Build and Redesign a Factory SCADA Screen in WinCC Explorer

Assemble the picture around operator questions

You now have a process plan, symbol sheet and tested tags. Create U101_Overview.pdl in Graphics Designer and use them to build one coherent screen. The goal is to show whether water is available, whether P-101 is running and whether transfer flow reaches the destination.

Use the screen diagram as a layout reference. It is an original training mockup, not a captured WinCC Runtime screen. The example values illustrate placement only.

Choose the intended engineering picture dimensions from the operator workstation design. Test the resulting layout at that resolution rather than assuming that a picture that looks good zoomed out in the editor will be readable in Runtime.

Build the screen in six passes

1. Frame: reserve a top band for unit name, navigation and operating context. Keep a consistent location for the alarm-summary area.
2. Flow: draw the process line from the tank outlet to the pump, valve and destination. Keep direction and connectivity clear; simplify nonessential drawing detail.
3. Equipment: place the TK-101, P-101 and XV-101 symbols from your symbol sheet. Align them using a consistent baseline and leave room for their state text.
4. Measurements: place LT-101 beside the tank and FT-101 on the discharge side. Show units and retain space for invalid-data indication.
5. Status: show pump running/fault/mode and valve feedback. Avoid a screen where the operator must open several popups to discover why transfer has stopped.
6. Detail access: provide a deliberate route to an equipment detail picture and a return route to the overview. Use the picture selection/navigation facilities available in your installed WinCC version.

For this exercise, create a dedicated P101_Detail.pdl with equipment identity, feedback, fault and mode. If you later introduce a reusable Picture Window with a tag prefix or a faceplate type, test that the selected equipment identity and every tag change together.

Turn a busy factory picture into a usable one

Preserve the operator’s process understanding during a redesign. Repositioning equipment can help readability, but changing flow relationships or equipment naming without an agreed revision creates confusion. Review the new sketch with someone who understands the plant before completing the graphics.

Check the behavior behind the picture

A good-looking replacement is incomplete if it drops an old diagnostic, permission or event action. Before retiring the old training picture, create an object comparison list: equipment ID, tag references, dynamic properties, events, detail links and access requirements.

Open the overview in Runtime and change one test signal at a time. Observe text and shape together. Confirm that switching to the detail picture does not alter the process values and that returning to the overview preserves the intended context.

If the final project requires operator commands, specify the request/acknowledgment interface, role restrictions and mode/permissive behavior before implementing buttons. The visual example here is an indication screen. A web illustration or symbol animation does not implement PLC control or a protective function.

Deliver the overview and a comparison checklist

Your task: save the overview and P-101 detail pictures, then compare them against the original drawing and tag sheet. Have another learner answer the three opening questions without being told where to look.

• All four register items appear in the intended process location.
• All displayed values have units and an invalid-data appearance.
• State labels remain readable in every test combination.
• Navigation has an obvious return path and names the equipment being viewed.
• No element or fixed panel covers a value, alarm area or interaction target.
• Normal operation is visually quiet enough for faults to stand out.

Save the comparison and the picture revision together. In Lesson 5, add the event and history views that explain what happened before an abnormal condition.