COMMERCIAL FEATURE When knowing is everything – Swemet offers training packages for PLC communication SweMet can provide training in PLC communication for your users and field workers before each communication rollout. an understanding of how PLC communication actually works, and will provide well tested methods for efficient troubleshooting. As Sweden’s most experienced and skilled consultant for AMR and AMI systems with powerline communication as the main solution, our expertise is complemented by tools and products that give you a partner known for excellence and quality. We offer a number of products and skill-enhancing activities, alongside expert consultation services. Installer PLC Training In-depth field training where we look deeper into fieldwork with powerline communications, as well as meters, repeaters and data concentrators. We get to know the MFA400 instrument and basic understanding of powerline disturbances. We train our clients so they learn to recognize the sources of interference and the proper methods to find the source of interference quickly. This means a very high degree of rollout reliability, and rollouts that are finished on time. The training package we offer provides field staff with the methodology needed to make decisions about how to quickly find the cause of a disturbance, and thereafter what measures need to be implemented in order to restore PLC performance. Our training is available across all spectrums of the organisation given that most areas of expertise within energy companies are affected by the system and its needs. For instance: • staff in the billing office may wonder what makes instantaneous readouts so slow. • Operations technicians may wonder about the conditions for repeating. • Cleanup teams need to see interference levels in the signals and the actual conditions for signalling to work. Training Package SweMet AB has a number of courses that can be used in the recruitment of new staff as well as further training of existing staff. We can also create customized training programmes after an analysis of their activities and systems. Basic PLC Training Step 1 should be a requirement for everyone working with a powerline communicating system of any kind. It provides operators and installers with the same basic understanding of PLC’s reality and creates a common platform as the basis for communication between them. The course’s method for troubleshooting PLC communication problems is based on 15 years experience and is designed specifically for energy companies. The course will help in gaining Operator PLC Training In-depth operator training where we look further at how to use repetition, map systems, and when field work is required. This training should be tailored to the customers’ needs and their own systems to produce the best results. MFA400 SweMet stands for genuine Swedish quality and experience. According to our customers, we have the best tool for frequency analysis in PLC implementations. SweMet has many years of experience in troubleshooting the source of interference, and developed the MFA400 to meet our own requirements in the field. The handheld MFA 400 represents a new generation of instruments for frequency analysis. The instrument provides a visual representation of the signal level in the band for PLC communication on the grid. The aim is to find devices that do not communicate with sufficient output, and then measure, locate and identify sources of interference on the mains which prevent PLC communication. Expert Consultants During the establishment phase, SweMet AB can provide consultants with long experience of working with the operation and maintenance of metering for an electric utility company. Our expertise in power line communication is the best in Sweden, and gives our customers the opportunity to get the best from their systems. During the establishment phase, and especially in the testing phase, our consultants can be available to capture and develop solutions for problems that arise. This includes all forms of support to create an effective field operation, from which tools and training are necessary, to customer-specific training and procedure development. MI ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Eric Tholén is Vice President and Sales Manager of SweMet AB. He is an expert on the analysis of Power Line Communication, 3-150 kHz, and has more than 15 years of industry experience in AMR and communication. PLC frequency above noise level. 76 ABOUT THE COMPANY: SweMet is a Scandinavian leader in providing grid companies services and tools for maintenance and service of smart grid deployments. More than 50 grid companies in Sweden are using SweMet tools and methods for frequency analysis in AMR PLC implementations. Long term experience and onsite service is highly valued among customers. www.swemet.se METERING INTERNATIONAL ISSUE - 4 | 2013