Category: ABB

Personalized workplaces

State-of-the-art-graphics with intuitive control

faceplates provide for well-arranged and detailed

displays of any control point in the plant. Favorite

places, history lists, short cuts and hot buttons

facilitate quick and easy navigation through plant

or process. Workplace layouts are adjusted and

optimized according to the user’s needs and pref

erences. These workplaces are optimized to indi

vidual preference and access rights based on user

log-in. Windows management functions, such as

safe areas, pinning and stacking, prioritize

the presentation of important material.

Intuitive navigation

The environment design provides intuitive and

easy access to all integrated information through

simple “right click” on the object. Navigation

becomes simple and independent of where the

information is located. Through S+ Operations’

context navigation, any piece of information is

only one click away. Direct and seamless cross

navigation between operation displays and

engineering documentation provides users

with the ability to easily troubleshoot any

control loop or process area.

Accessing data anytime and from anywhere

With today’s mobile workforce, it is critical to

access data from anywhere at any time. With S+

Operations Pocket Portal, users can easily expand

their operations view now directly from their

smartphone, tablet or laptop. Pocket Portal is a

platform independent, HTML5 web-based appli

cation that runs in any browser without the need

for additional client software. Configurable dash

boards with full touch navigation capability allow

subject matter experts, supervisors and manag

ers to “see what the operators see” thereby

promoting collaboration to correct problems

faster and keep operations running at peak 

performance.

Designed for high performance

Symphony Plus offers a high-performance HMI that provides operators with an easy

to-use, optimized interface that supports fast operator-process interaction and

reduces the risk of disturbances and unplanned downtime.

Consolidated and consistent operations

S+ Operations is a window-based, web enabled

HMI providing outstanding information integra

tion and user navigation within a standard Micro

soft Windows™ environment. Based on industry

standards, S+ Operations provides users with

detailed, well-arranged process overview displays

to present better situation awareness and recog

nition of abnormal conditions anywhere through

out the plant or process.

High performance HMI

The user interface must be intuitive and allow

operators to manage views dynamically and effi

ciently. A high-performance interface supports

situation awareness with how the information is

displayed. It supports abnormal situation han

dling through efficient navigation and the appli

cation of best practices in alarm management.

Attention to human factors

Just as manufacturing processes are designed

to be carefully controlled and manipulated to

achieve desired outcomes, high-performance

control rooms and operator stations must be

designed with operator performance in mind.

Operator competence and confidence

Operator training simulators ensure process

operator competence and confidence when deal

ing with normal production as well as unplanned

events. In today‘s business climate simulators

make even more sense due to the lack of experi

enced resources to instruct new, inexperienced

operators.

S+ Operations puts ABB’s four pillar approach

into action to improve the operator’s visibility

to plant performance while filtering out the

“noise” to lead operators to greater awareness,

faster response and better decisions.

The four pillars of operator effectiveness

ABB is at the forefront of operator effectiveness. To help customers reach the

optimal goal we have brought together the necessary technology and business

practices as four essential pillars:

Integrated operations and embedded functionality

Raw data and other input must be transformed

into actionable information in context with plant

equipment to promote better decision making.

The challenge is to provide seamless access

to multiple sources of information while being

careful not to overload the operator with irrele vant data.

High performance HMI

The user interface must be intuitive and allow

operators to manage views dynamically and effi

ciently. A high-performance interface supports

situation awareness with how the information is

displayed. It supports abnormal situation han

dling through efficient navigation and the appli

cation of best practices in alarm management.

Keeping the operator in focus

Improving operator effectiveness is fundamental to a plant’s performance.

However, with fewer plant operators, a generational shift in the operator

workforce, and increasing complexity and scope of plant operations, it is

becoming ever more challenging. ABB Ability™ Symphony® Plus, with its

intuitive, easy-to-use human machine interface (HMI), leads operators

to greater awareness, faster response and better decisions.

Process operators live under constant challenge.

The operator’s actions have a direct impact on

uptime, production output, quality, and safety.

However, operators are often hindered by a lack

of attention to human factors like; operator inter

face design, information flow and preparation

on how to handle abnormal situations.

S+ Operations HMI is designed to improve opera

tor effectiveness in every aspect involved: high

performance design, integrated operations,

embedded functionality, information manage

ment, alarm management, security, and sup

ported with a flexible, scalable fault-tolerant

design. Further, an extended operator workplace

console keeps the ‘operator in focus’ by providing

unparalleled operator ergonomics, control room

consolidation and a pre-integrated large screen

operator view display for clear and concise

plant-wide visualization.

Strengthen your resilience with a complete portfolio of cyber security services

ABB provides a range of cyber security services to support you on your cyber security journey.

Uniquely developed for industrial systems like yours, ABB Cyber Security Services mitigate cyber

risks by identifying potential threats, automating compliance efforts and defending against

cyberattacks.

ABB’s cyber security portfolio includes services and solutions to match your requirements.

These include:

Assess: A strong cyber security posture is important to defend against cyberattacks. ABB

Cyber Security Assessment services help you understand the strengths, weaknesses, gaps and

risks in your cyber security posture so that you can determine the right strategy for your

business.

Plan: Whether you need help implementing a cyber security control, making changes to your ar

chitecture, or writing a security policy, leverage ABB’s experience with industrial cyber security

and process to design your cyber security plan.The ABB ICS Cyber Security Reference

Architecture is a proven and consistent approach to planning, implementing, and deploying indus

trial control system networks using industry best practices and IEC standards. The Reference

Architecture establishes a “zone and conduit” approach which helps isolate potential cyber events

and mitigate impacts while enabling IoT and connections to cloud services.

Implement: In addition to basic controls, such as system hardening, applying security updates,

updating antivirus software and ensuring backup,a comprehensive asset inventory is critical to

manage your cyber security controls. ABB’s Asset Inventory helps you detect unauthorized changes

to your cyber security policy and computer settings so that you can take action to strengthen

your systems.

Do something rather than nothing.

Investing in cyber security is necessary to protectyour company’s future.  Companies that fail to ad

dress known risks are viewed poorly when cyber attacks expose lack of proper management.

Cyber security is not a onetime event, but an on going process.  To guide you on this journey, we of

fer a stepwise and practical service approach that lowers cyber risk by taking the necessary steps to

identify what must addressed, actively protect automation assets, detect security breaches, re

spond to cyberattacks and establish backup and recovery plans.

Detect and respond: Once you’ve implemented your cyber security foundation, depending on risk

factors and regulations, you may need to strengthen your cyber defenses with ABB ad

vanced cyber security services such as network and event monitoring.

ABB can help monitor your defenses on a 24×7 model to quickly alert you of any threat to your

production. When an abnormal event or malicious behavior is detected and alerted, ABB experts an

alyze the event and respond as needed.

In the event of a cyber security breach, ABBs experts spring into action and restore your produc

tion as quickly as possible. Afterwards, ABB provides an afteraction report and consults with

strategy to prevent future incidents.

An overview of the security features provided

with Symphony Plus:

• Detailed system monitoring and diagnostics

• Network protection with IPSec

• Host firewalls for servers and workstations

• Network loop protection in servers andworkstations

• Robustness tested products

• Network protection filters and storm protection for controllers and communication modules

• Detailed rolebased access control

• Fast operator log over

• HWbased access control for safety systems

• Digital signature to ensure data is kept unchanged after approval

• Advanced access control for secure interaction and inactivity logout

• Audit trail for logging of all userinitiated actions in a system

Overview of optional security features through our partners:

• Malware protection: Antivirus accomplished with McAfee End point Security on all Symphony

Plus servers and workplaces

• Malware protection: Allowlisting accomplished with McAfee Application Control.

• Backup and restore for disaster recovery

Symphony Plus gives you peace of mind

Peace of mind tends to come when you have less to worry about. And that is a fact when you oper

ate Symphony Plus. It is reassuring to know you have done all you can to protect your company’s

knowhow, ideas and operations.

ABB is engaged with the wider ICSCybersecurity community which includes security researchers

and analysts. There is an open channel of communication with the community and customer base

regarding cyber security issues. This may entail working with third parties specialized in security

assessment and penetration testing of ICS technologies. When a potential vulnerability is identi

fied or reported, ABB immediately initiates our vulnerability handling process. The goal is to pro

vide customers with advise for workarounds or mitigation strategies that minimize the potential

risk of a vulnerability as much as possible. These findings are then addressed by product develop

ment and made available to improve overall prod uct cyber security.

Occasionally these activities result in the need to publish an external Cybersecurity Advisory which

demonstrates part of ABB’s commitment to the user community in support of this critical topic.

Responsible disclosure is an important element in the chain of trust we work to maintain with our

many customers. The release of an Advisory provides timely information which is essential to help

ensure our customers are fully informed. Cybersecurity Advisories which are released can be

found on our public facing website here.