TRANSFORMERS, SUBSTATIONS + CABLES
Combination I/O (DCIO) modules and advanced I/Os. As part of the project, NovaTech worked with the utility to custom build and configure an OrionLX unit to function identically to one of the brands of RTUs it was replacing. The team used the NovaTech Configuration Director to configure the new RTU essentially to mirror the perfor- mance of the unit it was to replace, including communicat- ing using the existing proprietary protocol. The replacement units have the same number of serial ports, so installing the unit only required plugging the serial cables into the corresponding port number on the new OrionLX once the configuration was completed. “The wiring requirement was minimal, so it was as close to plug-and-play as you could ask for – and the new unit came online quickly and worked as expected,” says the senior supervisor, adding that the utility has now replaced six of its units in this way. Regarding the RTUs with the software that would no longer be supported, the utility is currently phasing out those units as well. “We still have probably a dozen of those left,” said the senior supervisor. “In the next few years, we will have com- pletely converted to the new RTUs across our entire system.” He adds that early in the NovaTech RTU evaluation, one issue did arise when lightning struck a couple of the new units. According to the senior supervisor, “the lightning blew them apart. We received an alarm from the unit saying the power supply was dead and needed to be replaced, but we were running a redundant power supply, and the Orion units remained online and functional.” Training and maintenance In addition to improving reliability and performance, the utility sought a solution that eliminated the other ‘trouble’ associated with RTUs: the training time required for tech- nicians to program and install the new units. In this regard, the NovaTech RTUs were ‘technician friendly’ and training time was minimal. “I was able to show apprentices how the software works and, after an hour, they could take an assignment sheet with all the items needed and program the RTU,” says the senior supervisor. “That doesn’t mean they have a full understanding of everything the unit is doing yet, but they can program it.” Ease of maintenance figures highly too. “It probably took me a year to figure out all the little bugs about the software of the previous RTUs. It was very unforgiving. Troubleshoot- ing required going through multiple tables and layers – and there was no indication of why an RTU was offline, only that it was offline. What we appreciate about the new RTUs is you can review the error log to diagnose the specific problem that is occurring.” Based on the positive experiences to date, the utility continues with its rollout of replacement RTUs. Other util- ities have contacted the team to understand how they ad- dressed issues with an RTU conversion. “I’m glad I didn’t resist change when we were considering replacing the RTUs that were causing us trouble,” says the
Based in the USA NovaTech operates worldwide with field offices in Europe and a further network of regional integration and engineering partners across most major markets. In South Africa NovaTech is represented through ACTOM. senior supervisor. “With our confidence in the reliability of the new RTUs, and standardising on solutions from a single provider, our engineering team can focus on improving our network infrastructure in other ways without being constantly drawn back to performance issues.” □ The utility team selected NovaTech’s Orion RTUs together with the company’s I/O modules to replace troublesome legacy units.
For more information visit: www.novatechautomation.com
MARCH 2022 Electricity + Control
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