Automation
Automation is a rather broad term tha can relating to any process or system that is configured to operate with a minimum of user intervention.
Workflow Automation
Workflow automation (or scripting) here refers to the streamlining of a computer-based process or series of steps, that a human operator would normally undertake. In some cases however this task is better done by computer.
Not every task should be automated, but when properly implemented the time savings, convenience and security can be well worth the effort, both in terms of consistency of the results, time saved and the convenience.
Industrial Automation
Industrial automation refers to programmed responses to triggers and conditions generated within a sensing and control system. At its most basic level it is a preprogrammed response to something happening (a simple trigger). At a more advanced level, the automation needs to handle specific edge cases or unusual circumstances effectively and gracefully (conditional triggering). At the industrial level, careful consideration needs to be given to ensure that all possible occurrences are properly handled without exception (completeness).
Implementing automation requires some supervisory agent or process that looks at the system data and is aware of the state of all information. The automation agent also needs to be able to generate the control signals to take effective actions. As such, the scripting of automation is directly tied to the data backbone of the control system.
Home Automation
Home automation is no different from industrial automation at its core. However, there are some interesting and emerging technologies providing services in the home automation space that are gaining popularity. The battle for market dominance is by no means settled, however. If you are interested in a home automation solution, we recommend using the open-source Home Assistant platform. It is able to run on pretty much any hardware, from Raspberry Pi, computers or even on you Synology NAS. In fact, the system is available as a Docker container so it can run on pretty much any system.
Process Automation
Manual processes can easily disrupt or slow your operations. Lack of transparency and margins of human error can make your business vulnerable to a variety of bottlenecks and inefficiencies that can affect your bottom line.
By automating your workflows, you can reduce repetitive tasks, increase efficiency and empower your team members to focus on high-value items.
- Blend structured and unstructured processes into smooth workflows
- Manage edge cases and exceptions
- Eliminate time-consuming tasks
- Automate business processes with rules-based logic
You Should Know
It's very possible that you will spend more time automating a task than you could save from the automation!
Simply put, a task should be automated for two reasons: repetitive or error-prone.
Some tasks are tedious, but you only have to do them once or twice in your lifetime. However, if you're doing the task over and over, it's probably worth automating. Especially if the task is well-defined and consistent.
Alternately, if the task is critical to an important business process and requires some degree of error checking or data massage, then automation can provide a level of error-checking or validation that will save troubles down the road.
There are several automation platforms that provide access to libraries of prebuilt automation examples.
- IFTTT - "If this then that"
- Apple Shortcuts
- Automate.io
- etc
These 3rd-party platforms can integrate with many Home or Commercial systems, such as Apple HomeKit or Google Home. Additionally, they can access to external systems that provide an API accessible via web-sockets or http.
Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) is a system of software and hardware elements. SCADA systems are used by industrial organizations and companies in the public and private sectors to control and maintain efficiency, distribute data for smarter decisions, and communicate system issues to help mitigate downtime.
SCADA systems work well in many different types of enterprises because they can range from simple configurations to large, complex installations. SCADA systems are the backbone of many modern industries.