What is Asset Performance Management ?
Asset performance management, or APM, combines the work management capabilities of computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) software with condition monitoring sensors to improve asset reliability and availability. Collecting asset health and performance data and analyzing it with software can help prevent failures and unplanned downtime, and ultimately the useful life of your assets.
APM software explicitly focuses on helping organizations achieve operational excellence by leveraging real-time data and insights to get the most out of every asset across their facilities and remote job sites. Furthermore, APM specifically focuses on the actions and activities that maximize asset availability and uptime.
Why is this approach so important for oil and gas companies?
Asset Performance Management and Predictive Maintenance
Fundamental to APM software is predictive maintenance. Predictive maintenance refers to the use of condition monitoring sensors and software to detect maintenance concerns early so that they can be resolved before they lead to failure and unplanned downtime.
Condition monitoring (CM) detects the condition of assets, including changes in vibration, temperature, and more to pinpoint any unusual activity. CM sensors enable facilities to intelligently schedule cleaning and repairs when and where they’re needed on all of your rotating equipment across multiple facilities and remote job sites. By combining this asset health data with maintenance software, APM gives the data context to help organizations mitigate the risks and prevent unplanned downtime.
How to Evaluate Asset Performance
To evaluate asset performance, start by with identifying your top 20% of assets that are most critical to meeting your production targets. By starting small with a pilot program of key assets, you can demonstrate results quickly and gain buy-in for a more comprehensive IIoT deployment.
For this first set of assets, install condition monitoring sensors that will continuously measure asset vital signs like vibration, sound, temperature, and power. Once installed, these sensors will generate a wealth of data about how your equipment is performing–and any indicators of potential problems.
However, just having this data isn’t enough. You also need to be able to extract actionable insights from this data, something that would be virtually impossible to do manually. By integrating condition monitoring sensors with your CMMS software, you can quickly analyze, visualize, and act on critical machine data in real time, as well as track patterns and continuously optimize maintenance procedures over time.
Benefits of Asset Performance Management for Oil and Gas
With everything that goes into energy operations, effectively managing maintenance is challenging and time-consuming without the right tools in place. An effective oil and gas APM helps keep operations running safely and reliably, with increased uptime, reduced maintenance costs, and no unplanned maintenance. Asset Performance Management software turns data into insights, making it easier for oil and gas maintenance teams to make smart decisions and take the right actions at the right times.
1. Maximize Equipment Uptime
By continuously monitoring equipment for health and performance indicators, you can increase asset availability and reliability by preventing maintenance issues that can lead to unexpected downtime. This improves productivity–and directly impacts your bottom line.
2. Reduce Maintenance Costs
Actionable machine health data means you don’t have to spend time and costs inspecting and servicing machines unnecessarily. Instead, your maintenance teams can focus their time and effort repairing equipment exactly when and where it’s needed. This is especially valuable in the oil and gas industry with many distributed sites in remote areas. Remote monitoring allows you to keep a pulse on your equipment from anywhere, without the costs of sending a technician.
3. Reduce Safety Hazards and Risks
Oil and gas safety is a crucial consideration for the industry. With sensors installed directly on the machines, technicians spend less time in difficult to access and potentially dangerous locations, mitigating the risks associated with servicing such equipment.
4. Respond in Real-Time
APM enables you to respond to problems in real-time. Routine, time-based inspections only capture a moment in time, and a lot can happen between service visits. With real-time monitoring and insights, you can make adjustments and determine repair requirements when and where they are most needed.
5. Prepare for Future Challenges
Making the most of asset performance means reducing the costs and risks at all stages of an asset’s lifecycle, from design to decommissioning. APM helps teams use real-time knowledge to not just tackle today’s challenges, but to look ahead and prepare to handle tomorrow’s.
Conclusion
Maintenance technology is evolving at a rapid pace, giving organizations a competitive advantage to propel their business forward. APM software helps you leverage world-class computational power and smart sensing capabilities to drive effective maintenance programs.