Bus transfer schemes have long been utilized in the power system industry as a means of supplying system loads with a consistent and reliable source of power. They assist in the switch to alternative sources of power supply in the case of maintenance or failures. The design of such schemes has undergone significant transformation from discrete electromechanical relays to microprocessor-based relays with sophisticated communication capabilities. IEC 61850 is a substation automation standard for the communication between devices in a substation. IEC 61850 makes it possible to integrate intelligent electronic devices on an Ethernet-based peer-to-peer communication network, eliminating the traditional hardwiring between relays. This paper discusses the development of an IEC 61850-based parallel bus transfer scheme for an industrial plant using a complete system design approach. The development of a bus transfer scheme control logic is reported for the first time in this paper, a key attribute of this paper against previously published works in the literature.