Data historians are specialized software applications that collect, store, and retrieve historical data from industrial processes and equipment. They are widely used in various industries, such as oil and gas, power generation, manufacturing, mining, and water treatment, to monitor and optimize performance, improve quality, reduce downtime, and enhance safety.

Benefits of Using a Data Historian

Data historians can help operators unlock the value of industrial data by providing the following benefits:

• Data accessibility: Data historians enable you to access your data anytime, anywhere, and from any device. You can query your data using simple or complex criteria, such as time range, tag name, value, or expression. You can also export your data to various formats, such as CSV, Excel, PDF, or XML, for further analysis or reporting.
• Data integrity: Data historians ensure that your data is accurate, consistent, and reliable. They use advanced compression algorithms to reduce the storage space and bandwidth required for your data. They also use checksums and encryption to protect your data from corruption and unauthorized access. Moreover, they support data backup and recovery to prevent data loss in case of system failure or disaster.
• Data analysis: Data historians provide you with powerful tools to analyze your data and gain insights. You can use built-in functions or custom scripts to perform calculations, transformations, aggregations, or correlations on your data. You can also use graphical tools to visualize your data in various ways, such as trends, charts, dashboards, or reports. Furthermore, you can use advanced analytics tools to apply machine learning, artificial intelligence, or predictive modeling on your data to discover patterns, anomalies, or opportunities.
• Data integration: Data historians enable you to integrate your data with other systems and applications. You can use standard protocols or APIs to connect your data historian with other data sources, such as PLCs, SCADA systems, sensors, databases, or cloud services. You can also use event-driven triggers or workflows to automate actions based on your data, such as sending alerts, notifications, or commands.

Data historians are essential for any industrial organization that wants to leverage its data for operational excellence and competitive advantage. By using data historians, you can unlock the value of your industrial data and transform it into actionable information and knowledge.

Data Historians Leverage SCADA Data to Optimize Operations

A software solution, such as a data historian, has the capability of collecting, storing, and analyzing time-series data. Time-series data is often collected from industrial automation systems, like SCADA solutions (supervisory control and data acquisition). Data historians are most often used by industries like chemicals, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, pipelines, and refining.

Oil and gas companies use data historians to monitor and optimize their operations, such as production, processing, transportation, and distribution of oil and gas. Data historians help them to:

• Track the performance and efficiency of their equipment, machinery, and networks of sensors and devices. Data historians provide real-time and historical data for metrics, such as: flow rate, temperature, pressure, quality, level, and more.
• Detect and diagnose faults, anomalies, and failures in their systems. Alert operators and engineers to conditions when they deviate from the norm or from what is expected. Data historians can also help operators take action to correct the deviation and identify the root cause.  
• Comply with the regulatory and environmental standards on water quality, emissions, safety, etc. Record and report data requirements to verify compliance. Data historians help oil and gas companies provide auditors and authorities with the necessary data requirements.  
• Improve their decision making and planning based on data-driven insights. Provide historical trends, correlations, and patterns that help operators of oil and gas companies to reduce costs, optimize production, increase profitability, and forecast demand.

Challenges & Limitations of Data Historians

For the last four decades, data historians have been used to augment oil and gas operations. However, with the advancement of technology and the increase of data volume and variety, data historians face some challenges and limitations, such as:

• High maintenance costs. Data historians require expensive hardware and software to store and process large amounts of data. They also need regular updates and upgrades to keep up with the changing needs and standards of the industry.
• Environmental concerns. Data historians consume a lot of energy and resources to operate. They also generate a lot of heat and noise that can affect the environment.
• Availability of alternative methods. Data historians are not the only way to handle time-series data. There are other solutions that can offer more functionality, flexibility, scalability, and integration with other systems. 

Therefore, some oil and gas companies are looking for new ways to leverage their data historians or replace them with more advanced solutions that can meet their current and future needs.

The eLynx Data Historian

If you are an operator with an existing SCADA system, you may be wondering how you can get more value from your data and improve your operational efficiency. You may also be looking for a way to modernize your SCADA system without having to replace it entirely. That’s where the eLynx Technologies Data Historian comes in.

The eLynx Technologies Data Historian is a cloud-based service that provides users with mobile app access, meaningful dashboards, and modern data analysis and integration capabilities. It is a way to capture human intelligence and augment artificial intelligence.

The eLynx Technologies Data Historian can help you:

• Capture existing system data using various methods, such as API, scheduled imports, eLynx Data Client, or MQTT.
• Provide users access to the data they need using unlimited users, user roles and permissions, user configurable views, and favorites and home page settings.
• Pump by priority using the production dashboard, which shows actual production versus target production over time across an entire field or a single lease route.
• Analyze your data using trending graphs, compare trends over time, trend contextual data, report builder, export to Excel, Excel Add-In, and BI tool integrations.
• Reinforce machine learning initiatives using automated diagnostics, which specify criteria beyond traditional SCADA alarms to notify operators of a diagnosis rather than each individual symptom.

The eLynx Technologies Data Historian is designed to bridge the gap between SCADA and data analytics, and help you optimize your oil and gas operations. By using the eLynx Technologies Data historian, you can save time, reduce costs, increase efficiency, and enhance safety.

If you want to learn more about the eLynx Technologies Data Historian and how it can help you modernize your SCADA system, contact us for any questions or support.

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