SPURT SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE PLATFORM FOR MASTER STATIONS

The platform for integrated multilevel SCADA and MES systems

Effective and reliable solution for SCADA and MES systems for distributed industry with continuous technological cycles

SPURT is program-technical platform for creation of control rooms for SCADA of industries with area-distributed technological objects (plants), continuous technological cycles and multi-level dispatching control.

SPURT (the system for automated control of pipelines modes) has been developed by AtlanticTransgasSystem Co., Ltd” on the base of large and long-term experience in automation of dispatching and control rooms of different scales, complexity and industries. Basic solutions of SPURT are rooted from natural gas and oil industries; however the system can be used for water, utilities, power distribution and other industries.

SPURT is a toolbox which consists of different subsystems and modules. To install the control room for particular customer, the SPURT should be adjusted and configured according the plant configuration and customer requirements. Subsystems and modules are selected according these requirements and approved technical solutions. By this way, the customer gets the reliable solution with right features and functions, optimized from the point of price.

When to use SPURT

SPURT is a program-technical complex for creation a range of control rooms from the small stand-alone control rooms to multilevel and area-distributed dispatching centers of large companies with territorially-distributed plants and objects. As a SCADA system, SPURT integrates controllers, RTUs, field-level systems or plant-wide DCS from different producers with different protocols. In that way, SPURT create a actually integrated process monitoring and control centers with data exchanges in real time between multiple servers, intelligent devices and operator stations using different communication lines. SPURT might be the effective solution for new systems as well as for old SCADA systems reconstruction when the SPURT interfaces to old-fashioned RTU and controllers by old-style or original protocols and existing communication lines.

SPURT is the effective and reliable solution for Control rooms with following requirements:

•  Hierarchical real time database with built-in complex data processing; 
•  Real-time data exchange between different objects and control levels;
•  Interfacing to different types of field-level systems;
•  Multi-user operation;
•  Interfacing with ACS IEA (automatic control system of industrial and economic activity) and same applications on the base of SAP/R3, ORACLE, MS SQL and others;
•  Redundancy, high reliability (24h* 7 days operations); 
•  Advanced MES applications, includes: planning, reporting, production balancing, billing, decisions support, leakages detection, technological calculations and so on.

SPURT Components

• Real time subsystem (SCADA)
• Automated system of operative-dispatcher control (ASODU)
• Subsystem of deep archive and information display with help of web-interface (intranet) 
• Subsystem of support for decision making
• Subsystem of cyber security
  

Structure of SPURT platform

Real time subsystem (SCADA)

SCADA subsystem is intended for collection and displaying data from local automation and telemechanics systems in real-time mode. With help of SCADA subsystem users  can control technological objects remotely; prepare and send data to the PGA\INT subsystems and ASODU. SCADA subsystem consists of:

Processes/Tasks Manager

• Unites different processes into  unified environment of project execution
  
• Controls consequence of processes start and finish;
  
• Defines individual priority of execution for each process; 
• Defines specific actions under processes emergency stop;

• Reflects the real structure of automation object in the form of hierarchical object-oriented database. Each object might contain up to 255 data fields (attributes) of different types (scalar, vector, table);  
• Executes operations with data by imbedded calculation engine. Calculations are started by events (for example, arrival of new magnitude from external system and so on);
• Supports absolute and relative data addressing. The relative addressing provides quick growth of standard objects quantity by means of copying method;
• Provides an access to database by functions from C API (Application Program Interface) library or OLE Automation which allow to create own applications.
• Provides wide possibilities of integration with Automated control systems of production-economical activity (ASU PHD).
  
• Provides data export to relational databases with use of SQL, access through OPC, ODBC and WEB-interfaces;
• Uses standard hardware and operating systems with standard requirements.

• Provides data exchange with automation and telemechanics systems (receiving data and submit of telecontrol commands).
• Provides periodical acquisition (POLL) or data acquisition under changes (PRBX), data sending by initiative from external device (SRBX);
• Provides possibility of receipt not only measured value, but also additional parameters (timestamps, alarms etc.);
• Has built-in diagnostics of communication with external systems, automatic determination of received signals quality;
• Has wide range of support standard exchange protocols  - Modbus RTU, Modbus TCP/IP (master-slave), OPC (client-server), MEK 870-5, BSAP, DNP3, SNMP and others;
• Has possibility of work with non-standard exchange protocols through the development of own exchange drivers with use of C API.

• Provides archive acquisition periodically, by changes, and by events;
• Provides archive volume – up to 2³² – 1 of registrations for each parameter;
• Provides requests to the archive by various criteria (all data, data in specified time range, newly supplied data).

•  Provides generation of events and alarms by different criteria (parameter overrun of settings, magnitude change). Provides possibility of development of alarms custom classes;
•  Provides support of actions started by alarms (recording of the magnitude to database, starting of custom process, playback of audio file and so on);
•  Provides generation of text messages about alarms by templates. Provides filtering and sorting of alarm in accordance with importance degree and by the objects;
•  Provides support of alarms confirmation;
•  Provides conservation of events texts in different formats (txt, mdb). Provides viewing of events history for selected period by particular object.

• Provides hot-standby redundancy of servers and dispatchers (HMI) workstations;
• Provides data exchange with redundant external systems and automatic switching between them.

• Representation of technological process parameters on  panels in real time;
• Provides client-server technology. Provides possibility of connection to unrestricted quantity of servers and switching between them. Provides data renovation periodically or by the changes;
• Provides simple configuration tools, ActiveX components from supplied library of symbols or components of exterior manufacturers.
• Provides embedding of OLE objects;
• Provides the data addressing, possibility of single mimic panel use for representation of homogeneous objects scores;
• Provides VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) scripts;
• Provides representation of history of parameter change on the trends;
• Provides representation of events list, events acknowledgement;
• Provides reports generation by reports generator (UNIX) or with use ActiveX component of access to data of database of real time or by using Excel electronic spreadsheet ;
• Has built-in system to access control on the base of users groups definitions with defined special rights in the group.

• The preservation of the archives of values and process events in a relational database (ORACLE or MS-SQL); 

• Provides access to the technological process parameters to other users (without access to SCADA LAN and real-time DB server);

• Provides analysis of stored data (calculations of average and total values, analysis of events for the object and so on;
• Provides representation of technological process parameters on mimic panels (of HMI) by technology of WEB-interface ;
• Provides playback of technological process history on HMI screens, with specified timescale;

SCADA in “Gazprom transgas Tchaikovsky” 

Automated system of operative-dispatcher control (ASODU)

• Provides solutions of dispatcher tasks on the base of operational (2 hours in operation) and daily data;
• Provides planning of natural gas/refinery products supplies to consumers, measuring of real supplies and billing;
• Provides calculations, balancing; formation of reporting, registrating and accounting documents
• Provides data exchange with subsystems of simulation, certification, data transfer to Central Dispatcher Department of Gazprom.

Main screen of “Gazprom transgas Saint-Petersburg” Central Control Room

Detailed description of ASODU is provided in special booklet.

• An integrated system of cyber security (information protection), developed specially for real time systems;
• Provides protection of the perimeter of SCADA LAN: firewalls and inter-networks screen, protection against viruses, detection of intrusions. Provides possibility of configuring of protection parameters in dependence from the level of danger;
• Protects SCADA LAN from intrusion by CDs, flash-cards, temporarily connected portable computers and so on;
• Provides operation monitoring for hardware and software, including processes anomalies detection.

Subsystem of support for decision making

• A kind of artificial intelligence system. 
• Provides faults identification during technological process on the base of complex analysis of real time data. Provides accounting of data authenticity, confirmation of process anomaly evolution from different sources;
• Provides recommendation supply to the dispatcher concerning actions in existing situation; recommendations are based on previously entered “knowledge’s base”.

Screen of the system for support of decisions making

SPURT components can operate under control of operating systems UNIX (HP-UX for PA-RISC and Itanium, Sun Solaris), Linux (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) and Windows 2000/2003/XP. For large systems use of UNIX-servers of Windows-clients (dispatchers ARMs) is effective.

IMPLEMENTATIONS

“AtlanicTransgasSystem Co., Ltd” developed and implemented series of control rooms in natural gas and oil industries of Russia on the base of program-technical complex SPURT and its components. These series of control rooms include the following items:

• “Gazprom transgas Tchaikovsky” Gazprom daughter company : multilevel system of operative-dispatcher control including Central Control  Room and 15 branch control rooms LPU and compressor station control room. 
• “Gazprom transgas  Volgograd” Gazprom daughter company: multilevel system including Central Control  Room and 11 branch control rooms (LPU). 
• “Gazprom transgas Kazan” Gazprom daughter company: multilevel system including Central Control  Room and 3 branch control rooms (LPU). 
• “Gazprom transgas Tomsk” Gazprom daughter company: multilevel system including Central Control  Room and 10 branch control rooms (LPU). 
• “Gazprom transgas  Urengoy” Gazprom daughter company: Control rooms for interfiled manifold, two control rooms of gas wells groups, control room of SCADA  of methanol pipeline. 
• “Gazprom transgas Saint-Petersburg” Gazprom daughter company: 3 LPU control rooms. 
• “Gazprom transgas Yugorsk” Gazprom daughter company: 2 LPU control rooms.  “ Gazprom transgas Nijniy Novgorod ” Gazprom daughter company: 5 LPU control rooms. 
•  “Petersburgtransnefteproduct” AK Transnefteproduct daughter company: SCADA system of main oil products pipeline “Kirishi – St.-Petersburg – Morskoy” including 4 region control rooms and one local.

Multilevel system of operative-dispatcher control of “Gazprom transgas Tchaikovsky” company on the base SPURT successfully passed the official Gazprom acceptance  test (MVI) in June 2005 and had been recommended for using in companies of natural gas industry of Russia .