Business Profile
telent takes control I
telent’s senior project manager,Scott Burt, talks about the company’s SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system for Network Rail
n August 2013 telent Technology Services was awarded the contract by Network Rail to design, supply and install a new SCADA system, which will control traction power distribution across the national network.
Burt, who has 20 years’ experience in project management, 12 of those managing projects within the rail signalling and telecoms sector, was interviewed recently about the project.
What are the key benefits of this project to Network Rail?
Moving to a single central master station (CMS) platform from a number of various systems currently in place, some of which are now life expired, will introduce a common control system and improved functionality. This will rationalise the working methods across the network and provide a platform on which to reduce operating costs. The solution is scalable and flexible, allowing Network Rail to integrate current and future electrification projects.
What are the key phases within the project?
Design Within the design phase, there are three key milestones: concept design, preliminary and final detailed design phase.
• Concept design is producing the overall concept for the system at a relatively high level and is approaching completion.
During this time telent carried out a requirements capture exercise. Working collaboratively with Network Rail to detail its specifications and requirements, we have captured more than 8,000 requirements and rules from the project documentation and working instructions. As we move into the next design phase we will talk with the existing users and operators to capture and validate their local requirements. Future work process assessments are now on-going. This is to provide the single common process and procedures consistent with the single common technology platform. • Preliminary Design phase – from that telent will create a more specific system design, which is due to be completed by mid 2014.
• Final detailed design phase will be completed in late 2014.
System development
Running concurrently with the design phase using an agile development approach, we will be developing the CMS system. The system will be developed in a modular way using an iterative and incremental approach, while we work in conjunction with Network Rail’s end users of the system. One of the advantages of this collaborative approach is that Network Rail get early visibility of the system and therefore the finished product will meet its needs, as we continuously validate its requirements.
Once the design has sufficiently matured, we will start procuring equipment in order to establish a reference SCADA system in our Technology Centre, located at telent’s head office in Warwick. This will allow early system proving and performance testing to take place. Also working with our ergonomics consultants we will produce mock-ups to test the human factor elements of the system.
Product acceptance
This is a key phase of the project to ensure that all proposed equipment meets the rigorous requirements of the railway environment. During this phase equipment will be deployed at the Network Rail sites on a trial basis to ensure that its performance meets the stringent requirements.
Implementation
Implementation starts in November 2014. We will install the main system servers at Manchester and Three Bridges rail operating centres (ROC’s). The first site going live onto the new system will be Romford electrical control room (ECR). In the South East, circa 250 new remote terminal units (RTU’s) are being deployed to replace the life expired electromechanical control systems. These works will commence in March 2015.
Testing and commissioning Romford and Didcot are due to be the first ROC’s that will migrate to the new CMS. Once all testing has been completed and all users have been trained and are deemed competent, control can be migrated from the existing system to the new CMS. (For Didcot, this will be
the first implementation of electrical control on this part of the Western Route, linked to the electrification of the Great Western Main Line.)
Migration to the new system will happen over three stages. At Stage 1 the control will be transferred from the existing control system to the new CMS within the existing ECR. Stage 2 will involve transferring the control from the ECR to the new ROC. Once the Stage 2 migration is complete at all ROC’s then Stage 3 can take place. This involves the reconfiguration of the boundaries of electrical control between the ROC’s.
What does leading such a high profile contract mean to you?
It is the challenges - both the technical, as well as the wider that come with a project such as SCADA. The project has a large number of stakeholders, all with various requirements, and this will take careful management as the project progresses to ensure all are satisfied. Also as the project scope is quite diverse, ranging from minor civils installation works to software development and configuration, it brings the opportunity to lead a project team with a wide diversity of skills and experience.
I am very much looking forward to working with Network Rail and the telent team in delivering this exciting high profile project.
What do you see as the biggest challenge?
I see two big challenges within this December 2013 Page 123
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