Introduction to Visual Tag System (VTS)

Visual Tag System™ (VTS™) is visual human-machine interface (HMI) or operator interface software that allows operators like you to remotely monitor and control the activities and conditions of system equipment from one or more computers.

The VTS software enables remote monitoring and control by connecting with an input/output device (I/O device), (such as a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), Remote Terminal Unit (RTU), or I/O board), which is in turn connected to the equipment that makes up your system.

The I/O device acts as a conduit between the computer(s) running the VTS software, and the physical equipment. The I/O device gathers and transmits data from the VTS software to the equipment and from the equipment to the VTS software.

Examples of process data being transmitted from the equipment, to your I/O device, and on to the VTS software are equipment mode (e.g. auto or manual), status (e.g. off/on, temperature, or pressure), or a specific value (e.g. speed, level, temperature, pressure, etc.).

Data transmitted from the VTS software to your I/O device, and on to the equipment can change the condition of the equipment. Such changes might include a difference in mode (from auto to manual), a change in status (e.g. from off to on), or a specific value (e.g. a feed time, or a chemical measurement).

VTS displays this incoming and outgoing data visually on your computer screen to make it easy for you to interpret commands and equipment conditions. The concept of simple data input and output from the VTS software to the equipment and from the equipment to the VTS software via the I/O device is displayed below.

The image above portrays the data transmissions between VTS and an I/O device.

As you can see from the above image, VTS and the PLC communicate to transmit data back and forth. Downwards pointing blue arrows indicate data transmissions from VTS operators to the PLC and equipment, while upwards pointing purple arrows indicate data transmissions from the PLC to VTS.

In order for VTS to receive data from and deliver data to equipment, your VTS application has been configured with special software components to represent each equipment process in the system. When a process for a single piece of physical equipment is represented in VTS, the representation is called a "tag".

Tags are software components that uniquely identify, define, and represent each equipment process in the control system. Tags can be drawn and displayed on the computer screen as graphic objects such as bitmaps, fields, or lists. Each tag's graphic object reports information about, or allows you to interact with, the equipment process it represents.

In many cases, tags and the graphics used to draw them are used to create an entire on-screen replica of the physical equipment layout. You can now understand why the software is called "Visual Tag System"; it enables the configuration of software components to graphically display equipment process data on your computer screen.

The on-screen representation of the physical system runs in real-time, meaning that when a change occurs in the equipment, it is automatically and instantly reported by VTS on your screen.

An example of an on-screen replica of physical equipment being represented in VTS is shown below.

The image above shows an application page displaying a custom on-screen replica of equipment comprising a booster station.

Over and above the monitoring and controlling of equipment, VTS also enables you to:

•      React to alarm conditions or events within the equipment from a specialized alarm screen; and

•      Chart equipment data and track tag performance over time in the form of graphs on a specialized trending screen.

 

Additionally, your VTS application might have been designed with customized features, such as screens to generate reports, or display communications data. This guide is designed to teach you about the standard features of VTS, prepare you for the possible customized features of your VTS application, and teach you how to view and interpret data and how to control equipment from your computer screen.