What it is and when you need it
Remote Siemens SIPROTEC relay configuration is the service in which our team loads, reviews or modifies the configuration of a SIPROTEC relay without going to site: protection functions, logic, inputs and outputs, communications and records. We work with the three generations that coexist today in substations and industrial plants worldwide:
- SIPROTEC 4, the generation installed in many HV and MV substations, with line distance relays (7SA family), line differential (7SD), transformer differential (7UT) and feeder protection (7SJ).
- SIPROTEC Compact, MV relays for feeders, motors and small transformers, such as the 7SJ80.
- SIPROTEC 5, the current modular platform, with distance, differential, transformer and feeder devices and bay controllers.
The service is used by contractors receiving new devices, owners who must apply an updated protection coordination study and operators who need to understand a trip or a block.
What is included
Each SIPROTEC generation has its own tool, its own way of organizing logic and its own pitfalls:
- Engineering software. DIGSI 4 for SIPROTEC 4 and SIPROTEC Compact, and DIGSI 5 for SIPROTEC 5. In both cases the configuration is prepared offline and then transferred to the device. DIGSI 5 comes in variants with different scope; full IEC 61850 system configuration requires the right variant.
- IEC 61850. On SIPROTEC 5, DIGSI 5 works together with the IEC 61850 System Configurator, which imports and exports SCL files (ICD, IID, CID, SCD) and configures GOOSE and MMS reports. On SIPROTEC 4, IEC 61850 depends on the device communication module and is managed from DIGSI 4.
- Settings groups. We review every settings group in the device, not only the active one, plus the condition that switches them, because a forgotten standby group is a misoperation waiting to happen.
- CFC logic. SIPROTEC programmable logic is built in CFC, a graphical function-block editor. That is where interlocks, teleprotection schemes, blocking and SCADA signals live. We check that the loaded logic matches the control drawings.
- Allocation matrix. On SIPROTEC devices, much of the engineering sits in the routing of signals to binary inputs, output relays, LEDs and communications. An error there does not show up in the function settings, but it does show up in operation.
- Fault records and messages. We retrieve fault records, operational messages and pickup messages. Siemens offers SIGRA for analysis; with DIGSI 5 it comes in the higher-scope variant. Records can also be exported in COMTRADE.
- Backup. We save the current project or configuration before every change and compare what was loaded against what was approved.
How we work
We start with the inventory: generation, full order number (MLFB), firmware version and, on SIPROTEC 5, the device hardware configuration. That tells us which tool and which version we need. We also confirm the rated frequency, 50 Hz or 60 Hz, in the device and in any settings template, since a file reused from another project can carry the wrong one. Then we agree with your communications team on secure access, through the substation network or a dedicated connection, encrypted and enabled only during the authorized window.
During the intervention we save the existing configuration, load settings, logic and communications, and verify metering, statuses, messages and SCADA signals with you. If the scope includes secondary injection tests, your staff on site runs them and we support them live online. Our team can perform field testing in Colombia, or elsewhere on request.
We do not publish step-by-step DIGSI instructions: they change with every version, every device and every project, and they are the work we do for you. Remote services are available worldwide; we work from Bogotá (UTC−5) and schedule the work window with you.
Firmware and compatibility precautions
- DIGSI 4 needs the device driver for the exact device version. Without it, the device cannot be parameterized correctly.
- Changing the version of a SIPROTEC 4 may require converting the settings, and that conversion is not always automatic: we review it parameter by parameter.
- DIGSI 5 and the IEC 61850 System Configurator must be used in compatible versions; when a project is upgraded, the devices must be resynchronized with the configurator.
- Parameterization passwords stay with you; they never end up in files.
What we need from you
- Generation, order number and firmware version of each device.
- The current DIGSI project, if you have it, or authorization to read the configuration from the device.
- Approved settings, control drawings and signal list.
- The substation SCD file, if the devices exchange GOOSE with other IEDs.
- Secure access to the devices and a site contact.
What you receive
- The final DIGSI project for each device and a backup of the previous configuration.
- The applied settings table, compared against the approved one, including the inactive groups.
- Documented CFC logic and allocation matrix.
- The resulting SCL files, when IEC 61850 is involved.
- Fault record analysis, if requested, and a written report of each session.
Standards and criteria
Inverse-time curves follow IEC 60255-151 or IEEE C37.112, as defined by the study. Communications are configured with IEC 61850 and, toward the control center, IEC 60870-5-104 or whatever protocol your SCADA uses. Records are exchanged in COMTRADE (IEEE C37.111 / IEC 60255-24). Functions are referenced by their IEEE C37.2 device numbers, such as 21, 50BF or 87T. We adapt the settings to the local code and the utility requirements you give us. If you still need the settings themselves, our protection coordination study delivers them ready to load, and our secondary engineering covers the P&C design behind the logic. For other brands, see remote relay configuration.
Tiza Group works with Siemens equipment as an independent engineering company. We are not a partner, representative, distributor or authorized service center of the brand, and product names belong to their manufacturer. Send us the generation, model and firmware through contact and we will confirm the scope.