Industrikontroll

Industrikontroll refers to the technologies, systems, and practices used to monitor, regulate, and optimize industrial processes. It covers real-time data acquisition, automatic control, and human–machine interaction to maintain product quality, safety, and energy efficiency across sectors such as manufacturing, power generation, water management, and resource extraction.

Typical components include sensors and actuators that interface with the physical plant, controllers (programmable logic controllers or PLCs, and distributed control systems or DCS), supervisory software (SCADA) and human–machine interfaces (HMI), as well as communication networks (industrial Ethernet, fieldbus). Data historians store process data for analysis.

Architectures vary by application. PLC-based control is common for discrete processes and machine-level control, while DCS is used for continuous processes with large-scale control loops. SCADA provides supervisory oversight over multiple sites. Modern systems increasingly integrate with information technology and the industrial Internet of Things to enable edge computing, cloud analytics, and digital twins, while maintaining safety and reliability requirements.

Industrikontroll relies on feedback control loops, often employing PID controllers or model predictive control to maintain setpoints in the presence of disturbances. Operations emphasize reliability, safety, and cybersecurity, given the potential consequences of failures, outages, or malicious intrusion.

Standards and safety frameworks guide design and operation. Functional safety under IEC 61508 and process safety standards such as IEC 61511 apply to critical control loops. Cybersecurity guidance is provided by IEC 62443. Standards for field devices and networking include IEC 61158/61784 and related profiles. Intersections with manufacturing operations management are described in ISA-95.