I spent some time at ABB’s Automation and Power World in Houston, Texas last week.
The vast amount of technology that is within ABB’s businesses was evident from first walking into the exhibit hall. While there was plenty of hardware – breakers, transformers, switches – the presence of software solutions was also prominent. There was a dedicated Software Pavilion, where the all the Ventyx software was showcased.
I chaired a session on “Experiences in Implementing Distribution IT/OT, a Key Component of the Smart Grid.” Walter Bartel of CenterPoint Energy and Charlie Schaeffer of Ameren were presenters at the session. Both presented on the status of their companies’ projects, in which new SCADA, DMS, and OMS systems are being implemented.
It’s fairly easy to do a presentation on what things might look like in the future. You just need an awareness of the present state of things and the direction that things are headed. If you’re reasonably realistic, then it’s difficult for anyone to dispute what you’re saying with any certainty. After all, it’s the future, and no one can tell exactly what’s going to happen.
It’s also fairly easy to do a general presentation on what has occurred in the past. Particularly if it’s a subject that you know reasonably well, and or has been covered in the industry before, then it’s pretty easy to find material on the subject and present it.
The most interesting type of presentation for many people is one describing how a complex project has been done. This is particularly true of projects that involve a great deal of change. It is quite interesting to see the planning and execution of a project that impacts and involves a great number of people, as well as new IT systems. At large investor owned utilities, the implementation of new Distribution Management Systems, including SCADA, OMS, and DMS, can be such projects. It is interesting to see the differences, as well as the commonalities, in how different organizations handle the different elements of the project - project planning, change management, project tracking, changes of scope, successes and failures, and assessment of results.
Both Charlie and Walter did excellent jobs describing their project implementations. Both are leaders in their projects and heavily immersed in them. They know what it takes to do one of these projects.
Charlie presented Ameren’s project to implement an Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS). One of the topics that Charlie discussed was “Why a commercial solution?” If you think about it, one of the strategic decisions that companies make in starting a smart grid project is whether to develop the solutions themselves, perhaps buying parts from various vendors, creating parts of the solution in-house, and performing all the integration themselves, or whether to obtain a commercial offering from a vendor. The reasons that Ameren decided for a commercial solution were:
• Completely Integrated Solution required.
• Applications are complex and still evolving.
• Desire to receive regular upgrades as Smart Grid evolves.
• Ameren participate in user groups/product direction.
Another big part of Charlie’s presentation was just how much these projects are not all about new technology. New technologies are an enabler, but the majority of the tasks require a lot of good old-fashioned project planning, execution, and change management. Ameren divided their project into two phases: Phase 1 – Planning/Design, which was completed in 2011, and Phase 2 – Implementation, which is ongoing. Their Phase 2 is further split into SCADA, Maps/Switching, Outage/Mobile, and Reports. Charlie explained how Ameren reviewed a PowerPoint slide completely full of business process areas, and identified the system requirements, system changes, process requirements, organization impacts, IT impacts, and implementation tasks.
Walter presented on the implementation of the Intelligent Grid at CenterPoint Energy. From a technical standpoint, CenterPoint has doing a tremendous amount of work the last several years: AMI implementation, communications system installation, ADMS implementation, installation of remote monitoring at approximately 30 substations, and installation of approximately 600 automated field switching and monitoring devices. But Walter also emphasized the business transformation that is taking place, and particularly discussed that success factors needed:
• Strong Governance Processes
§ Risk Management, Change Management & Financial Management
§ Project Planning/Scheduling & Metrics/Benefits Reporting
§ Technical Architecture, etc.
• Integration & Alignment of Project Team, Vendors & Support Functions
• Product Standardization
• Installation Standards & Procedures
• Improved QA Processes
• Deployment Strategy
• Monitoring & Exception Management
• Leveraging of Existing Infrastructure
Both Charlie and Walter are leading in projects that rank with the biggest projects in their careers. They both know that while the technology plays an important part, the human element of projects is either as important, or more important, than the technology implementation. It’s not just buying some technologies, installing them, and getting to the Smart Grid – it’s also about having a Smart Project Execution, complete with the human element involved.
