In cooperation with a leading global utility services company, SCADA MINDS has digitised the Control and Monitoring Center (CMC), which offers around-the-clock support and services for wind farms. With streamlined data flows, digitised processes, and remote problem solving, the utility services company has accomplished managed, compliant, and secure workflows and fast scalability of services. The CMC supports the company’s strategy for international growth and increased outsourcing of remote asset operation and support.

CHALLENGE: SCALING CENTRALISED 24/7 OPERATIONS AND SERVICE

Our customer is a leading global utility service provider engaged in the development, construction, and operation of offshore wind farms and power and heat generation from power stations.

Several years ago, our customer established a 24/7 remote service centre to monitor, support and service wind farms in select countries. The manual processes were sufficient, with only a few wind farms in the beginning. However, manual processes had to be replaced with a growing number of wind farms to service and support.

The obsolete processes covered manual monitoring on many PC screens, whiteboard task notes, manually setting alarm clocks to remind employees of tasks to be done and dealing with a stack of passwords. The significant challenges were the lack of ability to scale to more countries, the lack of efficient processes to react fast, and the risk of being non-compliant and putting data security at stake.

Also, the customer felt too dependent on wind turbine producers (OEMs) who provide service and support if a wind turbine breaks down. By insourcing 24/7 services from OEMs, the customer would be able to establish faster and better data-driven operation and support itself, as well as shadow monitoring the performance of assets in terms of uptime guarantee from OEMs.

SOLUTION: DIGITALIZED SCALABLE AND INTEGRATED OPERATION

SCADA MINDS has advised on and developed the digital CMC solution, a scalable operation model controlling and monitoring wind farms. The solution ensures that all processes integrate digitally in an intelligent operation flow. Data integration, event and incident management, and integrated REMIT processes are vital functions.

• Streamlined data flows from all assets enable the 24/7 service centre to apply data more intelligently for operation and problem-solving, not only reporting.
• Event management helps detect and monitor all events, both turbine outage tracking, substation alarm detection, and REMIT obligation detection.
• Incident management is a structured process for automatically handling the event – from analysis of the event to remote problem-solving or error dispatching to field technicians. Everything is being logged, registered, and fixed.
• A fleet overview makes it easier to monitor the status of each wind farm and prioritises incidents

The integrated REMIT process ensures that urgent market messages are published in due time.

RESULTS: INCREASED SCALABILITY AND COMPLIANCE

The CMC solution has transformed the 24/7 service centre into an efficient operation centre that scales to operate more wind farms and new markets with different regulations and directives.

By digitising all processes, data are now applied for more purposes and boost operational intelligence from A to Z. Compliance, and cyber security needs are met, and the balance of plant (BOP) is only a click away.

Insourcing more 24/7 services from OEMs has made it easier to shadow-monitor the services under warranty offered by OEMs and make sure that uptime guarantees are met. The CMC has improved yield and reduced costs.

Read more cases like the Control and Monitoring Center right here.

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