The customer was running a Nutro painting and curing system using articulated ABB transfer robots and Allen-Bradley SLC500 PLCs communicating on an Ethernet network. The installed system used Intellution's iFix 2.6 as a SCADA platform running on six clients with one client acting as a SCADA server. The fully automated nature of the system relied heavily on the SCADA software for human interaction.

 Industrial Informatics, Inc. was contracted in an emergency when the single SCADA server failed and brought down control of the entire finishing system. After bringing the system back online we provided a proposal to prevent future failures, and provide maximum up-time while allowing for system maintenance.

 The new SCADA system was built on GE Fanuc's Intellution/Proficy iFix 3.5 Redundant Servers running on Windows Server 2003. The twin redundant SCADA servers were relocated to a controlled environment with access to the plants backup generators. The server pack included two additional redundant servers running Legato's Advanced mirroring software and SQL Server for maximum data availability. The six clients were capable of taking over the duties of any other client while two fully configured standbys were installed for immediate replacement. The solution provided automatic fail-over of both the SCADA and data servers and ensures that access to this vital part of the manufacturing process is always available.

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