61850 University provides training courses covering all aspects of digital substations. The training courses are split into Tiers covering the core aspects of IEC 61850 within the substation, as well as add-on modules including, DNP3, Distribution Automation (DA), Distributed Energy Resources (DER), and Ethernet Networking, Time Synchronization, Cyber Security.
Our IEC 61850 training is interactive and takes an iterative approach, with each Tier building upon the previous one. We remove the complexity of IEC 61850 and present the information in a concise manner from the perspectives of users, asset owners and system integrators, which allows the material to be easily understood. We utilize visualizations and analogies that help in articulating the concepts of IEC 61850, without getting lost in the weeds.
The objective of this training course is to gain a fundamental understanding of IEC 61850 so users are comfortable with the concepts of the standard. This course consists of 3 days of classroom sessions, which cover IEC 61850 theoretical information in a direct manner that is easily understood, regardless of the participants prior IEC 61850 knowledge or experience.
Tier I provides the underlying frameworks including the data modelling, communications, testing and networking aspects in preparation for Tier II and Tier III, which bring these concepts into practice.
The objective of this 3-day course to build on the fundamentals covered in Tier I and for participants to gain configuration experience in IEC 61850’s key mechanisms. Classroom sessions cover advanced theoretical aspects and participants configure a range of IEDs from major vendors in our Mobile Digital Substation in the hands-on workshops. These workshops include configuration and testing of Sampled Values, GOOSE and MMS communications.
Tier II covers the bottom-up configuration of these IEC 61850 IEDs, including process bus, and is a pre-cursor to Tier III training.
This 5-day training course covers everything in the Tier I and Tier II training, including classroom and hands-on workshop sessions. The Sampled Values, GOOSE and MMS workshops are completed by participants after the corresponding classroom sessions each day. In these workshop sessions, participants configure real IEDs, including process bus, from a wide range of major vendors in our Mobile Digital Substation.
The objective of this 3-day course is for participants to complete the full specification, design, configuration and testing of a demo IEC 61850 project, which allows participants to gain an insight into every aspect of an IEC 61850 implementation. This course builds on the content and experiences in Tier I and Tier II, preparing attendees for their participation in the end-to-end implementation of digital substations (specification, design and configuration, commissioning, testing).
During the course participants gain experience in studying IEC 61850 technical specifications on IEDs (PICS, MICS, TICS, PIXIT) to understand limits, which could be imposed in real applications. They implement specific protection and control functions (eg. breaker failure, reverse interlocking, bus transfer scheme, switchgear interlocking, etc.) and integrate IEDs in process control system using IEC 61850 services.
New Program
Just as physical power systems require proficiency with a multimeter to troubleshoot problems, digital power systems require proficiency with software tools. This course strives to equip those who work in the field to become comfortable with the means and methods to better identify the “where” of a problem.
As a contrast to our other courses that place a heavy focus on the vendor’s devices configuring a digital substation, this course prioritizes skills necessary to isolate problems that may arise when deploying IEC 61850 based substations. The hands-on training workshops reinforce key concepts in the standard by highlighting symptoms and having the participants investigate using software tools to provide the context.
Our IEC 61850 Tier I, Tier II and Tier III training can be extended with add-on modules, which cover more detail and additional topics. Contact us if you are interested in course add-on modules.
Participants will learn the fundamentals of the most widely-used utility communications protocol in North America, including its message structure, services, data objects, conformance subsets, options, cyber-security mechanisms, configuration file format, and an overview of the IEEE Std 1815.1 mapping between DNP3 and IEC 61850.
This course provides an overview of applying cyber-security in the power industry through a description of the security addition to DNP3, including its capabilities, requirements, options, test procedures and compliance. Concepts explained include authentication, authorization, encryption, layers, role-based access, message integrity, and certificates.
Participants will learn the opportunities in applying today’s technologies to the distribution network through Distribution Automation (DA) and Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). Discusses a wide range of applications from traditional Volt-VAR and remote switching up to self-healing, renewables firming, and microgrids. Covers the IEEE Std 1547 and its mapping to DNP3.
The IEC 61850 Specification Workshop is a combination of training and consulting services, with the objective to develop an initial draft of the user’s IEC 61850 system specification, including the SSD file and associated bay templates using the HELINKS system specification tool (SST) functionality. This workshop includes the modelling and templating of the various PAC schemes, including the GOOSE/SV/MMS applications. The goal is to produce an IEC 61850 system specification that is “ready” for refinement and eventually deployment as part of the user’s top-down process.
While developing the system specification, we have break-out sessions to teach/remind participants of the principles behind the top-down process and the functional naming methods that HELINKS implements to create the customized IEC 61850 system specification and associated bay templates. In terms of the process development, this workshop facilitates/moderates these break-out sessions so users can start defining a customized top-down specification and engineering process. At the completion of this workshop, attendees will be prepared to commence the top-down IEC 61850 specification and engineering process using the vendor-agnostic HELINKS templates. Further, the users will have a better understanding of the top-down process so appropriate workflow processes can be developed to support this. After the completion of the course, the attendees will be given an “IEC 61850 Specification Checklist” that can be used as a reminder when deploying IEC 61850 based systems.
New Program
This course aims to provide a deeper level of understanding of Ethernet networking and Ethernet-based time synchronization via PTP for participants already familiar with IEC 61850-based systems. Participants will learn about the relevant redundancy and traffic management concepts, configure substation-class Ethernet switches and clocks, and then observe the behavior of IEC 61850 IEDs.
Our standard training courses and add-on modules are targeted towards utilities, integrators, EPC firms, consultants, manufacturers, and standards development organizations. All our courses are tailored to the specific audience. This includes targeting the classroom and hands-on sessions according to the specific goals and experience level of the participants. If the standard courses and add-one modules do not meet your unique requirements, we can provide a quotation for customized training covering any topics related to IEC 61850, Digital Substations, Testing and Commissioning, Grid Modernization, Distribution Automation (DA), Distributed Energy Resources (DER) and Cyber Security.