Operator Training System (OTS)

Operating automated electric systems is a process that involves different actors, systems, and devices, and requires experienced users who can think quickly under pressure. In the control center, operators are the last link in an extensive chain of tasks and, although systems have become more increasingly more reliable in the past years, these professionals are still prone to incidents with different degrees of consequence. Pressure from consumers, governments, and companies’ executives for achieving better quality indexes in power supplying is also another factor these workers will face on a daily basis.

Formal training procedures applied to operators are indispensable. Often, however, the knowledge transferring depends on the occurence of real events in the system. In a scenario where new projects are installed in large quantities, the learning process cannot be slow. The immediate demand for skilled operators has raised a need for realistic, easy-deployment simulation platforms.

Elipse Software’s simulation and training module (OTS) has the function of preparing operators to respond, in a quick and efficient way, to a large amount of events and emergency contingencies that may occur in power systems. This tool offers a full simulation and training interface, where each learner can send commands and check their impact on a virtual environment, but in conditions extremely close to reality. The training architecture applies a copy of the main SCADA server to learners connected to a simulation environment.

An existing Elipse Power application can be used to create an OTS application automatically, thus saving engineering time. This is possible thanks to an automated procedure that copies the database from one server to another, and then replaces the I/O tags references for simulation variables, allowing the OTS system to remain consistently updated with the main SCADA – which is a common concern of the utilities companies, since changes in substations and networks are made frequently. It is also possible to integrate the OTS module with third-party SCADAs, being the Elipse OTS capable of providing pretty much the same training potential as when integrated with Elipse Power.

The training guide can be created through the registration of scenarios, which can be loaded later with a few clicks, reducing the instructor’s work in future trainings. These training scenarios can be assembled manually or imported from the current state of the SCADA system or from past situations captured by Elipse Plant Manager (EPM). Sequence Of Events (SOE) and alarms can be set in order to simulate a fault and its impact on the electrical system. When running, all changes are processed by the Power Flow algorithm, which provides extremely close to reality mathematical responses from the electric model.

The learner connects to the OTS server using the same workstation that he/she is used to. If desired, you can hide any identification about the current status in order to make the learner not know if it is a real application or a simulation. Elipse Power OTS can also be used for other simulation purposes, providing a consistent environment for commissioning other modules and power systems that can not easily be tested in realistic conditions.

• Reduced operators training time.
• Increased operation security.
• Shorter engineering and maintenance times.
• Identifying and mitigating of risk situations.

• Supports transmission, subtransmission and substation applications.
• Based on existing electrical model and SCADA application, eliminates the need of extra configuration engineering.
• Power flow algorithm can simulate all possible situations of the electrical system, including complex events such as SOEs and devices’ protection triggers.
• Scenarios registration allows you to create a training roadmap, saving instructor time.
• Real situations in the system can be saved to file and imported into the OTS.
• Learner connects to the OTS server using the same workstation that he/she is used to.
• Changes are automatically propagated to the OTS, keeping the databases synchronized.
• Supports all the energy protocools in the market.
• Supports third-party SCADA systems.
• Simulation tool allows to valitade the robustness of the grid topology, identifying weaknesses and risk situations.