Infrastructure Provider Builds Demo Platform To Give Clients Dynamic View Of Solutions

Project Summary:

Vertiv, an organization that manufactures components and implements automation solutions for data centers and communication networks, used Ignition to create an internal and external demo platform that encompasses all of their go-to market offers and solutions, incorporating both manufacturing facilities and critical regional offices.

Problem:

This project aimed to build a platform designed to serve as a centralized hub for sales demonstrations and showcasing live systems to clients. To accomplish this, Vertiv needed a solution that could be deployed uniformly across diverse global operations without vendor restrictions. Additionally, Vertiv aimed to increase the overall visibility of electrical monitoring and power management processes.

Solution:

Vertiv utilized a combination of Ignition Edge and the Ignition Perspective, Tag Historian, SQL Bridge, and Reporting modules to enable a seamless global deployment and enhanced visualization, reporting, and monitoring across all sites. Moreover, Ignition’s IEC 61850 Driver, along with MQTT, were essential for messaging protocol and substation automation and control.

The system allows for smooth navigation and detailed examination of system layouts, ensuring that operators can easily focus on specific areas without losing the context of the overall system. Local HMIs provide single-line overviews that allow operators to interrogate field devices upstream over electrical networks or downstream into data halls, providing the full grid-to-chip visibility spectrum. The single-line diagrams are built using coordinate containers and use an SVG for each line in the diagram for better control of individual segments. Leveraging Ignition's expression language, the line animations and color changes respond to real-time data updates.

A standout feature of this project is the 3D view, which offers a dynamic and interactive perspective of switchgear products. With the ability to pan, zoom, and orbit, operators can explore these products from every angle, gaining a better feel for their design and scale.

Elevation views offer a great middle ground between the single line diagrams and the 3D view, providing most of the functionality of the 3D view but with less development time, giving local and remote operators a more realistic and visually informative representation compared to schematic single line diagrams.

Vertiv developed a microgrid dashboard to manage various energy sources and address high energy demand by monitoring renewable energy production, tracking factory energy usage, storing excess in batteries, or feeding it back to the grid.

Ignition software interfaces with backup power solutions like UPSs and generators to ensure that the systems are ready for use, and by creating manufacturer-specific UDTs, deployments become faster and more scalable.

Vertiv harnessed Ignition's Alarm Notification Module to create bespoke alarm management solutions, tailoring alarm pipelines, scripts, and custom sounds to align to each client's unique assets, priorities, maintenance schedules, and commissioning phases.

This demo platform offers a seamless experience, allowing users to interact with the Ignition software in real time, giving them a firsthand understanding of its functionality and user interface.

Results:

The Ignition platform has proven invaluable, successfully visualizing Vertiv’s products and serving as an accessible digital twin. This innovative approach has facilitated a deeper understanding and connection between physical and digital assets and laid a strong foundation for future development.

This platform not only facilitates sales demonstrations but also serves as a powerful tool for client education and decision-making, empowering them to make informed choices based on firsthand experiences of Ignition's capabilities and the innovative features of the showcased products.

Deploy Date: April 2024