Brand-labeled SCADA platform for Electric Utility market with custom protocols and Lean Automation components.
Industry: Utilities (Electric Power)
Quick Facts
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Customer | Spin Automation (OEM Partner) |
| Product | Action.NET (brand-labeled FrameworX) |
| Markets | Brazil, India, Canada, and others |
| Focus | Electric Utility and Alternative Energy |
| Experience | 25+ years in Electric Utility industry |
| Deployments | 400+ utility deployments worldwide |
| Protocols | IEC-61850, DNP 3.0 (custom developed) |
The Challenge
Challenge: Create an industry-specific product software offering in the Electric Utility and Alternative Energy market.
Specific pain points:
- Needed to renew and update software product line
- Considered writing own product from scratch
- Required open, robust, and flexible software framework
- Needed intrinsically secure supervisory control product on modern technology
- Required encapsulation of 25+ years of Electric Utility intellectual property
- Electric Utility specific protocols (IEC-61850, DNP 3.0) needed
Impact: Developing in-house would take longer, cost more, and provide less functionality than leveraging an existing platform.
The Solution
Architecture
| Component | Implementation |
|---|---|
| Base Platform | FrameworX (brand-labeled as Action.NET) |
| Custom Symbols | Industry-specific component library |
| Custom Drivers | IEC-61850, DNP 3.0 via Driver Toolkit |
| Components | Lean Automation reusable modules |
| Auto-Creation | Tags, Alarms, Device Points, Historian, Graphics |
| Analytics | Real-time industry-specific framework |
Market Applications
| Solution | Description |
|---|---|
| SCADA | Supervisory control for utilities |
| Gateways | Data aggregation and forwarding |
| FLISR | Fault Location, Isolation, Service Restoration |
| OMS | Outage Management System |
| GTD | Generation, Transmission, Distribution |
Lean Automation Components
Wind Power Component:
- Monitors wind farms
- Supports Suzlon S95 and GE/Alstom ECO-122 turbines
- Extensible for additional turbine models
- Generate wind farm monitoring with few clicks
Asset Monitoring Component:
- Fast generation of asset monitoring applications
- Monitors substation transformers via IEDs
- Gateway functionality to centralized asset management
- HTML5 screens for local or remote access
- Multi-manufacturer IED support
Customization Capabilities Used
- Custom symbols and complex reusable components
- Auto-creation of Tags, Alarms, Device Points, Historian, Graphics
- Software framework for real-time industry-specific analytics
- Driver toolkit for new protocol development
Built-In Features Leveraged
| Feature | Application |
|---|---|
| Mobile/HTML5 Displays | Remote substation access |
| OSIsoft PI Integration | PI and PI Asset Framework support |
| Multi-Language Scripting | C#, VB.NET, JavaScript, Python |
| Project Management | Built-in audit trails |
| Security | High availability support |
Gateway Resilience
- Store-and-forward for communication failures (weeks of data)
- Failure identification routines for IEDs and sensors
- Local and remote HTML5 access
Key Enablers
FrameworX capabilities that made this solution possible:
| Capability | Application |
|---|---|
| OEM Brand Labeling | Action.NET product identity |
| Driver Toolkit | IEC-61850, DNP 3.0 custom protocols |
| Custom Components | Encapsulate 25+ years IP in reusable modules |
| Auto-Creation | Tags, alarms, points, historian, graphics |
| Tatsoft Technical Support | Custom development assistance |
| Standard Functionality | Mobile, PI integration, scripting, HA |
The Results
Quick Time to Market — Faster than developing in-house product
Greater Functionality — More built-in capability than originally planned
Lower Cost — Cheaper to customize than to develop from scratch
400+ Deployments — Utility installations worldwide
Technology Partnership — Ongoing platform enhancement support
IP Encapsulation — 25+ years of Electric Utility expertise in reusable components
Lean Automation — Generate wind farm or asset monitoring solutions with few clicks
Future-Proof — Platform continues to enhance product offerings
Resources
Download case study: CaseStudy_OEMBrandLabel.pdf
This case demonstrates OEM brand labeling with custom protocol development and Lean Automation components for Electric Utility market.
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