SCADA for Biogas Powerplants Control Interfaces

How a job on a construction site turned into my first UX project

Role

UX Designer / freelance work alongside my mayor studies

Industry

Energy Production

Duration

5 years / part time

“We were practicing UX before we had the language for it. I still proudly show this project today.”

The Unexpected Start

After finishing high school and military service, I still competed in rowing. So to earn money, I worked on Biogest's construction sites. One day, while climbing a ten-meter concrete wall to install a gas sack mount, the employer noticed I was also a trained graphic designer and showed me their SCADA system. I was up for the challenge - that moment sparked the beginning of this project.

“We were practicing UX before we had the language for it. I still proudly show this project today.”

The Unexpected Start

After finishing high school and military service, I still competed in rowing. So to earn money, I worked on Biogest's construction sites. One day, while climbing a ten-meter concrete wall to install a gas sack mount, the employer noticed I was also a trained graphic designer and showed me their SCADA system. I was up for the challenge - that moment sparked the beginning of this project.

What are Biogas Powerplants (Source: Agentur für Erneuerbare Energien)


Understanding the System

To explain biogas plants, I used a living metaphor: digestion.

  • Hand to mouth → Feeding system

  • Chewing → Shredder unit

  • Stomach → Primary digester

  • Intestines → Secondary digester

  • Gas output → Usable energy

The SCADA system acts like the plant's brain and nervous system, monitoring every sensor and managing all operations. The automated processes resemble the brainstem. If your stomach is wrong, it hurts; the signal light for the motor of the rührwerk in the digester turns red. Manual interventions, where operators make decisions that require focus, are like the frontal lobe.

The Interface Concept - UX by doing

I wasn't trained in the methodical UCD approach at the time, but looking back, we did it nonetheless.

  • Since I observed the machine operator at the site --> Shadowing.

  • I got to know the plant owners, investors, and technicians, each with different needs, --> Stakeholder mapping and Value Propositions Canvas. 

With that in mind, we came up with two views:

  • CEO View: Simplified, high-level dashboard. If everything’s green and power is flowing, they’re happy.

  • Technician View: Drill-down path. They navigate step-by-step to correct the issue if something turns red or orange.

As an industrial design student, I was capable of creating 3D renderings that were placed on detailed pages for the technician's view.


Analog Workshops

I gathered engineers, plant operators, and decision-makers in one room. We projected early mockups onto the wall and sketched directly with markers.

We never called them collaborative workshops, but that’s what they were.


Technical Challenges

  • The Framework for implementing the SCADA software was called BioSys, which was widely used at the time in that domain. It wasn’t web-based—there were no hover states or overlays.

  • Multilingual UIs were hard, so icons were essential.

  • We had no Figma, no global component library, no auto-layout.

For the missing component library feature, there was a workaround (hack): I used Illustrator; every UI element in every variant, size, and state was created as one separate Illustrator file. The component would be placed within the Frame File. When the component had to be changed, it would update. 🤞



The Interface Concept - UX by doing

I wasn't trained in the methodical UCD approach at the time, but looking back, we did it nonetheless.

  • Since I observed the machine operator at the site --> Shadowing.

  • I got to know the plant owners, investors, and technicians, each with different needs, --> Stakeholder mapping and Value Propositions Canvas. 

With that in mind, we came up with two views:

  • CEO View: Simplified, high-level dashboard. If everything’s green and power is flowing, they’re happy.

  • Technician View: Drill-down path. They navigate step-by-step to correct the issue if something turns red or orange.

As an industrial design student, I was capable of creating 3D renderings that were placed on detailed pages for the technician's view.


Analog Workshops

I gathered engineers, plant operators, and decision-makers in one room. We projected early mockups onto the wall and sketched directly with markers.

We never called them collaborative workshops, but that’s what they were.


Technical Challenges

  • The Framework for implementing the SCADA software was called BioSys, which was widely used at the time in that domain. It wasn’t web-based—there were no hover states or overlays.

  • Multilingual UIs were hard, so icons were essential.

  • We had no Figma, no global component library, no auto-layout.

For the missing component library feature, there was a workaround (hack): I used Illustrator; every UI element in every variant, size, and state was created as one separate Illustrator file. The component would be placed within the Frame File. When the component had to be changed, it would update. 🤞



P100 touchscreens for small Compact Power Plants.

Extended variants for Touch Interfaces

Later, touchscreens became feasible for smaller plants, most of which lacked control rooms. Now, operators use wall-mounted panels or tablets on-site.

This, partly, shifted the SCADA UX from centralized control rooms to distributed, mobile access.



Reflection

This project taught me the fundamentals of user-centered design without the terminology. I’m grateful to Dipl.-Ing. Gerald Bartl mentored me through it and showed a high level of UX maturity.

P100 touchscreens for small Compact Power Plants.

Extended variants for Touch Interfaces

Later, touchscreens became feasible for smaller plants, most of which lacked control rooms. Now, operators use wall-mounted panels or tablets on-site.

This, partly, shifted the SCADA UX from centralized control rooms to distributed, mobile access.



Reflection

This project taught me the fundamentals of user-centered design without the terminology. I’m grateful to Dipl.-Ing. Gerald Bartl mentored me through it and showed a high level of UX maturity.

Copyright 2025 by Dietmar Kolar

Copyright 2025 by Dietmar Kolar