Central site computer facilities

This chapter discusses the requirements for the central site computer facilities. The environment in which the system is installed must be appropriate to the computer system and the associated electronics systems. Industrial computer systems may be mounted in a less stringent environment than for the standard air-conditioned control room. Some points to emphasize when installing communications cabling between the different computers and systems in the control room include routing of the cables well away from potential sources of electrical interference, harsh chemicals, excessive heat, wet environments, and sources of physical damage, and selecting the shortest possible path away from sources of noise. The main reason for considering ergonomic requirements is to improve the working environment of control room personnel. The design approach for an effective operator display system should be to ensure that the displays are as easy to read and understand as possible. The organization of displays should be done in a clear and logical way to allow the operator to quickly and effectively identify the information of interest. Alarm processing is an important part of the operator station. It is found that error codes identifying the faults are normally included with the description of the failed device.