Direct Measurement Processing

Direct Measurement Processing is a method of processing incoming initial measurement data designed to reduce the volume of initial measurement records in the database. Rather than create and update initial measurement data records, Direct Measurement Processing processes initial measurement data in memory and creates final measurements in the Measurement (D1_​MSRMT) table. With Direct Measurement Processing, records in the Initial Measurement Data (D1_​INIT_​MSRMT_​DATA) table are created only if an error is encountered during processing (including VEE processing). If using Measuring Component Ordering (see below), Direct Measurement Processing also creates temporary staging records (in the IMD Control Staging (D1_​IMD_​CTRL_​STAGE) table).

Note: Direct Measurement Processing is available with Native Implementations only, and only for processing Initial Load measurements. It cannot be used for Manual or Estimation measurements.

IMD Types

IMD Types are configuration records used to define how initial measurements are processed using Direct Measurement Processing. There are two main categories of IMD types - seeder types (based on the Seeder IMD Type (D1-IMDSeederType) business object) and specific types (based on the Specific IMD Type (D1-IMDType) business object).

  • Seeder IMD types represents an initial measurement data (IMD) seeder, which serves as the universal input into the system for external callers or for initial measurement payload processing. The main purpose of the seeder IMD type is to determine the most appropriate specific IMD type (such as interval or scalar, or a type used with a particular Smart Grid Gateway adapter) to use for further processing and prepare the input data for that IMD type. Additionally, a seeder IMD type is used to perform critical validation (such as an interval count validation), device and channel identification, mapping of external values (such as Unit of Measure and time zone) to internal values, and time zone conversion for date/time fields.
    Note: There can only be on seeder IMD type active at any one time.
  • Specific IMD types define the rules for processing a specific initial measurement data (IMD) record. Different specific IMD types contain rules for processing the different types of initial measurement data that can be received. For example, one IMD type defines the rules for processing a scalar measurement from the Landys+Gyr head end system while another IMD Type instance defines the rules for processing an interval initial measurement from the Sensus head end system. There are four types of algorithms supported for specific IMD types: Pre Processing, Pre-VEE, VEE, and Post-VEE. These algorithms are responsible for validating that the measurement has been correctly mapped to the IMD Type (Pre Processing), calculating consumption (Pre-VEE), performing VEE (VEE), writing to the final measurement table (Post-VEE), among other responsibilities.

IMD Types are defined for specific measuring component types in the "Initial Measurement Creation" processing method (“How to Create MC Related Information”) for each head end system. See Creating Head End Systems in the Administrative User Guide for more information about processing methods.

See Understanding IMD Types in the Administrative User Guide for more information.

VEE Processing and Exceptions with Direct Measurement Processing

When using Direct Measurement Processing, VEE is performed by the Direct Measurement Processing Service based on algorithms defined for the initial measurement's IMD Type.

  • If any quantities are changed during VEE processing, original (Pre VEE) quantities are captured along with the final (Post VEE) quantities in the Measurement (D1_​MSRMT) table.
  • If an initial measurement fails a VEE rule with only exceptions with a Severity of "Information", a header record is created in the Initial Measurement Data (D1_​INIT_​MSRMT_​DATA) table. This header serves as a parent record for the VEE exception(s). In this case, final measurements are created as part of the process.
  • If an initial measurement returns an error during Pre-VEE processing or fails a VEE rule with a Severity of "Issues" or "Terminate", a record is created in the Initial Measurement Data (D1_​INIT_​MSRMT_​DATA) table for the initial measurement, and further processing is done using Legacy Measurement Processing. The type of initial measurement data record created is based the configuration of the IMD type.

The table below summarizes how VEE exceptions are created and and whether final measurements are created when using Direct Measurement Processing.

Scenario Initial Measurement Data (D1_​INIT_​MSRMT_​DATA) Record VEE Exceptions Created Final Measurements Created
No exceptions No No Yes
Error in Pre VEE algorithms Yes, based on the IMD Business Object defined on the IMD Type (such as D1-InitialLoadIMDInterval) No No
"Information" and "Issue" or "Terminate" VEE Exceptions Yes, based on the IMD Business Object defined on the IMD Type (such as D1-InitialLoadIMDInterval) Yes No
"Issue" or "Terminate" VEE Exceptions Yes, based on the IMD Business Object defined on the IMD Type (such as D1-InitialLoadIMDInterval) Yes No
Only "Information" VEE exceptions Yes, Informational Exception Header (D1-InfoExceptionHeader) Yes Yes

Enabling Direct Measurement Processing

To enable Direct Measurement Processing, do the following:

  1. Enable the Use IMD Type option on your SGG Payload Processing Configuration extendable lookup values. See Configuring Direct Measurement Processing and Creating SGG Payload Processing Extendable Lookup Values in the Administrative User Guide for more information.
  2. Update the "Initial Measurement Creation" processing method (“How to Create MC Related Information”) to specify the IMD Types to use for your measuring component types for each head end system. See Configuring Direct Measurement Processing and Creating Head End Systems in the Administrative User Guide for more information.