1

Data Integration Challenges for Standards-

Compliant Mobile Applications
A. W. McMorran, Member, IEEE, S. E. Rudd, Member, IEEE, C. M. Shand, Student Member, IEEE,
J. J. Simmins, Member, IEEE, N. McCollough, Member, IEEE and E. M. Stewart, Member, IEEE

integrate data from multiple sources.

Abstract— Modern mobile devices are capable of running This paper will explore the difficulties surrounding the
sophisticated, network-enabled applications exploiting a variety area of data integration and transformation and will focus on
of sensors on a single low-cost piece of hardware. The electrical the Common Information Model (CIM)[2][3] as a means of
industry can benefit from these new platforms to automate standardization. It will then outline the main challenges in
existing processes and provide engineers and field crew with
access to large amounts of complex data in real-time, anywhere managing the communication to mobile devices in the event of
in the world. The development of a standards-based application a storm and the security associated with storing sensitive
decouples the mobile client application from a single vendor or datasets on a mobile device that could be easily lost.
existing enterprise system, but requires a complex data
integration architecture to support the use and exploitation of II. STANDARDS COMPLIANT APPLICATION
large amounts of data spread across multiple existing systems.
The integration with a mobile application introduces new 1) Client Application
challenges when dealing with remote devices where data network It is not uncommon for a single enterprise system such as
communications cannot be relied on, especially under storm the Geographical Information System (GIS) to have a
conditions, and the devices themselves are at risk of being lost or dedicated mobile application or web-based interface that can
stolen. Addressing these challenges offers the potential to be viewed on a mobile device. Such interfaces are limited to
improve data quality, enable access to accurate, up-to-date
information in the field and ultimately save a utility time and
the functionality of their host system and any integration
money. across multiple enterprise systems is restricted to how
integrated the host system is with other enterprise systems. A
Index Terms-- Asset management, Application virtualization, vendor-neutral, extensible, standards-based mobile application
Virtual reality, Visualization, Standards, Data handling, Data that gives field personnel real-time, remote access to
visualization, CIM, Data integration, Big Data. operational, geographical, network and asset related data using
multiple, power interfaces such as geographical maps and
I. INTRODUCTION augmented reality[4], would remove the dependency between

A s mobile technology continues to improve in performance

and decrease in cost there is an incentive to utilize these
powerful inexpensive devices to improve the management of
the client from one particular enterprise system and allow data
from multiple systems to be integrated into a single client. A
number of tasks can then be completed remotely with data
the grid. Other industries have already started to embrace being acquired from and submitted to multiple systems
tablet technology to replace paper forms and manuals[1] and a simultaneously.
similar approach can be taken by the power industry to access For a client to interface directly with multiple systems,
and update data while in the field to replace existing processes especially if over a remote network, poses a number of issues
and provide new capabilities to better manage the network. around the level of customisation required for each utility as
A move towards a smarter grid has meant there is an the combination of systems and their roles within the
increase in the amount of data being recorded, transmitted and enterprise varies widely across the industry. It is not practical
stored by the power industry. Within this “big data” there to develop a custom client for each utility and for a client
exists important information that could improve the ease of application running on restricted hardware with varying levels
management of the grid. Utilizing and integrating this data in of data network connectivity to interface directly with critical
an efficient manner to gain the most important and useful enterprise systems.
information is a huge challenge. A lack of standardization Instead a single mobile application that utilises industry-
between enterprise systems provides a significant technical standard data structures, light-weight data serialisation
challenge when trying to create a centralized gateway to technologies, configurable interfaces for data entry, a plug-in
architecture for graphics and naming conventions would allow
A. W. McMorran, S. E. Rudd and C. M. Shand are with Open Grid a single, common version to be deployed at multiple utilities
Systems Ltd, Glasgow, Scotland, UK (e-mail: [email protected]). but with the ability to adapt and extend its functionality as
J. J. Simmins and N. McCollough are with Electric Power Research required.
Institute (EPRI), Knoxville, TN, USA (e-mail: [email protected]).
E.M. Stewart is with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley,
2) Gateway Server
CA, USA (email: [email protected]). A gateway server is required to manage the integration of

978-1-4799-3656-4/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE

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data from the various combinations of different enterprise data being used by the Gateway Server and connected devices
systems deployed at each utility. It will also manage the is synchronized with the host systems’ data (see Figure 2). The
remote devices and all communications with them. There are a transformation of data must track the identifiers being used
number of difficulties surrounding the areas of data integration across systems to ensure that the identifiers used by the device
and transformation, as well as managing the remote devices, communications can be related to the correct data element and
especially under emergency conditions where communications identifier in the host system.
will be limited.
CIM to DMS
The gateway server provides real-time access to data Gateway Server
Transformation
DMS

regarding network conditions for field personnel and instant Data

Grid i View
feedback to engineers in the control room of damage Client CIM to GIS
GIS
Transformation
assessments and network updates. The mobile application has Application

the ability to replace numerous paper forms for every day field CIM to Asset
work and under storm conditions the application can operate Manager
Transformation
Asset Manager

with unpredictable network connectivity and provide fast,

accurate reporting of conditions from the field. All of this Identity
Registry
data must be received by the gateway server then distributed
to the existing enerprise systems. Figure 2: Data transformation and synchronization

The challenge is in ensuring that this data is transformed

automatically between the source format and structure and the This requires complex mappings to be written and
standards-based data into the correct structure and format for maintained with the host system but also between multiple
the resulting system, whether it is the Outage Management other systems. As such the integration picture has to take into
System (OMS), Distribution Management System (DMS) or account multiple systems all contributing data that will end up
GIS. on the device or will receive data generated by the device.
This requires the management of names, identities and
III. DATA INTEGRATION AND TRANSFORMATION structures between multiple systems. The client application
will see only a single data entity and submit a single form,
1) System Integration with the gateway server managing the routing of the data to
There are significant technical challenges in integrating the correct host system and then correlating any responses.
data from a myriad of vendors and transforming it from and to 2) Data Transformation
an industry standard structure. Each utility has a different In the diagram shown in Figure 1, each system will have its
combination of data management systems and will have own internal data structure and for that data to be integrated
different requirements for the data submitted in the field based with data from other systems requires it to be transformed into
on existing inspection/maintenance/assessment procedures and a common representation. The gateway server and devices
the capabilities of their enterprise systems. The Gateway will use the IEC standard Common Information Model (CIM)
Server, where this integration will take place (see Figure 1), description for all data. This will result in complex data
must allow the configuration and management of of the transformations between the DMS data and the standard form
remote devices while also synchronizing the data with the with the need to ensure that the identifiers between each form
corresponding host system. are maintained.
A scalable, extensible approach to solving this problem has
been described previously[5] using model-driven data
Network
GIS
Manager transformation technologies to define the transformation of
Asset data at the structural level, with other modules and libraries
Equipment Powerflow
Location
location handling the serialization of the data into the correct form. In
updates
situations where an application already exists that supports
CIM standards then no transformation is required (or only a
Grid i View minimal transformation between versions). For those that
Client Gateway
Server DMS export only in their internal form, there is a need to extract an
Application
information model from the pre-existing data structures or file
Outages
- GIS location
formats. This will make it easier to understand and interpret
- storm damage
- live outages
the application’s data and also allow model-driven
- maintenance
history Storm
transformation technologies to be used with the data.
Asset
- powerflow
results
Damage
Manager
Manager With information models and format import/export
Storm Maintenance
modules defined for all the systems that must be integrated,
Damage History Model to Model (M2M) transformations are then defined that
map between the information model for each system and the
Figure 1: Data Integration Architecture CIM. M2M transformations define mappings between
conceptual elements and while some tools are available for
A major challenge of this data integration is in ensuring the doing this visually, complex transforms can be written using
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standard transformation languages like by feeder/circuit or geographical area). This way the data
Query/View/Transform[6] Operational (QVTO), an Object transmitted can be reduced based on the location of the user
Management Group (OMG) specification for Model-Driven and so reduce the bandwidth required and volume of data the
Transformation. device must process.
These mappings can be modularized, re-used and deployed
as with any other modern software. Model-aware editors and Enterprise
Service Bus
Geographical
Information Service Mobile
runtime engines make it simpler for users to define the Device

CIM XML
mappings and test them in a modern Integrated Development Message

Environment (IDE). By operating at the conceptual model CIM

JSON
CIM XML
level the user can focus on mapping between elements rather Message Mobile Device
Gateway

JSON Serializer
than dealing with the specifics of converting between one

XML Parser
CIM XML Data CIM HTTPS
particular data format and its layout versus another; leaving Message Filter JSON Server

that task to the import/export modules. For example a CIM

CIM Objects
output can be serialized as CIM RDF XML[7][8] or as CIM CIM XML

XML Serializer
Message

JSON Parser
CIM
JSON file used by the client application without requiring any CIM XML JSON
Message
modification to the underlying transformation.
By using a common model to define the transformations
against, it is only necessary for any new application to define a Figure 3: Data filtering and communication
transformation to and from the CIM, rather bi-directional
transformation to every other system it has to integrate with.. IV. STANDARDS COMPLIANT
By using a language-based transform with a rich syntax even The CIM was originally developed to provide a standard
complex transformations can be described at the structural Application Programming Interface (API) for Energy
level and, when combined with an identity registry, allows for Management Systems (EMS) then expanded to support an
bi-directional communication between the CIM data used by inter-application semantic model for systems integration. The
the gateway and devices and the enterprise systems. CIM is primarily used to exchange network models between
3) Data Reduction/Filtering systems and in the back office, however it is rapidly
As well as transforming data from its source structure into developing and finding uses wherever application information
the standards form, the gateway server must also filter the host needs to be exchanged.
data to ensure that only the data required by each device is Creating a CIM message can be done with a browser, a
transmitted and that large data sets are split into smaller, more mobile device app or from a device in the field. As long as the
manageable subsets better suited for the limitations of the bandwidth and connectivity are there, the ability to create and
client hardware and variability of mobile communication act on CIM messages frees the developer from relying on
network. The complete system network model from a GIS, vendor supplied user interfaces. It allows mock-ups of data
DMS or Network Manager would be overly detailed for what visualization from multiple data streams into an interface that
is required for field personnel as they will not be concerned is based on the use case and not encumbered by which
with large parts of the data such as the electrical parameters application performs the steps of the use case. The CIM
used for analysis. There is also the issue of data security when covers a number of domains with associations between the
the detailed network data is moved onto a mobile device with classes. This provides a standard way of describing the
the potential for loss or theft. relationships between data elements, even if they exist in
As such the data must be filtered to reduce it to the required multiple systems with different source definitions.
subset and also change its serialization format to something There are a number of challenges in producing a standards
that is light-weight, standards-based and easy to process. To compliant application. This work is at the cutting edge of
this end the client application has been designed to use a standards work and while some standards are mature and
subset of the IEC 61968-13[9] standard for distribution supported by a number of vendors, others are at the early stage
network data combined with a JavaScript Object Notation of development and so this project will both leverage them
(JSON)[10] serialization format. and influence their further development.
Fig. 3 shows the process for integrating the data filter and
serialization/deserialization modules within the overall TABLE I. IEC STANDARDS BEING LEVERAGED
communication flow. This process also assumed an Enterprise Standard Title
Service Bus (ESB) environment with the GIS producing the IEC 61968-3 Network Operations
network model in a CIM form serialized as XML. In reality it IEC 61968-4 Record and Asset Management
is likely that the data transformation step described in Figure 2 IEC 61968-6 Maintenance and Construction
will be required as many source systems do not yet support the IEC 61968-8 Customer Support
IEC 61968-9 Meter Reading and Control
IEC standards. IEC 61968-10 Other Systems (e.g., ERP)
The data reduction also requires pre-processing of the IEC 61968-11 CIM Extensions for Distribution
source data to separate what is often a single large piece of IEC 61968-13 Common Distribution Power System Model (CDPSM)
data into multiple subsets based on logical grouping (such as IEC 61968-14 MultiSpeak® Mappings and Profile
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geographical fix from GPS using only satellite data can take
The benefits of standards compliance is that for a utility the several minutes where as the use of mobile communication
gateway server and thus the client application are not tied to networks and cell-tower triangulation reduces this to a matter
one specific vendor and so does not tie them into a proprietary of seconds).
format and one platform. Table I defines the standards that
are within the scope of this work, but the challenge is that VI. SECURITY
many of the standards in this area are still under development Due to the strict controls on data that utilities have in place,
and either still in draft or have not been adopted by the security is definitely an important aspect of any software
relevant vendors. created for sensitive data. Different mobile operating systems
Existing CIM standard serialization formats are aimed at have different security settings intrinsic to the platform.
system-to-system integration using an ESB or for bulk transfer Apple's iPad and iPhone take advantage of the heightened
of data. The system-to-device use-case has not been security that iOS has to offer with implicit encryption of all
investigated within the IEC and as such the use of JSON as the data and remote lock/reset capabilities.
serialization format for this work is the application of the IEC All data sent to and from the device needs to be encrypted
standards for the data structure with another, existing standard using a secure SSL connection, with the remote server
form for object serialization. controlling the data access restrictions based on required
The mapping and transformation work between the host authentication. The locally stored data on the device must be
systems and the standards is difficult when the vendors encrypted and under normal conditions, kept to the minimum
cooperate with documentation and specifications, but is even required, fetching data as required from the gateway server.
more challenging when it must be reverse engineered and Under storm conditions, where network connectivity may be
written without their cooperation. lost, it would be advantageous to relax such restrictions to
enable crews to pre-load complete sets of network data for use
V. DEVICE MANAGEMENT IN EMERGENCY CONDITIONS in the field. Additional security can be added through the use
The application is intended to be used both for every day of stronger alphanumeric passwords and setting strong device
work such as inspection, maintenance reports and customer security settings such as the wiping of all contents if a wrong
site visits, but the other primary driver is that of emergency password is entered multiple times.
conditions and natural disasters where crews can receive and Among other security features supplied by Apple,
submit information in real-time from the field. This administrators can also restrict certain features on the device.
requirement adds a number of challenges: These include, but are not limited to, allowing app installation,
• Dealing with intermittent network communications or a allowing voice dialing, allowing in-app purchases and
disconnection from the mobile network for: allowing the use of safari. Another desirable feature is that an
• Tracking where a device is so as to push the correct administrator or user can erase iOS devices remotely. This
data to the device (for example incident data regarding means if the user loses a certain device then the application
local outages) along with its sensitive data can be deleted remotely from a
• Allowing storm damage assessments and missing device preventing the sharing of important data.
inspection/maintenance reports to be saved and posted
in batch when a connection is established VII. CONCLUSIONS
• The need to pre-cache large amounts of data (e.g. the
The creation of a standards-based, platform-independent
network data for a complete city) rather than on-demand
mobile application is only the first step as the application
fetching of subsets as crews may be dispatched to
cannot function without data from multiple existing enterprise
multiple locations while in the field
systems. This integration must be scalable, extensible and
• Enabling the application for novice users as it is common
for office staff to be sent into the field to assess damage in capable of supporting different systems in varying
the event of a storm combinations of functionality.
These involve challenges both for the client application and The use of standards is critical in separating the mobile
the gateway server to intelligently monitor and cope with application from one particular make or model of application
intermittent communications and the need for remote and provides a common, open, documented structure for the
configuration of the devices to update or add forms and enable mobile application to then deal with. As more vendors
bulk caching of data based on normal or emergency support standard interfaces the level of effort required to
conditions. There will also be considerable effort in ensuring integrate new systems with the mobile application and its
that the system is integrated with existing outage and work gateway server is reduced.
management systems. The mobile environment, especially in adverse conditions,
There are significant challenges associated with managing places an additional set of restrictions and challenges on
intermittent network communications with a high level of risk, engineers that are not necessarily present in a normal systems
particularly given the limitation of many devices that require integration project. The data communication network cannot
network connections for obtaining mapping data and be relied on, and ensuring the security of data on mobile
determining initial location (for example, obtaining a devices that can easily be lost or stolen must be managed
carefully. The intermittency and variations in available
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bandwidth of cellular networks during storm conditions must Brunel University in London. Her research work is focused on ‘big data’
challenges for the smart grid including data integration, visualization and
be understood and field crews must be able to operate with analysis.
and without communications.
If these challenges are overcome then utilities will benefit John J. Simmins (M.11) is a Technical Executive at the Electric Power
from a single platform on which they can access their Research institute (EPRI) where he manages the Information and
Communication Technology for Distribution project set. His current
enterprise data from any location. This has the potential to responsibilities focus on bringing thought leadership in the area of integrating
increase data accuracy, reduce response times and automate diverse applications such as Advanced Meter Infrastructure, Meter Data
repetitive, manual processes that will save the utility time and Management Systems, Distribution Management Systems, Customer
money. Information Systems, Geospatial Information Systems and Outage
Management Systems.
Dr. Simmins also leads the EPRI efforts in the use of augmented reality,
VIII. REFERENCES social media, data analytics, and visualization to improve outage restoration
efforts and improve grid resilience. He received his B.S. and a Ph.D. in
[1] Barstow, David. "The Aviation iPAD Revolution." Journal of Air
Ceramic Science from Alfred University in 1984 and 1990 respectively..
Traffic Control 54.2 (2012): 4.
[2] “Energy management system application program interface (EMS- API)
- Part 301: Common Information Model (CIM) Base”, IEC, Edition 1.0, Norman McCollough (M ’01) is a Project Manager in the Distribution
November 2003 program area of the Power Delivery and Utilization Sector. In this position he
[3] “Application integration at electric utilities - System interfaces for manages the advanced monitoring applications research work. His current
distribution management - Part 11: Common Information Model (CIM) research activities focus on sensor technologies and sensor deployment on
Extensions for Distribution”, IEC, Draft overhead and underground distribution lines.
[4] A.W. McMorran, S.E. Rudd, J.J. Simmins, N.McCollough, C.M.Shand, Mr. McCollough joined EPRI in 2009 as a Project Manager. Before
"Field force data visualization: Developing an open mobile platform for joining EPRI, Mr. McCollough worked at a New England based wire and
integrated data access", Power and Energy Society General Meeting, cable manufacturer as Director of Technology. He was responsible for
2012 IEEE, San Diego, CA, 22-26 July 2012 developing advanced patented insulator mounted electrical power-line
[5] A.W. McMorran, E.M. Stewart, C.M. Shand, S.E. Rudd, G.A. Taylor, monitoring devices, advanced polymer materials, and injection molding
“Addressing the Challenge of Data Interoperability for Off-Line strategies for new sensor types.
Analysis of Distribution Networks in the Smart Grid”, Transmission and Mr. McCollough attended the University of Tennessee and is a member of
Distribution Conference and Exposition (T&D), 2012 IEEE PES, the IEEE Power Engineering Society
Orlando, FL, 7-10 May 2012
[6] “Meta Object Facility (MOF) 2.0 Query/View/ Transformation Emma Stewart (M ’08) completed her undergraduate degree in Electrical and
Specification”, Version 1.0, Object Management Group (OMG), Mechanical Engineering from the University of Strathclyde in 2004 and a
http://www.omg.org/spec/QVT/1.0/ PhD in Electrical Engineering in 2009. Her field of research included the
[7] Resource Description Framework (RDF) Model and Syntax electrical integration of hydrogen and renewable technologies to power
Specification, W3C Recommendation 22 February 1999. systems and she spent a period of three years at Sandia National Laboratories
[8] Energy management system application program interface (EMS-API) - as a visiting researcher.
Part 552-4: CIM XML Model Exchange Format”, IEC, Draft She joined BEW Engineering (now DNV KEMA) as a Power Systems
[9] “Application integration at electric utilities - System interfaces for Engineer in March 2009 and held the position of Senior Engineer in the
distribution management - Part 13: CIM RDF Model exchange format Transmission and Distribution team where she led distribution modeling and
for distribution”, IEC, Edition 1.0, June 2008 analysis and high renewable penetration studies for California Solar Initiative
[10] D. Crockford, “The application/json Media Type for JavaScript Object Studies. Dr. Stewart joined Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories in 2013,
Notation (JSON)”, RFC 4627, July 2006, and is currently engaged in distribution measurement and analysis techniques
http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4627 for smart grid applications.

IX. BIOGRAPHIES

Alan McMorran (M ’02) received the B.Eng. in Computer & Electronic

System and a Ph.D. in Electronic & Electrical Engineering from the
University of Strathclyde in 2002 and 2006 respectively. His research and
development work has focused on model-driven architectures for data
management, visualization and transformation and related technologies.
Alan is currently a Director at Open Grid Systems Ltd. and the UK
Principal Expert on three IEC working groups (13,14 & 19) under Technical
Committee 57 and since 2006 he has participated in the development of
international standards for information modeling, data exchange and systems
integration for both distribution and transmission systems. His work has
included collaborative research projects with EDF R&D, National Grid UK,
Scottish Power and Areva T&D.

Susan Rudd (M ’11) received the BSc. (Hons) and Ph.D. degrees from the
University of Strathclyde in 2004 and 2010 respectively. She is currently
working as a Senior Design Engineer at Open Grid Systems Ltd. in the area of
mobile applications and enterprise data management.
Susan is the lead architect and developer of Open Grid Systems’ mobile
visualization and data management platform. Her research interests include
Knowledge Engineering, Intelligent System Applications in Power
Engineering and Condition Monitoring.

Corinne Shand (S ’11) received the M.Eng in Electrical Energy Systems

from the University of Strathclyde in 2013. She is currently a Research
Engineer at Open Grid Systems Ltd. and is undertaking an Industrial Ph.D at