How do you calculate SCADA screen utilization?

Divide screens opened in the period by total deployed screens and multiply by 100. For 180 of 260 screens: 180 / 260 x 100 = 69.23%.

What is a good SCADA screen utilization rate?

There is no universal benchmark, but mature high-performance HMI installations often see 70-85% of screens opened in a typical month. A target of 75% is common; the example's 69.23% sits 5.77 points below that.

What does a low screen use rate mean?

It usually points to over-built navigation, duplicate displays, or graphics tied to retired equipment. Low-use screens still need testing and MoC, so they are pure overhead unless they serve a rare but critical purpose.

Should I delete screens that operators never open?

Not automatically. Some safety, startup, or upset-condition screens are opened only in rare events yet must exist. Review the low-use list with operators before retiring anything.

How is the use-rate gap interpreted?

The gap is the target minus the actual rate in percentage points. A positive gap, like 5.77 points here, means you are below target and have screens to investigate; a negative gap means you have exceeded the target.

Screens opened vs screen dwell time?

This metric counts whether a screen was opened at all, not how long it was viewed. Dwell time is a richer measure but harder to extract; opened-count is a fast first-pass filter for orphaned displays.

IIoT, SCADA & Edge Connectivity calculator

SCADA Screen Utilization Calculator

SCADA screen utilization measures how many of your deployed HMI displays operators actually open during a period, expressed as a percentage of the total screens built. Control-system engineers and HMI design leads use it to find orphaned graphics that consume maintenance effort but deliver no operational value. It matters because every deployed screen carries a tagging, testing, and management-of-change cost; a low utilization rate signals over-built navigation, redundant displays, or graphics that no longer match how operators run the unit. The calculator returns the use rate and the gap to your target so you can decide what to retire or redesign.

What this calculator does

Estimate the share of SCADA HMI screens actually used by operators from the count of screens opened in the last period against the total screens deployed, against a use-rate target for the rationalization plan.
Use it when an HMI design or operations lead is checking which SCADA screens are actually being opened by operators, before pruning unused screens during a screen rationalization or HMI redesign.
It computes the percentage of deployed SCADA/HMI screens that were opened in the period and the point gap between that rate and your target.

Formula used

SCADA screen use rate = screens opened ÷ total deployed screens × 100
Use-rate gap to target = target use rate - actual use rate (negative gap means below target)

Inputs explained

Screens opened by operators in the period:
Total deployed SCADA screens:
Screen use-rate target:

How to use the result

Use it during HMI rationalization, after a high-performance HMI redesign, or in a periodic display-inventory review.
Opening a screen is not the same as relying on it; some critical screens are opened rarely yet essential, so never retire low-use screens on this metric alone without operator review.

Current U.S. benchmarks

Global copper trades at $13,484 per tonne (IMF via FRED, May 2026), up 41.5% in a year, and U.S. industrial electricity averages 8.66 cents per kWh. Both feed electrified-hardware unit economics.

Common questions

How do you calculate SCADA screen utilization? Divide screens opened in the period by total deployed screens and multiply by 100. For 180 of 260 screens: 180 / 260 x 100 = 69.23%.
What is a good SCADA screen utilization rate? There is no universal benchmark, but mature high-performance HMI installations often see 70-85% of screens opened in a typical month. A target of 75% is common; the example's 69.23% sits 5.77 points below that.
What does a low screen use rate mean? It usually points to over-built navigation, duplicate displays, or graphics tied to retired equipment. Low-use screens still need testing and MoC, so they are pure overhead unless they serve a rare but critical purpose.
Should I delete screens that operators never open? Not automatically. Some safety, startup, or upset-condition screens are opened only in rare events yet must exist. Review the low-use list with operators before retiring anything.
How is the use-rate gap interpreted? The gap is the target minus the actual rate in percentage points. A positive gap, like 5.77 points here, means you are below target and have screens to investigate; a negative gap means you have exceeded the target.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.