According to a report by Gartner called, Market Guide for Asset Performance Management, by 2018 almost 50% of asset-intensive organizations will rely on Asset Performance Management to optimize the utilization of their critical assets. Over the past few years, there has been widespread adoption of big data and predictive analytics in asset intensive industrial sectors. The adoption of new technology has been primarily to streamline operations, save costs, and evolve from predictive to preventive maintenance. Some incidents such as the Virginia Coal Mine explosion, the oil spill that took place in the Gulf of Mexico etc. are just a few examples of the importance of maintenance of assets not just to improve the bottom line but also to ensure that overall safety is not jeopardized at any time and at any cost. To implement this Asset Performance Management takes center stage.
Asset Performance Management or APM ensures that the right information reaches the right decision makers at the right time which warrants better business viability, greater operational excellence, zero tolerance towards safety incidents, optimized maintenance processes and improved bottom line performance. As manufacturing companies move closer to adopting Industry 4.0, APM becomes an increasingly more important driver of operational and business success.
Keeping in mind the importance of asset reliability and performance, Oracle recently introduced a New Asset Performance Management (APM) Solution in the Cloud. This offering helps utility companies navigate challenges related to asset reliability by finding asset faults faster and helps them move towards preventive maintenance with the help of APM and advanced analytics. As utility industries are moving increasingly towards Distributed Energy Resources, asset management and asset reliability have become complex challenges. Adding to the complexity are the fact that applications such as asset tracking, work order management, mobile scheduling, advanced analytics, operational reporting etc. work in silos. However, in order to perform optimally, these applications need integration with the IT infrastructure so that they can react quickly and scale easily when needed.
Kevin Prouty, vice president, IDC Energy Insights states, “Predictive analytics are changing the game for utility asset maintenance. Extending the life of utility assets can avoid expensive capital projects and lower maintenance costs.” He further goes on to say that “With the explosion of IoT devices and data around the corner, scalability of these systems will require IT infrastructure that can react and scale quickly. This makes utility asset maintenance applications even more prime for deployment in the cloud.” In order to meet these demand, Oracle’s APM solution takes a comprehensive approach towards asset management which helps utility companies reduce the risks of asset failures by leveraging out-of-the-box advanced analytics by Oracle Utilities Work and Asset Management Cloud Service. With the help of these two services, utility companies gain the advantage of getting detailed analytics and clear insights into asset age, performance, and health. The cloud infrastructure also gives utility companies reduce the total cost of ownership. Some of the benefits of this new service offering from Oracle are as follows:
- Ease of operationalizing insights by optimizing maintenance and work schedules in real time
- Analytics integration into existing work order management for performance optimization of assets
- Optimized repair and maintenance schedules
- Reduced risk of asset failures with the help of deep analytics that support the ‘repair-versus-replace’ decisions
- Improved investment planning by detecting patterns of asset failure using predefined dashboards
- Identification of key resource and software bottlenecks for rapid troubleshooting
- Elimination of maintenance of older systems and, hence, reduced cost of ownership
- Flexibility to scale faster as new assets get added by using the most current IT infrastructure in the cloud
- Ease of downtime management and optimized resource utilization using advanced analytics
- Increased value of asset operations by optimizing asset reliability programs such as ISO 55000
A survey conducted by the Aberdeen Group shows that more than half the total survey respondents view asset management as a high-level strategic function. Forward-thinking utility companies are thus viewing Asset Performance Management as a strategic business driver that adds value to the company’s bottom line and not just as a cost center.
Oracle’s APM solution can be easily integrated into a company’s existing environment, is easy to use and helps utility companies take a comprehensive approach towards APM and helps them extend the life of their existing assets.