Custom Collection Engine
Custom Collection Engine (CCE) is a revolutionary new software component from RTS that promises to change the game for utilities that use Advanced Metering and Smart Grid applications.
In the past, collection engines have been developed to work with specific functional partners, making it difficult for utilities to use AMI/Smart Grid infrastructure based on overall system selection. This inflexibility has made system integration complex and extremely costly when utilities acquire other utilities. Additionally, when new components of the headend software are introduced, there is no simple functional way to test the new systems within the production environment without providing a full system upgrade.
Enter CCE, a software solution that provides an abstraction layer to the underlying collection engines by utilizing their given functionality and providing the utility with a common interface both programmatically and visually, enabling vendor independence when selecting new meters. This allows utilities to integrate new metering or sensor technology with their current systems, reducing the need for expensive and time-consuming system upgrades.
CCE offers support for various versions of the underlying collection engine, thereby improving migration plans and creating a uniform user interface for both utility infrastructure and mobile apps. As the Smart Grid domain expands to encompass Grid Modernization and IoT Integration, the CCE assumes the role of the “Master” headend system. It interacts with numerous collection engines via vendor APIs and provides a common interface for various teams, independent of the underlying infrastructure.
One of our large utility customers was using the OpenWay Collection Engine with the HW metering infrastructure for many years. If this utility were to implement the RIVA platform, a new headend (OpenWay Operations Center) would have to be installed and new user and programmatic interfaces developed. However, by providing the CCE, both systems could be operated with the same look & feel and programmatic framework, reducing training time and costs, and helping to maintain common procedures and troubleshooting guides. The CCE provides an integrated view of the overall systems in the grid infrastructure, with new visualization and state management tools that allow for a broader and more insightful view of the overall infrastructure.
