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news4all | 2017 June 08, 2017



Dear readers,

This year, OMS-Group is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The first working groups of the Open Metering System Group were launched in 2007. In May 2007, the OMS community started to develop specifications for smart energy devices that can process metering data for all energy segments and also establish the direct connection to building automation. Now the first OMS smart metering devices are being certified according to the patent-free, manufacturer-independent, secure and interoperable OMS specification. Thank you to all our members for the excellent collaboration! We are looking forward to many more years of cooperation to provide a secure and future-proof metering system for the energy transition.

Best regards,
Charles van Dyck
Head of the OMS Working Group Marketing
New members

OMS-Group is happy to welcome three new members: Sinapsi Srl, KeepFocus A/S and EAD Systeme GmbH

KeepFocus A/S is a software company with headquarters in Silkeborg, Denmark, specialized in developing solutions in the field of green technology and digitalization. The company has many years of experience in distribution accounting, energy management, operational management, monitoring, remote management, visualization, warning systems, billing and energy tax management. KeepFocus relies on OMS to provide digital infrastructures to private and public housing associations and real estate companies.


Sinapsi Srl is expert in smart metering and photovoltaic systems monitoring. Sinapsi produces a complete, scalable, open, integrated and easy to install solution for smart metering both as OEM manufacturer and with its own brand all over Europe. The company with headquarters in Bastia Umbra, Italy, was founded in 2004 and soon began to develop their own software and hardware technology. Field devices, communication connectors and IoT Cloud platforms are results of Sinapsi R&D. Sinapsi is also expert in Building Automation Systems, KNX member since 2010 and a member of KNX Italia Group since 2005. Sinapsi develops KNX devices, customized BMS supervisors and offers training on all of its products and solutions.


EAD Energieabrechnungs-Systeme GmbH is successfully developing software and know-how for meter reading and billing companies for more than 25 years. EAD, with headquarters in Stephanskirchen, Germany, offers its services to independent companies whose objective it is to produce legally secure heat cost allocation and billing with the EAD software products. Long-standing expertise of the team of software developers paired with the practical experience gained by close cooperation with billing companies contribute to the excellent quality of their software products. The 20-person team consists of computer scientists and qualified IT specialists for software development, and for support and assistance of specialists for heat cost allocation with longstanding practical experience in billing companies.
OMS Conformity and Certification

Many devices that are conform to the OMS specification are available on the market by now. However, “OMS conformity” is not the same as “OMS-certified”. Only OMS-certified devices ensure that they are interoperable and comply with the strict data security and access protection requirements OMS-Group has taken into account. “OMS-certified” means that the product has passed compliance tests with confirmation of the independent certification body DVGW-Cert. These devices receive the OMS label that confirms that customers can fully rely on the interoperability and data security of the product. Furthermore, the manufacturers of certified devices are granted the right to have the devices listed in the catalogue of OMS certified products at the OMS website.

ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, distinguishes three different attestations of conformity: first-party, second-party and third-party claims of conformity. Third-party statements of conformity are defined as certification. They include independent and impartial testing laboratories, inspection bodies or certification bodies. Whereas a “first-party” claim of conformity means that a manufacturer or supplier attests that the product conforms to specified requirements, which is why this kind of conformity assessment is called Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity (SDoC).

Manufacturers who want to certify their OMS products can download the application form on the OMS-Group website: go to the “download4all” page and scroll down to “Application form certification” (or on OMS-Group’s German pages: “Antrag zur Zertifizierung – Formular”).

OMS-Group Board Meeting

The OMS-Group Executive Board meeting, held in Cologne on March 27, 2017, had several highly interesting topics on its agenda.
Here is a summary by Dr. Werner Domschke, Spokesman and Secretary of OMS-Group e.V.

Certification
DVGW Cert is currently certifying unidirectional OMS Generation 4 devices. From now on, the generation number will be explicitly specified on the certificate, since OMS Generation 3 devices are currently also being sold.

The Testing Norm Working Group is looking into testing instructions for bidirectional OMS devices. The certification body DVGW Cert will also have to revise its test regulations to be able to test these devices.

IDIS
The Taskforce “Use Cases”, formed by IDIS Association (Interoperable Device Interface Specifications Industry Association) and OMS-Group, presented its first results. The further development of Generation 4 of the OMS specification will be discussed on the basis of these elaborations.

OMS Website Relaunch
The OMS website will get a new look. MarDirect was assigned to overhaul the design and the content of the OMS-Group website together with the Marketing Working Group. The new website will reorganize 80 publicly accessible pages, 80 pages for limited access and the digital rights management for different OMS bodies.

Market trends
The OMS Executive Board also discussed the latest market trends. It is remarkable that not only Europe has chosen the application of the OMS specification. Most OMS devices are sold in the Middle East and the Caribbean.
  • The Caribbean: The World Bank is financing the roll-out of OMS devices in the Caribbean.
  • Saudi Arabia: The groundwater of Saudi Arabia will probably be depleted within the next three years if no measures are put in place. The OMS-Group could offer a solution to the problem.
  • South America: Many water-related activities can be observed. In Santiago de Chile and Bogota, OMS meters have been integrated into the mobile radio system.
In this context it should also be mentioned that in May 2017, the German Federal Cartel Office came to the following conclusion in the recommendations section of its sector report on submetering: “From an economic perspective, the use of proprietary metering systems should be seen critically […] The Federal Cartel Office is therefore in favor of supporting the interoperability of meters.” This is definitely a plus for OMS!

trennlinie

Events 2017

Members of the OMS-Group are presenting their products and services at many different industry meetings.

Here are just some of the events at which you can meet the companies behind OMS-Group.

  • metering days 2017: September 19–20, Fulda, Germany
  • European Utility Week 2017: October 3–5, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • 11th M2M Summit: October 10–11, Düsseldorf, Germany
  • OMS-Group General Meeting: November 23, Bonn, Germany




OMS-Group Newsletter

OMS-Group e. V. I c/o figawa | Marienburger Str. 15 | 50968 Cologne | Germany
+49 231 395798-02 | office@oms-group.eu | www.oms-group.org
Editor | weber@mardirect.de

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