SCADA system automation.
Modernising legacy command-line tools with intuitive applications — eliminating manual errors and streamlining critical energy infrastructure operations.
- Client
- TC Energy
- Industry
- Energy infrastructure
- Services
- Custom software · OT integration
Platform · SCADA bridgeCritical infrastructure stuck on command-line tools.
TC Energy, a leading energy infrastructure company, faced critical operational inefficiencies within its SCADA systems due to reliance on legacy command-line tools. These tools — while functional — were complex, prone to human error when operated by non-technical staff, and created significant bottlenecks across essential daily tasks.
Three areas were hit hardest: keeping the primary MSSQL database in sync with the operational OASyS SCADA database, manually generating Human-Machine Interface (HMI) screens for field operators, and transferring critical operational data securely from air-gapped field locations to corporate systems.
The stakes scaled with the footprint. TC Energy operates one of North America's largest energy infrastructure networks, so a manual step that is merely tedious on one terminal becomes a real source of risk and lost time when it is repeated across hundreds of field assets. Every avoidable error in an HMI screen or a database sync is a potential safety, reliability, or compliance issue, which is exactly why the manual command-line workflow had to go.
A suite of modern apps replacing the command line.
We built bespoke, user-friendly applications to fully automate and streamline what used to be manual, command-line driven SCADA tasks. Three modules: an intuitive interface for seamless MSSQL ↔ OASyS database synchronisation, an automated HMI generation system that ships error-free screens in minutes instead of days, and a secure air-gapped data transfer mechanism using QR encapsulation + secure email protocols.
We started with a field study: shadowing operators through the daily MSSQL and OASyS sync, the manual HMI builds, and the air-gapped data hand-offs, then mapping every command-line step to a place where software could remove the risk. That groundwork mattered, because in energy infrastructure a wrong screen or a stale tag is not a cosmetic bug, it is a safety and compliance problem.
The build leaned on a Microsoft Blazor and ASP.NET Core stack with Entity Framework over the MSSQL and OASyS databases, so the new tools spoke the same language as the existing control environment. The HMI generator templates each screen from live tag data, validates it before it ships, and writes an audit trail for every change. Nothing bypasses the operator; the software just removes the manual typing that used to introduce errors.
Rollout was staged and reversible. We piloted on a single site, ran the new tools in parallel with the legacy command line until the output matched exactly, then expanded across the SCADA estate with training built into each step. The air-gapped transfer module shipped last, once the security review of the QR-and-secure-email flow was signed off.
“Replacing our legacy command-line SCADA tools with these applications cut manual effort and errors dramatically. HMI updates that used to take days now happen in minutes, and our field operators trust the data again.”
Director of SCADA & Operational Technology, TC Energy
What actually shipped.
Reduced manual effort
Manual HMI screen generation and database synchronisation dropped by roughly 70%, freeing an estimated 1,200 technician hours a year for higher-value engineering work.
Improved data accuracy
Errors from manual data entry and command-line operations fell about 92%, lifting the integrity of the SCADA data that downstream decisions depend on.
Enhanced operational efficiency
Critical data transfer out of air-gapped environments accelerated from hours to minutes, tightening the loop on corporate decision-making.
Streamlined HMI deployment
HMI updates that once took days now deploy in minutes, error-free, so operations respond to field changes the same day.
The tools we shipped with.
Production-grade, enterprise-secure — chosen to integrate with existing OT infrastructure.
From command line to controlled UI.
We replaced error-prone command-line tools with intuitive applications. Let's discuss how to modernise your industrial operations.