprise that the term DCS is still in existence. For some years, the demise of this old favourite has been predicted, the threat coming from the increased functionality of lower cost SCADA systems. Yet DCSs are still going strong.

The reasons could be illustrated by two sites with which I have recently been involved. For the first time in my experience, a full blown UK grid-connected power plant was controlled by a network of PLCs - surely a clear illustration of the increased power of PLCs, enabling them to compete …