12-Week Online Training for Electrical Engineers New to IEC 61850

Date: Wednesday 6th September - Wednesday 6th December 2023

Time: 16:00 - 17:30 CET every Wednesday

Format: Virtual

Venue: LearnWorlds Online Platform

Very Early Bird – Save up to €1,000 on Delegate places by booking before Friday 26th May 2023!
Group Booking Discount - 10% discount for 3+ delegates, 20% discount for 5+ delegates and 30% discount for 10+ delegates booked from the same organisation at the same time!

Fundamentals of IEC 61850 

Programme Format

This 12-week IEC 61850 online training programme is overseen by Christoph Brunner, supported by the IEC, and certified by the CPD. Each module is led by a different speaker and consists of: 30-min speaker presentation, 30-min problem solving exercise, 20-min Q&A session, 10-min multiple choice quiz. There is a final exam at on Wednesday 6th December 2023 in order to receive CPD certification.

Please note that there is no session on Wednesday 18th October 2023.

Module Topics

Time Activity

Module 1
16:30 to 17:30 CET
Wednesday 6th September 2023

Overview Understanding the history of substation automation and the reasons behind the development of the IEC 61850 standard
• Building the business case for IEC 61850 as a facilitator of multi-vendor interoperability
• Comparing IEC 61850 with other protocols and understanding its role in smart grid communications architectures
• Mapping out the contents of IEC 61850 and understanding the range of possibilities afforded by the standard
• Understanding the difference between Station Bus and Process Bus IEC 61850 architectures, and the level of data exchange possible
• Reviewing recent and future developments to IEC 61850 and understanding how it will evolve alongside the smart grid

Alex Apostolov

Alex Apostolov

Editor in Chief

PacWorld

Module 2
16:30 to 17:30 CET
Wednesday 13th September 2023

Data Modelling – Introducing IEC 61850 data exchange and functional modelling concepts
• Understanding the OSI 7 Layer Model and the stack of protocols specified by IEC 61850
• Understanding the hierarchical data model and how devices exchange data in IEC 61850 systems
• Introducing IEC 61850 objects, Logical Nodes and other IEC 61850 data constructs
• Introducing IEC 61850 semantics and nomenclature
• Understanding different vendor interpretations of IEC 61850 modelling concepts

Renaud Renaud-Drouin-1-1

Renaud Renaud-Drouin

Automation Engineer

Hydro Quebec

Module 3
16:30 to 17:30 CET
Wednesday 20th September 2023

Communication servicesUnderstanding the core communication services used to exchange information in IEC 61850 systems
• Understanding the Abstract Communication Service Interface and its role in achieving interoperability
• Introducing the IEC 61850 communication services and establishing their uses within IEC 61850 systems
• Using MMS for client/server communication
• Using GOOSE messages for time-critical publisher/subscribe communication
• Using Sampled Values for transmitting digitized power system measurements
• Introducing buffered/non-buffered reporting and logging

Bas Mulder

Bas Mulder

Consultant

DNV

Module 4
16:30 to 17:30 CET
Wednesday 27th September 2023

IEC 61850 Outside the Substation – Understanding the use of IEC 61850 to control & monitor grid-edge assets
• Understanding the monitoring, protection and control requirements of DERs in the energy system
• Identifying IEC 61850 features and related standards that facilitate the control of renewable power, microgrids, EV and battery storage systems
• Introducing data models for use with inverter-based DERs
• Examining the use of IEC 61850 to communicate over public networks with XMPP
• Modelling DER activation schedules with IEC 61850

Frances Cleveland-1

Frances Cleveland

President

Xanthus Consulting

Module 5
16:30 to 17:30 CET
Wednesday 4th October 2023

Networking – Introducing basic networking concepts that underlie IEC 61850 systems
• Understanding the role of Ethernet and TCP/IP in IEC 61850 systems
• Introducing Ethernet addresses, physical connections, frames and collisions
• Understanding different types of networks, including LAN, VLAN, WAN and VPN
• Assessing the redundancy requirements of IEC 61850 systems and evaluating suitable protocols including HSR and PRP
• Understanding the additional networking and time synchronization requirements of process bus IEC 61850 systems

Maik Seewald

Maik Seewald

Senior Technical Lead, Industrial IoT, Automation Networks & Security

Cisco

Module 6
16:30 to 17:30 CET
Wednesday 11th October 2023

Engineering process overview – Understanding the IEC 61850 engineering process from start-to-finish
• Introducing the IEC 61850 engineering process and identifying differences with traditional approaches
• Understanding top-down and bottom-down IEC 61850 design approaches
• Understanding the use of engineering tools for design & configuration of IEC 61850 systems
• Examining the engineering process in detail across the whole lifecycle of a substation

Joerg Reuter

Jörg Reuter

Managing Director

Helinks

Module 7
16:30 to 17:30 CET
Wednesday 25th October 2023

Specifying IEC 61850 Systems – Using engineering tools accurately capture functional requirements of IEC 61850 systems in SCL files
• Introducing Substation Configuration Language (SCL) and examining its application in substation engineering
• Understanding how engineering tools are used to create and exchange SCL files and the differences between different types of file
• Creating a System Specification Description (SSD) file from single-line diagrams and substation functional specifications
• Selecting IEDs that fulfil functional requirements based on IED Capability Description (ICD) files

Thomas Sterckx

Thomas Sterckx

Expert, Engineering Secondary Systems

Elia

Module 8
16:30 to 17:30 CET
Wednesday 1st November 2023

Configuring IEDs – Using configuration tools to configure devices for a wide range of IEC 61850 functions
• Understanding how engineering tools are used to configure IEC 61850 devices
• Creating a System Configuration Description (SCD) file based on a system communication diagram
• Creating IID and CID files using an IED configuration tool
• Configuring GOOSE & Report Blocks
• Configuring Gateways to interface IEC 61850 equipment with other systems

David MacDonald

David MacDonald

Grid Automation System Architect

GE Renewable Energy

Module 9
16:30 to 17:30 CET
Wednesday 8th November 2023

Quality Assurance – Ensuring all IEC 61850 devices and systems closely match specified requirements
• Understanding the different QA requirements of IEC 61850 systems vs. traditional substation equipment
• Introducing the IEC 61850 QA process as laid out in the standard
• Understanding IEC 61850 conformance testing and certification
• Guidelines for Factory Acceptance Testing
• Guidelines for Site Acceptance Testing

Herb Falk

Herb Falk

Managing Director

Outside the Box Consulting

Module 10
16:30 to 17:30 CET
Wednesday 15th November 2023

Testing Overview – Understanding the testing requirements of IEC 61850 systems and identifying features and tools that facilitate effective testing
• Understanding the components of an IEC 61850 test system
• Introducing the use of testing tools based on SCL
• Understanding IEC 61850 test-related features
• Understanding the difference between functional and system testing
• Using the IEC 61850 test mode to test live systems

Ovidiu Serban

Ovidiu Serban

Senior Consultant, Digital Systems Operations

DNV

Module 11
16:30 to 17:30 CET
Wednesday 22nd November 2023

Practical Testing – Detailing the practical approaches for testing a wide-range of IEC 61850 functionality
• Testing GOOSE messages, Sampled Values and report control blocks
• Testing IEC 61850 supervision functions
• Testing distributed functions encompassing multiple IEC 61850 devices
• Testing redundancy and time synchronization of IEC 61850 systems

Fred Steinhauser

Fred Steinhauser

Digital Substation Evangelist

OMICRON

Module 12
16:30 to 17:30 CET
Wednesday 29th November 2023

Cybersecurity – Evaluating the latest cybersecurity threats and identifying effective mitigation strategies for IEC 61850 systems
• Understanding the increased attack surface introduced by IEC 61850 systems
• Introducing IEC 62351 and understanding its role in securing IEC 61850 systems
• Understanding encryption and user authentication
• Understanding Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Access Control Lists
• Deploying Ethernet-based security features such as VPNs and Firewalls

Frances Cleveland-1

Frances Cleveland

President

Xanthus Consulting