The Top 5 Digital Technologies That Are Reshaping the Power Generation Sector

According to Gartner, “The traditional utility business model is entering a period of great uncertainty. Companies must prepare for rapid transformation, which makes understanding technology placement and maturity more important than ever.”

Five technologies are gaining momentum in the energy sector, as they are proven to drive plant efficiencies. When you leverage the following technologies, you will reduce your operational risks and costs while improving your safety, asset performance, and output.

1. Advanced Data Analytics

The amount of data that assets produce is multiplying exponentially. With so much data, plant managers struggle to find the metrics that will help them improve efficiencies and reduce maintenance costs.

Modern asset performance monitoring systems allow for data mining. They collect a continuous stream of data about your equipment, and you can use this information to better understand your asset health.

Look for a solution that:

• Supports unlimited data and can scale as you add new assets and locations.
• Integrates with your existing ERP and business systems. That way, you can track asset performance without the need for a standalone predictive maintenance program.
• Comes with intuitive mobile apps—putting up-to-the minute data at your fingertips.

2. Predictive Maintenance

Predictive maintenance (PdM) lets you monitor your fleet proactively and spot problems before they lead to costly failures.

However, traditional PdM technologies aren’t user-friendly and require support from IT experts and condition monitoring consultants. If you don’t have a PdM staff on site, you’ll need to hire a consultant to analyze your equipment. But by the time an expert visits your site and sends you a report, you can experience a major failure.

Luckily, modern technologies simplify PdM and make it accessible to power plant employees. Here’s how:

• Cloud-based PdM systems integrate all of your asset data into a single platform—uniting all of your locations to give you a single version of the truth.
• Plant employees can use intuitive mobile apps to monitor asset health and view historical trends that will help them predict future.
• Cloud-based predictive maintenance systems can be installed quickly and easily, sometimes within a day. You don’t need to block out a prolonged amount of time or shut down your critical assets for an installation.

3. Industrial Internet of Things

IIoT brings you the full value of the cloud.

When you install IIoT sensors on assets, you can gain real-time data about your fleet’s performance. Armed with this data, you can fix problems before they impact your operations.

IIoT helps you succeed in three key areas: maximizing performance, minimizing shutdowns, and ensuring compliance.

Here are four ways IIoT makes this possible:

• Improve asset reliability and performance. Real-time asset monitoring via IIoT allows you to see when assets need repairs or replacements—without requiring additional human resources or scheduled assessments.
• Protect all of your equipment. You can install IIoT sensors on all of your assets—not just the most critical ones. That way, you can spot problems that you wouldn’t normally see. Then, you can take proactive steps to minimize your risks before they cost you millions in unplanned downtime and lost production
• Save money. You can quickly recoup your IIoT investment by reducing your spending on monitoring, repairing, and replacing critical assets. IIoT also improves your efficiencies so that you can boost production without increasing your operating costs.
• Drive revenue. Companies that succeed with digital transformation can raise their margins by as much as 16 percent over the industry average. IIoT helps you maximize your margins by preventing downtime and the high costs that come with it.

4. Cloud Computing

A few years ago, the energy sector looked at cloud technology with skepticism.

Now, 71 percent of utility companies use cloud-enabled systems—up from 45 percent just three years ago. Meanwhile, a growing number of plants will not purchase technology unless it is cloud-based, as they don’t want to invest in the IT infrastructure and resources needed to support on-premises solutions.

Cloud technologies offer the following advantages:

• Faster implementations and updates. You can roll out cloud-based asset performance monitoring systems quickly and easily, sometimes within days. You also don’t need to shut down critical assets for installation or updates.
• Rapid adoption. Cloud solutions run from smartphones and tablets. Since their app-like interfaces are simpler to use, you can get up and running with minimal training. They make it easier for personnel across your company—from operators to managers to executives—to view key metrics and gain a real-time view of your operations.
• Enhanced data security. Your data is often more secure in the cloud than it is on premises, as it is removed from the threat of physical damage due to fire, flood, or other unforeseen circumstances. However, many power plants are hesitant to move their critical data to the public cloud, as they fear data leaks and breaches.
• Minimize your risks by choosing an asset performance monitoring solution that runs on private cloud infrastructure housed within top-tier data centers. These solutions offer higher levels of physical and cyber security than many public cloud platforms, without compromising your agility.
• The elimination of hidden costs. Look for a cloud vendor that offers 24/7 customer service and IT support, eliminating the hidden costs of consultants, training, and staffing. These providers will also maintain your cloud infrastructure, liberating you from the recurring costs of upgrades and repairs.

5. Mobile Technology

Most asset performance monitoring tools are built for office and desktop usage.

But plant employees can’t always access desktops. They also may not have reliable Wi-Fi when they work in the field.

Fortunately, new solutions come with apps that allow operators, maintenance crews, and field workers to capture real-time asset data on their mobile devices. If employees are working in a remote location, their data will sync as soon as they have an internet connection.

With asset performance monitoring apps, you can:

• Log into your dashboard at any time to gain real-time insights into asset performance.
• Eliminate data silos. Monitor your entire fleet from a central platform that’s accessible from any smartphone or tablet.
• Receive alerts when a parameter falls outside of its normal range and take proactive steps to solve problems weeks—or even months—before they cause a major failure.
• Automate the delivery of work orders to your maintenance team.
• Move from costly reactive maintenance to a predictive model that saves you money.
• Elevate operator performance by giving them mobile apps that make it easier for them to perform rounds.

Now is the time to transform your plants’ operations using digital technology. Deploying these five technologies will give you a massive advantage.

When used in combination, they provide new levels of insight into your asset performance. Armed with these insights, you can improve plant efficiencies, equipment reliability, and workforce productivity. Ultimately, this helps you lower your operations costs while driving revenue.

But to achieve these benefits, you need an asset performance monitoring solution that brings you the full power of these technologies—while making life easier for your plant’s employees.

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