What is the difference between online monitoring and offline testing?

Offline testing, or time-based monitoring, involves periodic testing and maintenance to measure the health of an asset. This involves a crew traveling to the site to pull samples or run tests on equipment on a timed schedule. While this method can help identify asset problems, it also can be unreliable as many failures do not provide significant warning signs until a short time before the impending failure. You cannot catch problems reliably with a calendar. Online condition-based monitoring is implemented on transformers, breakers, switchgear, and other equipment to provide continuous data on the condition of the assets. An asset monitor collects historic data and sends an alarm when something looks out of place. Using this data, utilities identify issues early in the failure process and schedule an outage, if necessary. This method saves time, cost and keeps crews safe.

Why should I implement online monitoring for my substation?

Online monitoring increases situational awareness, extends the life of existing assets, increases safety and reliability, makes regulatory requirements easier, and reduces environmental impacts.

Who benefits from online substation monitoring?

Maintenance groups, operations groups, asset management groups, standards groups

What should I monitor inside the substation?

What you should monitor depends on why you are implementing monitoring. However, most power assets can be monitored: transformers, circuit breakers, switchgear, batteries and more.

Where should online substation monitoring be implemented?

It's best to evaluate your fleet to determine the most critical loads and begin monitoring those locations (such as hospitals, generation facilities or other critical buildings).

When should I implement online monitoring for my substation equipment?

Monitoring can be implemented anytime from the design stage all the way to being retrofitted onto older assets.

Online Condition Based Monitoring | How do I get started?

Getting Started with Online Condition Based Monitoring for Substations

Online vs Offline

Increasing substation equipment failures has resulted in utilities looking for ways to monitor their equipment’s condition. Monitoring allows them to manage costs, reduce the risk of unexpected failure, and improve their ability to manage asset health. There are two kinds of monitoring: time-based and online condition-based monitoring.

Time-Based

Time-based monitoring involves periodic testing and maintenance to measure the health of an asset. This involves a crew traveling to the site to pull samples or run tests on equipment on a timed schedule. While this method can help identify asset problems, it also can be unreliable as many failures do not provide significant warning signs until a short time before the impending failure. You cannot catch problems reliably with a calendar.

Condition-Based

Online condition-based monitoring is implemented on transformers, breakers, switchgear, and other equipment to provide continuous data on the condition of the assets. An asset monitor collects historic data and sends an alarm when something looks out of place. Using this data, utilities identify issues early in the failure process and schedule an outage, if necessary. This method saves time, cost and keeps crews safe.

The 5 W's of Establishing a Successful Online Condition Based Monitoring Program

A well designed condition based monitoring program will enable your organization to make the right decisions at the right time with reliable asset knowledge, increased system reliability and safety benefits. It’s important to ask yourself the 5 W’s before implementing an online condition based monitoring program.