Designing HMI and SCADA Laboratory Work for Engineering Students

Abstract

Human-machine interfaces are, essentially, the user interfaces used to monitor industrial facility machines and systems, which makes them a common industry tool in engineering. At East Tennessee State University, while human-machine interfaces are briefly covered in lecture and graduate students have set up some basic hands-on work, there exist no formal lab work for students on the topic. This thesis explores the literature surrounding the design of labs for a STEM or engineering-specific university class, and applies the recommendations and methods within that literature to design two laboratory guides on human-machine interfaces. These labs are intended to be implemented in either (or both) the ENTC 3350 Industrial Electronics class or the ENTC 4517/5517 Automation & Robotics class at East Tennessee State University. This work also details the collection of student feedback and the refinement of the labs according to those results. It also notes roadblocks to the creation of a lab on the topic of supervisory control and data acquisition systems. Finally, this thesis provides several future recommendations for adjustments to the class materials, future labs, and education on supervisory control and data acquistion systems