Integrated asset management data platform

Part 2 of this four-part series discusses the complex tasks energy utilities face as they transition to holistic grid asset management to manage through the energy transition. The first post in this series addressed the challenges of energy transition through holistic grid asset management. This part discusses integrated asset management platforms and data exchange that integrate business disciplines from different domains into one network.

Asset Management Ecosystem

Asset management networks are complex. No single system can manage all the views of information required to enable end-to-end optimization. The following figure shows how the platform approach integrates data flows.

Asset data is the foundation of the network. Enterprise asset management (EAM) systems, geographic information systems, and enterprise resource planning systems share technical, geographic, and financial asset data along with their respective primary data responsibilities. The EAM system is central to maintenance planning and execution through work orders. Maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) systems provide the spare parts needed to get the job done and maintain optimal inventory levels while balancing the risk of out-of-stock and the cost of holding parts.

Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) systems manage permits to work and track and investigate accidents to ensure safe work is carried out. Process Safety Management (PSM) systems control hazardous operations through safety practices, define and monitor hazard barriers using bowtie analysis, and manage safety and environmental critical elements (SECE) to prevent primary containment losses. . Monitoring energy efficiency and greenhouse gas or fugitive emissions directly contributes to environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, helping you manage and reduce your carbon emissions.

An asset performance management (APM) strategy defines the balance between proactive and reactive maintenance tasks. Asset criticality defines whether preventive or predictive actions are justified in terms of cost and risk. The process of establishing an optimal maintenance strategy is called reliability-centered maintenance. Verifying the mechanical integrity of hazardous process assets such as vessels, reactors or pipelines requires an in-depth approach to define optimal risk-based inspection intervals. For process safety devices, the safety instrumented systems approach determines the frequency of testing for alarm functions and the level of safety integrity.

Asset Data APM collects real-time process data. Asset condition monitoring and predictive maintenance functions receive data through distributed control systems or supervisory control and data acquisition systems (SCADA). Asset health monitoring defines an asset health index that ranks asset health based on deterioration models, faults, overdue preventative actions, and other relevant parameters that reflect asset health. Predictive capabilities build predictive models that predict imminent failure and calculate the remaining life of an asset. These models often incorporate machine learning and AI algorithms to detect the onset of performance degradation mechanisms at an early stage.

In the area of ​​Asset Performance Management and Optimization (APMO), teams collect and prioritize asset requirements resulting from asset strategies based on asset criticality. Optimize maintenance and replacement plans based on available budget and resource capacity constraints. This method is useful in regulated industries such as energy transmission and distribution because it allows companies to stay within their allocated budgets over several years of arbitrage. Asset replacement requirements enter the Asset Investment Planning (AIP) process, where they are combined with new asset requests and expansion or upgrade projects. Market drivers, regulatory requirements, sustainability goals and resource constraints define the project portfolio and execution priorities. Project portfolio management capabilities manage the project management aspects of new build and replacement projects to ensure they stay on budget and on time. Product Lifecycle Management addresses the step-by-step engineering process to optimize asset design for the lowest total cost of ownership within the boundaries of all other stakeholders.

Industry standard data model

A unified data model is needed to provide a holistic view of the system coupled with information flowing throughout the ecosystem. Technical, financial, geographic, operational, and transactional data attributes are all part of the data structure. In the utility industry, a common information model provides a useful framework for integrating and orchestrating the ecosystem to create optimal business value.

Integrating different asset management disciplines into one provides a complete 360° view of your assets. This integration allows companies to target the full range of business objectives and track performance against each stakeholder goal throughout the lifecycle.

Read more about the IBM Data Model for Energy and Utilities.