Burns & McDonnell, a full-service engineering, architecture, construction, environmental and consulting services firm, has expanded and updated its Smart Grid Laboratory. It recently moved into a bigger research & development center equipped with more than $1 million in state-of-the-art diagnostics and testing tools.

The new set-up, which is located in a 600-square-foot area inside the Burns & McDonnell World Headquarters, was officially opened on January 27 and will be open and available for the exclusive use of Burns & McDonnell’s clients and employee-owners.

The lab will have the latest technologies that clients can use to upgrade the power grid. Some of these technologies include   IEC (News - Alert) 61850 - GOOSE, MMS, and sampled values messaging for both control and process bus implementations; DNP 3.0; protective relaying over packet networks, network technologies including SONET, Ethernet, IP, and MPLS; fiber and wireless communications technologies; Substation automation logic controllers; SCADA remote terminals; data concentrators; fault recorders; metering equipment measuring power quality and harmonics; and GPS and IEEE (News - Alert) 1588 timesynchronization.

The advanced technologies in the lab will help automate distribution systems and help engineers at Burns & McDonnell collaborate with clients to understand and test solutions during design and installation.

The smart grid lab, which was established in 2007, was open to select clients for testing software interoperability, and communication between equipment for the preparation of smart grid project deployment.

In November 2011, Burns & McDonnell implemented Motion’s F5v Tablet PCs mobility solution for increased time savings, productivity and efficiency at the point of service.