Implementing enterprise asset management solutions
Mark G. Damm, CMC
KnowledgeTech Solutions Inc. 400 - 601 West Broadway
Vancouver, British Columbia Canada V5Z 4C2
Office: (604) 675-6973
Mobile: (604) 218-0304
E-Mail: MDAMM@KnowledgeTechSolutions.com
David E. Mulder
PREPA AIRe Program Manager
Intergraph Utilities
Introduction
A typical utility company has hundreds of thousands of assets including vehicles, pumps and
facilities. The investment in these physical plants easily exceeds a billion dollars for a private or
public utility. Difficult to quantify but just as valuable is the investment in the people and the
supporting technology to build, maintain and operate these assets effectively and efficiently.
Companies with this large physical plant are being challenged with the implementation of
information technology to maximize the returns on their physical plant investments. To meet this
implementation challenge, an Enterprise Asset Management Solution is required.
Business Drivers for an Enterprise Asset Management Solution
From a business perspective, companies especially in the utility sector are being challenged to do
more with less. For example, in the electric utility market deregulation is forcing companies to
ensure that assets are being operated in the most efficient manner to keep rates down.
Fundamentally, three main business drivers exist. They are:
- Maximize the return on capital invested,
- Manage the overall asset life cycle cost, and
- Maintain a shareable asset knowledge base.
Maximize the return on capital invested
Both the private and public sectors need to eliminate premature asset replacement and the
obsolescence of their asset investments. For example, the cost of replacing a new pump in a
pipeline is more expensive in the long term than performing the required maintenance.
Manage the overall asset life cycle cost
As companies look to do more with less, they need to look at the overall impact of adding new
assets to their systems. To accomplish this, they must understand the full life cycle cost of an
asset. The life cycle costs of an asset can be divided into four stages:
- Asset planning: the costs associated with
planning for the construction and on-going improvement to the assets;
- Asset installation/improvement and replacement:
the costs associated with extending the life of an asset including the
initial installation;
- Asset maintenance: the costs associated with
maintaining the assets to ensure it fulfills its anticipated useful
life; and
- Asset operations: the costs associated with operating the asset, which usually forces asset maintenance.
Through understanding the overall life cycle cost of an asset, organizations are looking at longterm
asset management. Long-term asset management incorporates both preventive and predictive maintenance.
Maintain shareable asset knowledge base
Factors such as the aging work force and the volume of assets being managed are causing
challenges with maintaining a reusable asset knowledge base. For example, organizations want
to know the problems associated with assets and equipment: who are the best vendors and what
are the best work practices? The answers to these questions must be available anywhere,
anytime.
Technology Drivers for an Enterprise Asset Management Solution
From a technology perspective, nothing remains the same over a three-year window. Technology
is becoming increasingly complex while also becoming more standardized. For example,
hardware has become a commodity. Software is moving in the same direction.
Some of the key technology drivers include:
- Technology obsolescence. Old standalone legacy
systems are not supporting the business needs of the organization. New
technologies are available that not only automate processes but also
provide competitive advantage.
- Technology complexity. No longer will a PC with
a database suffice to support asset tracking. The networks, operating
systems, databases, middleware software and application software are all
separately becoming more robust. With robustness comes complexity. A
single software developer can no longer be an expert in all
technologies.
- Technology convergence. Soon you will be able
to manage your assets on your home TV. Digital media is changing the way
people and companies access their information.
- Internet and E-Business. Business relations continue to change. The Internet and the
underlying technology are fostering new types of business relationships.
