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“The most important aspect is the usability of the Invensys solution. It enables us to easily implement new demands and features for the system, so system extensibility is excellent.”
Shao Xiaofeng,Vice President,Easyway Company Limited
The Longest High-speed Rail Line in the World Operates on ArchestrA System Platform
Goals• Thenationwidehigh-speedrailwaynetworkrequiredquickimplementation,effectiveintegrationwiththird-partycomponentsandauser-friendlyoperatorinterface
• Aproblem-freegrowthpathwasimperativefortheplannedexpansionofthe12,000-kilometerrailnetworkwithmorethan800stations
Challenges• Aftercompletionofthe120-kilometerBeijing-to-Tianjinlineforthe2008OlympicGames,EasywaywastaskedwithexpandingthesolutionthroughoutChinaby2020
• Thecompanyhadtoquicklyduplicatesystems,processesandfunctionsimplementedatmajorpassengerstationsforsmallerstationsthroughouttherailnetwork
Solutions and Products• ArchestrA®SystemPlatform• InFusion™EnterpriseControlSystem• Wonderware®InTouch®HMI• WonderwareHistorian• DeviceIntegrationServers• WonderwareToolkits
Results• TheArchestrASystemPlatformandWonderwareInTouchHMIsolutionallowedtheintegrationof60differentthird-partyvendorsintothestation’sPassengerInformationSystem.
• Newstationscanbedeployedasneededandconfiguredinaslittleasoneday
• Operationalcostshavebeenloweredbecausepersonnelcanbereducedorallocatedmoreeffectively
• Bettervisibilitytotheentiresystemhasledtodecreasedmaintenancecosts
INDUSTRY:FACILITIESMANAGEMENT&TRANSPORTATION
China Ministry of Railwayswww.china.org.cn
Beijing, China–Sinceancienttimes,Chinahasbeenrecognizedasaculturalandindustrialleader,contributingtotheworldarichpanoplyofart,literatureandscientificachievements.Chinaboastsarecordedhistoryofthousandsofyearsoftechnologyinnovations,soit’snosurprisethatthepopulationofmorethan1.3billionpeopleisonthemoveonceagain.Theeconomicpowerhousehasembarkedonanambitiouscoursetoprovidehigh-speedrailservicethroughouttheentirecountry.
Large-scaleprojectsarenothingnewtoChina.BuiltbetweenthefifthcenturyB.C.andthe16thcenturyA.D.,theGreatWallcoversmorethan8,800kilometers(5,500miles)andisthelongestman-madestructureintheworld.Thenewhigh-speedraillines,developedbytheChinaMinistryofRailways,havetobecompletedinamuchshortertimeframe.Thefirst120-kilometer(100-mile)legofthehigh-speedlinewasinauguratedduringthe2008BeijingOlympicGames,withservicebetweenBeijingandTianjin.The30-minutehigh-speedtripsavestravelers40minuteseachway,withtrainszoomingalongatspeedsofupto350kilometersperhour(220milesperhour).Tocompletetheinitialhigh-speedrailprojectintimefortheOlympicGames,theMinistryofRailwaysselectedsolutionsfromInvensysOperationsManagement.Invensysdistinguisheditselfbyofferingtheuniqueadvantageofoff-the-shelf,object-orientedsoftware,whichcontrastedwithpreviouspassengerservicesystemsinChinathathadbeenbasedonproprietarysolutionsthatwereexpensive,hardtoconfigureanddifficulttomaintain.Facilitatedbytheimplementationof21stcenturytechnology,theworld’slongesthigh-speedrailnetworkoperatesonArchestrASystemPlatform,whichispartoftheInFusionEnterpriseControlSystemfromInvensys.WhentheChinarailwaysystemisfullycompletedin2020,itwillcarrybothpassengersandgoodsandwillbeabletoreachdistancesof4,000kilometers(2,500miles)inlessthanaday.
Thecomplexrailnetworkinvolvesthecollaborationofmorethan60differentthird-partyvendorsforeachstation’sfacilitiesmanagementsystem.Tomanagestationtechnologyinfrastructure,theChinaMinistryofRailwaysengagedtheservicesofEasywayCompanyLimited,anInvensysEcosystemPartnerthatspecializesinrailwaysolutions.EveryvendorcancommunicateseamlesslywitheachotherbecauseoftheArchestrASystemPlatform,whichallowsEasywaytoquicklyandeasilyrespondtorailwayministryrequirements.SystemPlatformprovidesasingle,scalableplatformforallSCADA,supervisoryHMIandMESrequiredbyrailwayoperatorstomanageoverallfacilityoperations.SystemPlatformalsoprovidesasimpleupgradepathtoeasilyaddnewsoftwareandhardwaretothesystem.
“WehadthreeorfourchoicesbeforeselectingInvensys,”saidShaoXiaofeng,vicepresidentatEasyway.“WeeventuallyselectedArchestrASystemPlatformduetotwomainreasons:first,webelievedithadthecapabilitytorapidlymeettherequirementsofourclient,andwethoughtitcouldmeetthetimerequirementafterevaluation;second,wethoughtthestabilityofthissystemwasunique.Experienceprovesthatourchoicewascorrect.Fromtheinitialoperationin2008untiltoday,noproblemduetotheSystemPlatformhascausedanysystemfailure.”
Large Project Scope, Short Time Frame
TheChinaMinistryofRailwaysisresponsibleforpassengerservices,regulationofthecountry’srailindustry,developmentoftherailnetworkandtheoverallrailinfrastructure.Inacountrythatencompassesmorethan9.6millionsquarekilometers(3.7millionsquaremiles),thisisnosmalltask.ChinaneededapassengerstationmanagementsystemthatcouldbeimplementedquicklyandexpandedefficientlyaswellasonethatwouldeasilyintegratewithChina’sexistingrailtechnologyinfrastructure.Therailwayministryalsowantedauser-friendlyinterfacethatwouldmakeoperatingandmanagingtherailwaynetworkaseconomicalaspossible.
Grand Central Issue: Managing Station Facilities
Thefirststageoftheproject–thehigh-speedBeijing-to-Tianjinline–includedfivestations.Aprimarygoalwastoensurethatthefacilitiesmanagementsystem(FMS)wouldmakethesestationshospitableandsafefortravelers.CalledthePassengerInformationSystem,theFMSprovidesanintegratedandcentrallymanagedplatformtosupportcommunicationsequipment,includingthepublicaddresssystem,videodisplaysandautomatedticketsales,plusclosed-circuittelevisionmonitorsandothercomponentsusedbysupervisorstomanageoperationsandsafetysystems.
“ThemostimportantfeaturesoftheInvensyssystemareusabilityandexpandability,”saidXiaofeng.“Wecaneasilypluginthenewfeaturesandexpandthemtonewstationsinaveryshorttime.”
Whistle Stop for Scalability
TheChinesegovernmentrailwayagencyknewthatselectingapartnerthatcouldprovidetechnologytobenefittheprojectoverthelonghaulwascritical.WithsolutionsfromInvensys,therailwayministrycouldscaletheenterprise,beginningwiththeOlympiclineandextendingitinstagestotheentirenationwidehigh-speedrailnetworkasneeded.
TheInFusionEnterpriseControlSystemsynchronizesthemulti-facetedPassengerInformationSystemoftheChinaMinistryofRailwayshigh-speedraillines.ThankstothescalabilityofInFusion,theMinistryofRailwayscontinuestoquicklyandeasilyexpandthesizeandscopeofthehigh-speedline.TheInFusionsystemembracesallaspectsofoperationalexcellence,solvingcomplexbusinesschallengesthatincludescalability,connectivity,synchronizationandacceleratedvalue.Today,morethan220railwaystationsacross15high-speedraillinesarecontrolledbyInvensys.Oncecomplete,morethan800newstationswillberunningonInvensystechnologysolutionsthroughoutthe12,000-kilometer(7,500-mile)railnetwork.
“Thescalabilityofthesoftwaremakesitpossibletoexecutetheprojectinstages,”saidMarkDavidson,vicepresidentofglobalmarketingprogramsatInvensysOperationsManagement.“Thisallowsrailwaymanagerstobudgetresourcesproperly.”
ScalabilityisamongthehighestprioritiesofthePassengerInformationSystem.Railwayfacilitytechnologysolutionstypicallystartwithmodestgoalsasproofofconceptsarevalidated.Thentheyexpandrapidlyusinglessonslearnedandthetoolscreatedduringinitialprojectphases.TheInvensyssoftware-basedsystemisopen,enablingengineerstodevelopapplicationsandtheneasilyreproducetheminternally,withouttheassistanceofoutsideexperts.Standardizedobjectspromoterepeatabilityandcustomizationandsavetime,sothatnewstationscanbedeployedtomeetstrictbudgetsanddeadlines.Infact,stationshavebeenconfiguredinaslittleasoneday.Andwhenchangesareneeded,theycanbemadeatselectstations,orevenrolledoutacrosstheentiresystem,thankstotheInvensysapplicationtemplates.
The Power of Technology Operating in Harmony
BeforetheChinaMinistryofRailwaysdevelopedtheplanthatbeganwiththeBeijing-to-Tianjinline,itsPassengerInformationSystemwasnotintegrated.Componentswerepurchasedfromdifferentmanufacturersanddidnotoperatewelltogether.Stationsandterminalswerenotlinkedefficiently,creatinginefficienciesindeployment,operationsandmaintenance.
Today,thesystembenefitsfromaunifiedmanagementstrategy,standardizedtechnicalarchitecturerequirementsandcentralizedoperations.Forexample,becausethePassengerInformationSystemisbuiltontheArchestrASystemPlatform,dataconnectivityismaximized,allowingrailwayfacilityoperationstobeunified
andcontrolledfromthecentralsystem.Plus,throughtheWonderwareToolkit,third-partysolutionsusedinconjunctionwiththeFMSalsocommunicatewiththecentralapplication.Thiscreatesafullyintegratedapproachthatenablesallstatusandcontrolinstructionstobesharedautomaticallywitheveryrailstationintheentirenetwork.Currently,theArchestrASystemPlatforminstallationforthePassengerInformationSystemmanagesapproximately200,000I/Opoints.Bythetimetheprojectiscompletedin2020,theInvensyssolutionwillmanagemorethan3millionI/Opoints.
“DuringtheOlympicGames,wewerepressedfortimesowedevelopedtheintegratedsystemforthestationswithinninemonths,whichbenefitedfromtheuseofArchestrASystemPlatform,”saidXiaofeng.“ThentheMinistryofRailwaysrequiredus,withinaveryshorttime,tousethissystemtoreproducethefunctionsofbigstationsatthesmallerstations.Thegovernmentwantedtoreducelaborcostsanddecreasepersonnel.Afterdoingrelativelylittledevelopmentandcommissioningwork,ourInvensys-basedsystemeasilyextendedtothesmallerstations.”
TheArchestrASystemPlatformhasgivenEasywaytheabilitytocreateallthemodulesneededtodeploythePassengerInformationSystem.Moreimportant,collectiveknowledgerelatingtoroutines,communications,control,security,redundancyandhistorizationhavebeenencapsulatedinSystemPlatform.ThisinformationcannowbedeployedinsubsequentprojectsandcreatesstandardizationanduniformityforsolutiondeploymentatallrailwaystationsthroughoutChina.Theimplementationofengineeringapplicationshasbeenenhancedbythisprocess,enablingoperatorstorelyoncommonuserinterfacesandproceduresregardlessofwhichrailwaystationorcontrolroomtheymaybeassigned.
Operatorsmonitorandcontrolstationassetsandcommunicationsequipmentthoughthiscoresystem,enablingthemtomanagethecomprehensivecapabilitiesoftheFMS.Managerscanassignandmovepersonnelaccordingtodemand,afunctionalitywhichhasresultedinreducedoperationscosts.Andsincesomeofthestationequipmentoperatesautomatically,thePassengerInformationSystemissavingenergyaswell.
Planninghasalsoimproved.TheWonderwareHistorianprovidesreal-timestationassetdatafortrendingandanalysisaswellasmoreefficientandcompletereporting.TheWonderwaresolutioninterfaceswiththird-partydatabasesandMicrosoftOfficeprogramssuchasExcelandWord,allowinginformationtobesharedreadily.
“WiththeimplementationoftheArchestrASystemPlatform,China’sMinistryofRailwaysislayingasolidtechnologyfoundationforthefuturegrowthoftheunifiedstationmanagementsystem,”saidSteveGarbrecht,vicepresidentofproduct,servicesandsolutionsmarketing,InvensysOperationsManagement.
The End of the Line Offers Greater System Visibility
ThenewPassengerInformationSystemcontrolsallstationdisplays,thepublicaddresssystem,schedules,customerassistance,baggagestorageandmore.Thatmakesthehumanmachineinterface(HMI)providedbyWonderwareInTouchcrucial.Operatorsdependonitforoverallvisualization–whethertheyareworkingataremotestationoracentralmonitoringlocation.RailwayoperatorsusetheHMItoviewthestatusofeachdevice,plustheyreceiveandmanagealarminformationandeasilyapplycorrectionswhenneeded.
Anotherimportantaspectofoperatingalargerailsystemismaintenance.TheInvensyssolutionenablestherailwayministrynotonlytorespondpromptlytoneedsforrepairs,butalsotodevelopasystematicprogramtomaintaintherailwaysystemforoptimumperformanceandupgrades.
The Right Track to Success
TheChinaMinistryofRailway’sjourneytoprovideextensiverailtransportationservicesisonthefasttracktosuccess.Inlessthan10years,itisestimatedthattheInvensyssolutiondevelopedbyEasywaywillhelptherailwayagencyconnect1.3billionpeopleincomfortandatgreatspeed.Sofar,newpassengerstationshavejoinedthenetworkonschedule.ConsideringChina’sstoriedhistory,notbadfortheconstructionofthelongesthigh-speedraillineintheworld.
www.wonderware.fi
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