Automated Tool for SAS Configuration Error Detection

This paper presents a deterministic verification method that compares engineering exports

(Excel) from SAS configuration software against a proven standard reference database. The exported Excel files include, for each IEC 61850 signal: the logical node/data object reference,

HMI text, alarm/event handling, high/low state labels, and the mapped IEC 104 Information

Object Address (IOA); a separate sheet lists RCC display texts for each IOA. The methodology consolidates these sheets into a normalized project database and performs a field-by-field comparison with the standardized baseline that has passed FAT, SAT, and operational validation. Differences are automatically highlighted for reviewer decision – either accepted as project-specific or corrected as errors – enabling rapid re-validation without hardware or relay simulation. A case study of this error detection method in comparison to other configuration validation method from various substation demonstrates substantial savings: configuration review time reduced from multiple engineer-days to less than one hour, while achieving complete coverage of signals across hundreds to tens of thousands of points. The paper details the implemented workflow, discusses scalability, and outlines limitations. By aligning checks with IEC 61850 data modelling and MMS reporting practices and with IEC 104 mapping conventions, the provision of getting standard baseline as a reference from the tool, the approach improves quality assurance before FAT/SAT and supports knowledge management.

The method presented is intended as a pre‑FAT and pre‑SAT configuration quality‑assurance step, complementing dynamic functional testing as being done in other validation methods.