Profession Electrician relay protection and automation

Relay workers have a very difficult profession. I never envied them. Constantly there are a lot of new technology, various microprocessor protection. It’s very hard to keep up with everything. Old relays do not pull. Here you need to know a lot and constantly want to learn new things. I work myself, I work as an electrician-lineer. But we really have a lot more physical labor than relay workers.

Thank you, it was interesting to read.

"The work is complex, highly paid, prestigious." I completely agree with the first statement, but I allow myself to disagree about the second and third statements. I will leave it for discussion of relayers. Although I myself can say that I have been working in this profession for 41 years, and I know not by hearsay and articles - how much strength, nerves and health relay protection takes. It is not worth the money that relayers get.

Right She is not highly paid. And there is a lot of responsibility. Well, what about managers who pay little to specialists. The line is behind the fence. Go choose a lot of people who want to work there, and relays too.

The work is difficult but interesting.Relayshchiki generally ceased to be valued as specialists, and accordingly, the salary is low. And before we were called "blue" blood, who knows, he will understand.

Standby is constant, plus constant calls to work, then the VM oil switch does not turn on (at the old PE-11 electromagnetic drive the KSA rod was broken), then the VM does not turn off, then the signal gave 10 kV ground control, then the DC of the current, then the telemechanics do not control , etc. etc. Just before reading this article by phone, I was solving the problem of “not turning on” the vacuum circuit breaker from the Tavrida Electric series, fortunately I didn’t have to go to work, the problem was solved by phone - the operating staff forgot to remove the electrical lock (reed switch) of the control unit BU / TEL. But there are a lot of days off, which the truth does not always give))) It is possible to describe a specialty for a long time ... but in general, you can get tremendous experience and knowledge ...

I liked it about health) I was not warned that with my 55kg I would have to run with 21Retom and loaders. An interesting specialty, I did not do so much self-training at the institute as at the position of commissioning engineer of the REA. Young people with a microprocessor relay are easier, but without the old gray-haired guard, which will give an answer to any question, it is very difficult, and there are fewer of them.

The article contains photographs of protection and automation panels of equipment made on an old-style relay (electromechanical), the photo below shows the equipment of panels of an automated dispatch control system (ASDU). It would seem more correct to me to bring a photo of modern analogs of old protections - that is, microprocessor protection terminals, for example, of the same company ABB: REF630, REB670, etc. The ADCS equipment shown in the photo can work not only with modern protections, but also with old ones electromechanical type.

Well, I would like to add to the account of the safety of work. The author writes that the work was performed by an employee with great experience and experience. But why did he allow himself to approach unacceptable distances to live parts?

Even before the commencement of work, during the implementation of the permit, the team that will carry out the work must verify the implementation of all necessary safety measures. The fencing of the workplace, in this case, the disconnector should be carried out in such a way that from the fencing to the nearest live parts under voltage, there should be a distance not less than the permissible voltage for a particular class of voltage.

If this condition is not fulfilled, then it is necessary to de-energize and ground those current-carrying parts to which accidental contact is possible (approaching an unacceptable distance).

Well, at the expense of the fact that differential tire protection de-energized the tire system in this case - this is most likely a shortcoming of the relay. When the DZSH set is triggered, the tire reclosure will be triggered by one of the outgoing bus system connections. That is, a person, having come under stress, receives a blow again.

You can argue, but when performing work of this nature, a ban on automatic reclosure of tires of a particular system is not introduced.

Most likely, the security measures were incorrectly defined for the work. If it is planned to carry out work on one of the bus disconnectors, then it is necessary to repair the entire bus system for repair. In this case, sufficient safety is provided for the performance of work.

The work of the relay operator is complicated, responsible - I do not argue, but it is much simpler (if you evaluate the entire process of performing the work) than an electrician-lineman, or an electrician repairing equipment. An electrician, when performing repair work on overhead lines or on one of the elements of switchgear equipment, is allowed to work and really works. That is, he performs the work that is provided for by one or another repair (major, current or eliminates the accident).After completion of work, he is allowed to another workplace. That is, one team can repair several items of equipment per shift. And what about relayers?

For example, a week is given for checking the DFD of one 110kV line, although in fact the work can be completed within a few hours. Or it takes two days to check the protection of the outgoing 10 kV line, why is it asked? Check the operation of the MTZ or MFO, if necessary, automatic reclosure can be done in a hurry for an hour. And there are many such examples, not to mention the fact that only one employee is enough to carry out work to check the protection, and the team has two, and sometimes even three relays.

When admitted to the work, most of the time the relay workers sit, drink tea and complain to each other about how hard it is for them to work and how no one appreciates them. I was convinced of this from the personal experience of many years of work as operational personnel at the substation. Here is the hidden essence of the profession of relay workers, about which the relay operator himself will never tell.

MaksimovM,
Indeed, they say that operational personnel are always on the opposite side of the fence with RPA personnel. Although just for them all documentation on relay protection and automation devices is being prepared. And in case of any erroneous action of the personnel leading to the disconnection of power equipment, the relay protection personnel also block them from depriving of bonuses, reprimands and the like, referring to the incorrect operation of the relay protection relay due to any detected defect. And in response we always get such an expression from the mouth. If you do not know to what extent it is necessary to check and how, then please do not comment on the work of the relay operator (I'm talking about responsible and educated). And as a self-education, you can read the following documentation for funREGULATIONSMAINTENANCE OF RELAY PROTECTION DEVICESAND ELECTRIC AUTOMATION OF ELECTRIC NETWORKS 0.4-35 kV.RD 153-34.3-35.613-00. 
REGULATIONSMAINTENANCE OF RELAY PROTECTION DEVICESAND ELECTRICAL AUTOMATION OF ELECTRIC NETWORKS 110-750 kV.RD 153-34.3-35.617-00.

Rudolf, I had to work in a team with relays, checked various defenses, and, based on this, I can judge their work as a whole. And from the point of view of the operational worker, one can also conclude, since the work of RPA personnel is visible by the quality of the work they perform. I had to deal with documentation, relay protection instructions at different sites - I have never seen instructions without errors. Wrong key number, wrong panel, incorrect data. Well, if the errors were found on time. One mistake can lead to deenergization of the whole region. And in this case, when clarifying the circumstances of the incident, only the facts are taken into account. What kind of fencing can we talk about? If the instruction for one of the protections is compiled by the personnel of the relay protection and automation equipment, then accordingly, if there is an error in it that has led to negative consequences, the personnel of the relay protection device will be responsible. The same applies to relay protection devices themselves - if initially the wrong settings were set or there were errors in the circuit, then the relay personnel, and not the operational personnel, are to blame.

How nice to hear native words: RPA, Retom, VM, BB, Tavrida Electric. Himself a past relay. The work is very interesting, it makes one think twice before doing something. We also had those who, by mistake, turned off half of the enterprise, came in from lunch, mixed up the panel, and pulled the relay to show the young one how it works - the consequences of shutting down the 2nd section (work was done on the 1st) SF-110kV switch said -STOP- and the substation plunged into the darkness cheerfully ringing the alarm and blinking light bulbs and the friendly clatter of operational personnel. As for the payment, it’s ridiculous to call it a salary, and the responsibility is huge. First of all, all protections are designed for security.
MaksimovM. about the fact that the linemen agree with the hard work, they have physical labor, and the relay workers work their heads and not always if two or three relay workers work, then they don’t do anything. This is a very erroneous opinion, such an opinion often appeared among line engineers (".. here we dragged the cable and laid it at 240 sq. Mm., And you came and 8 wires at 2.5 sq. Mm. On the TT picked up ...") and operational staff.
When an emergency occurs, then of course all the operatives and linemen and relayers are bustling and not everyone manages to be calm and keep their composure
And also about the errors: during the preparation of relay circuits and initial commissioning, the entire circuit is checked, all protections are tested, the operation of the circuit is checked in accordance with the general circuit, and only after that a document is drawn up on the commissioning of the protection circuits. What kind of mistakes can be discussed, this is not a switch that turns on the light in your bathroom. All errors, even if any, are identified at the commissioning stage and immediately corrected.
Here the situation is this - everyone pulls a blanket over themselves. The operatives also have a lot of mistakes. Either the trolley will be rolled up through the locks, then the grounding will not be removed, or the posters will not be hung (.. why, here it is clear that there is nothing ...) this is not a conversation of responsible operational personnel. But out of trifles, negligence, irresponsibility, mistakes and ... injuries appear, and this cannot be allowed in any way. So if once I went with an incomprehensible group of RZiA and at which collective farm enterprise all this was, then it is not necessary to generalize to the whole service.
Over the past 10 years, I have seen a lot of good and responsible people as a relay man and a high-voltage tester, and balabol and gouging did not stay long in this service, they did not belong there.

# 7 wrote:MaksimovMregarding the preparation of workplaces: the issuing outfit did not spell out all measures in technical measures, allowing from the operational personnel allowed the team to the workplacewithout fencing off a dangerous area under voltage, did not hang up posters,The worker approached live parts under voltage, exceeding all safety distance standards.
In terms of checking time, here again, there are disagreements, it is possible to snap the madness relays in half an hour, the point is not in clicking, but in checking all the settings of operation and return, in the operation of the circuit, tracking the entire chain in the circuit, what will work and why this will lead, and only after working out the entire circuit on the “knees” you go to the panel and pick up the wires from Retom to the desired relay to the necessary terminals, because you don’t think about it.
And when checking differential protection is always in normal enterprises The overlay pad, ABP on the sectioner is displayed.

Maximov, you absolutely do not know the work of the stickman. In a few hours you will not check the DFZ. It takes 2-3 days. And then, if there are no defects detected during the inspection. I assure you that the result of your verification of the DFZ would be the failure of this defense. The work of a relay operator is more complicated than the work of an operative, line engineer and repairman. The operative generally walks with a piece of paper written and checked by the relay that is called the switching form. At night, the operative sleeps at a combat post)))) And how much tea the operative drinks this to the relay and never dreamed of.

Each work is good, each has its own nuances in work, and any profession is complex in its own way. In RPA, the responsibility is huge, and the salary is small in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, the city of Muravlenko has a salary of 45,000. And God forbid (prices in the north)!

All evil comes from not competent operational personnel.

Perhaps it’s better to say not “four harmonics”, but “four periods”. This is about the case with the defeat of the electrician.