Industry Survey Confirms Efficiency Advantages of Intelligent Substation Design Newton-Evans Research Co. Inc.

Transcription

1 Industry Survey Confirms Efficiency Advantages of Intelligent Substation Design Newton-Evans Research Co. Inc. Sponsored by Bentley Systems, Inc. June 2012

2 Table of Contents 3 Abstract 3 What is Intelligent Substation Design? 4 Industry Survey Description 5 Generic CAD Applications Remain in Predominant Use 6 Results Confirm the Need for a More Versatile Substation Design Solution 2

3 Abstract For many utilities and their engineering contractors, the substation design process has remained virtually unchanged since Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) replaced manual 2D drawing methods. This CAD-centric approach has over time proven to be manually intensive and prone to error. In recent years new intelligent substation design technology has been introduced to modernize substation design and enable a significant increase in engineering efficiency. This white paper presents the results of an extensive industry survey that explores and ultimately confirms the benefits of intelligent substation design. What is Intelligent Substation Design? Intelligent substation design is a model-centric approach that unites physical and electrical design disciplines while providing productivity tools specifically for electric substation design. There are many standard drawings involved in substation design including single-line, physical layout, schematics, panel layout, and wiring diagrams. Traditional CAD-centric design is focused on creating the set of standard design drawings through independent drafting efforts. This wastes significant time and introduces errors as engineers must manually translate drawings, establish consistency, and manage changes across multiple drawings. In contrast, intelligent substation design focuses on the assembly of an intelligent substation model that is an integrated representation of all design disciplines. The model is built through the creation of 3D substation layouts, which support the development of 2D drawings that are linked and cross referenced. As the model is completed it automatically seeds related drawings eliminating the need to manually replicate common design elements across physical and electrical disciplines. All drawings are associative to the intelligent model allowing changes in one drawing to be automatically propagated across disciplines and related drawings. The intelligent substation model also enables tools that improve design productivity. Unlike the graphics-only drawings created with traditional CAD-centric design, intelligent substation model drawings are comprised of objects that possess properties of the equipment they represent, the wiring connections they support, and the engineering principles that govern design. Wires are treated as wires rather than as graphical lines; they break and heal automatically as symbols are placed or removed. Hook points connect related objects, so they automatically snap together. Every object is linked to a parts database, enabling the automatic and accurate generation of the bill of material and other documents. Built-in error checking report conditions including short circuits, duplicate wire numbers, and missing part numbers. Collectively, these advantages enable a significant step forward in substation design efficiency. 3

4 Industry Survey Description Research conducted by Newton-Evans Research Company between April 12th and May 30th 2012 produced findings from eighty-six respondents which included seventy-seven utilities (fifty-five North American utilities and twenty-two international utilities). Responses from nine consulting engineers/epcs provided an insight into their substation software design needs. Respondents to the utility survey included management decision makers (directors and managers), supervisors, lead engineers, engineers, etc. About half of all responses to the survey included feedback from managers or directors. A further breakdown of survey participation is shown in the table below. The size of utilities (measured by number of customers served) ranged from 12,000 to more than 10 million. About one-third of utilities in the sample serve over 500,000 customers, another third have between 150,000 and 500,000 customers, and the remaining third have fewer than 150,000 customers. Investor-Owned 15 17% Participating Utilities by Number of Customers Public Power 12 14% <150,000, 27, 35% Cooperative 15 17% Canada 13 15% Europe 9 10% Latin America 3 3% Asia Pacific 8 9% Middle East/Africa 2 2% TOTAL Utilities 77 90% Consulting Engineers 9 10% GRAND TOTAL % >500,000, 28, 36% 150k-500k, 22, 29% 4

5 Generic CAD Applications Remain in Predominant Use Utility officials were asked whether they perform their own substation design work in-house using a generic CAD application, a substation-specific design application, or whether they outsource this work to a third party. An overwhelming majority (73%) of the utilities that perform all or some of this work in-house indicated they use a generic CAD application. This includes utilities that use both types of software (5%) and utilities that use generic CAD and also outsource (10%). Generic CAD Application: a non industry-specific drafting tool that lacks specific design aids or productivity tools for electric substation engineering. Substation-Specific Design Application: a software application expressly developed to facilitate the physical and electrical design of electric substations through the employment of some or all of the elements of intelligent substation design. Among the seventy-seven participating utilities, only two utilities in Europe currently use a substation specific design application exclusively. Three other utilities use both generic CAD and substationspecific applications. Eight of the nine consulting engineers (88%) only use a generic CAD application. The other one uses both types. Five of twenty-four utility directors/managers (21%) currently using a generic CAD application indicated an interest in purchasing a substation-specific design application in the future. % of respondents Generic CAD application 59% Substation-specific design application Both Types 2% 5% Not using either of these. We outsource this work to a third party Generic CAD & Outsource 12% 12% 10% 5

6 Results Confirm the Need for a More Versatile Substation Design Solution In the next two sections of this whitepaper it will be clear that utilities, consulting engineers, and EPC s that took part in the survey clearly recognize the need for a specific substation design tool that: Integrates physical design with electrical design Uses intelligent information models Incorporates a 3D physical model Facilitates collaborative work flows Integrated Physical and Electric Design Performing both physical and electrical design in a single application establishes a common information model of the substation that is shared across disciplines to speed work sharing and improve consistency in designs. While 78% of this survey group does not now use an application that allows design data to be shared between physical and electrical design disciplines, 64% believe this would eliminate the need to manually re-enter design data to maintain consistency (Figure 1), and 71% indicated it would reduce manual consistency checks and help eliminate errors (Figure 2). By having these capabilities, over two-thirds of respondents thought it would accelerate the overall substation design process (22% - significantly, 47% - somewhat). Thirty-one percent thought there would be little or no difference (Figure 3). No 36% No 29% Significant difference 22% Little/No difference 31% Yes 64% Eliminate Need to Re-enter Design Data Figure 1 Yes 71% Reduce Manual Consistency Checks Figure 2 Some difference 47% Accelerate the Design Process Figure 3 6

7 Integration with Supporting Business Processes and Applications A design tool that uses intelligent drawings to directly support cost estimating, equipment ordering, and asset management can eliminate manual preparation and improve the accuracy of reports such as bill of material, cost estimates, terminal plans, cable schedules, etc. The majority (90%) of utilities and consultants indicated their current design tool does not generate reports for cost estimating, equipment ordering, and asset management. However, when asked if they had access to a tool with this capability, about 75% of respondents indicated that it would produce significant project cost savings by reducing the time spent creating reports (Figure 4), reducing the time to update reports when design changes occur (Figure 5), and improving report accuracy (Figure 6). No 26% No, 21% No 28% Yes 74% Reducing Time Creating Reports Figure 4 Yes, 79% Reducing Time Updating Reports Figure 5 Yes 72% Improve Accuracy of Reports Figure 6 3D Substation Model A detailed 3D physical model of the entire substation that can be newly designed or derived from existing drawings using 3D substation objects can improve the efficiency and quality of substation design and construction. Thirty-three percent of respondents indicated their design application provided 3D modeling and visualization capability. This was heavily influenced by the consulting engineers (80% of whom use a 3D-capable design application), while only 25% of utilities agreed (see Figure 7). When asked if they thought a 3D model would help accelerate design time the response was Yes - from 38%, No from 19% and Unsure 43% (this is an understandable response from organizations that do not have experience with 3D). However, 28 out of 33 respondents familiar with this technology (85%) think a 3D model that automatically checks for physical 7

8 clashes would help reduce design errors and avoid construction delays following design (see Figure 8). Fifty-one percent of 58 respondents thought creating a photo-realistic 3D model directly from their design tool would reduce the time and cost of preparing site models and visualizations for public review as part of the design approval process. Only 12% thought there would be no savings while 37% were unsure (Figure 9). No, 15% No, 12% Yes, 33% Unsure, 37% Has 3D Modeling/Visualization Figure 7 No, 67% Yes, 85% Would Reduce Design Errors with Auto Physical Clash Checking Figure 8 Site Model Preparation Using Photo-realistic 3D Model Directly from Design Tool Figure 9 Yes, 51% Work Sharing and Engineering Information Management (EIM) A substation design application that is integrated with a work sharing and engineering information management environment can help control and track changes, manage review cycles, and facilitate geographically distributed design teams. When asked the question Does your design environment include automated tracking, notification and control of design changes? 83% of respondents indicated they did not have this capability, but 86 % acknowledged these features would reduce design errors and change orders during construction (22% - significantly, 64% - little/some). See Figure 10.) Only 3 out of 55 respondents (5%) said their design package included an automated review cycle that captures feedback and routes it to the appropriate designer, but 75% felt this enhancement accelerates review cycles (14% - significantly, 61% - little/some). When asked about the ability of their design environment to provide secure and managed data exchanges across geographically distributed project participants 63% of the respondents answering this 8

9 question said their system did not have this capability, but a significant majority (69%) indicated this attribute would accelerate project workload (22% - significantly, 47% - little/some. See Figure 11.) Significantly 22% None 14% Significantly 22% None 31% Little/Some 64% Little/Some 47% Auto Tracking would Reduce Design Errors Figure 10 Would Accelerate Project Workload w/ Secure and Managed Data Exchanges Figure 11 To learn more about intelligent substation design, please visit 9