In this post, various uses of remote technology will be reviewed.  This is the second of 5 posts on improving operations and maintenance with remote optimization.  The final post will contain a link to the complete article. 

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Remote technical support

Typically, once a new system is installed, the customer will want to fine-tune performance by reconfiguring various system and process settings. Later, he may request support in troubleshooting problems. Service engineers usually need to return to the site for these tasks. The traditional way of handling these has many disadvantages: Symptoms are often forgotten; data is sometimes collected only after an issue has occurred; and data collection can be delayed while waiting for an engineer to arrive, especially when the site is distant. With remote services, however:

− Data collection and analysis begin immediately.
− Experts are brought closer to the problems (and the solutions).
− Technical collaboration shortens time-to-resolution.
− Solutions can be deployed via remote connections.

 In addition, more advanced remote services can be offered to complement the above. These include periodic life-cycle reports and health checks; 24/7 priority support with one-hour response times; support via customer-controlled remote connectivity; and consolidated reporting on support activities across a fleet. And, if customers so desire, they can request a designated support engineer – a “familiar face.”

 Remote FAT and training simulators

The traditional factory acceptance test (FAT) involves a customer team traveling to the factory or to a site. FATs involve high travel costs, schedule slip (if issues are discovered late on) and, because usually only limited resources are sent to a factory-based FAT, a lack of “eyes.” Remote services, however, enable the customer to access and review ongoing projects that are in the FAT phase via a dedicated and secure website. This brings many benefits:

− It is cost effective (no travel required).
− Delivery schedules are shortened by early participation.
− The FAT can be adapted to the customer schedule.
− Additional stakeholder reviews are easily possible.
− Ambiguity that may result in costly changes is eliminated.
− Approval waiting time is reduced and the need for an on-site FAT may be eliminated.
− Communication between project participants is improved and costly errors caused by late, inconsistent or misinterpreted data is avoided.

 In addition, the customer has the option of using remote training simulators located at the factory instead of having to purchase and maintain them himself.

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Next week we will cover security and remote access.  Do you see this as an issue? 

Here are a few words from my colleague Alicia DuBay who has just returned from the spring meeting of the Center for Operator Performance (COP).

I have not been very deeply involved with the COP for the last few years due to a new job assignment.  However, it was fantastic to get back in touch, not only with the people, but with all of the existing and new research projects that we are funding.

Since I last attended a COP meeting, there have been quite a few new projects started or continued with additional phases.  These projects include a continuation of Event Prediction, Effectiveness of various Training Methods for process operators, Data to Information Handbook, Alarm Formatting and Presentation and perhaps most exciting - an update on our Overview Displays project.

While all of these projects are valuable and the research is providing some terrific insights into expertise, how operators learn and some guidance on grouping and visualizing data, the Overview Displays project is the one I am currently obsessed with.  This project is member run and is focused on taking some of the results from our completed research, combining that with member experience and developing a set of “best practices” for creating a plant overview display for use by operators in a control room.  

Of course such displays exist today, but little exists in the way of defining the best way to aggregate and display the necessary data.  We are currently part way through creating the best practices from the results of our research and from reviewing existing graphical displays to distill common mistakes and areas for improvement.  Once these guidelines are in place, a new Overview graphic will be implemented at one of our member company’s facilities. 

Once the operators become familiar with the new display, additional research testing will be done to measure the improvement in operator performance based on criteria like how long it takes to find critical information or reaction time to a critical alarm.  This project will provide a real world example of how to apply this research and will be supported by metrics quantifying the improvement in performance.  I can hardly wait to see the results.  I hope to have additional information to share after our fall meeting.

You can find additional information on the Center for Operator Performance at www.operatorperformance.org.  Check it out.  We are accepting new members.  As always, member or not, we would love to hear your thoughts on our Overview Display project.

This month we have a great article on remote optimization from our remote experts in Baden, Switzerland.  They will take a closer look at how to improve operations and maintenance utilizing remote optimization techniques.  Here is the first of five installments.  I hope you enjoy them.

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Early diagnosis of equipment problems and optimization of maintenance and operations are elements that are essential for efficient operation of plants in the power and water industries.

Plant managers are expected to maximize output while keeping costs at a minimum. Some may be tempted to sacrifice maintenance expenditures for an immediate improvement in profitability, but this strategy can adversely affect longer-term profitability: Spending less on maintenance degrades equipment, which leads to poorer performance and, ultimately, to reduced productivity and product quality. The inverse strategy yields the inverse result: increased production and improved quality. A purely reactive approach to service should be replaced by one that properly balances reactive and proactive behavior.

Stepwise optimization process

Companies in the power and water industries increasingly expect remote services that supplement internal and contractor on-site support and improve the effectiveness of their operation and maintenance programs. Remote services provide expertise to the customer in a cost-effective and efficient way. Having these services available 24/7 is very beneficial to customers who are facing the dual challenge of a lack of expertise and rapidly advancing technology.

Remote service involves a three-step optimization process. It usually begins with experts visiting the customer site to become familiar with the plant and the unique characteristics of the process. Data is collected so that an initial assessment can be performed and process problems identified. Then a root cause analysis is carried out and recommendations for corrective actions are made to the customer. Once the improvement recommendations have been implemented, subsequent periodic audits are performed to make certain that the desired results have been achieved and to ensure continuous improvement. Data for subsequent assessments is gathered automatically by data collection tools or with the assistance of field service personnel. Experts remotely analyze the data and provide status reports containing additional corrective action recommendations that will sustain the process improvements achieved and enable future improvements to be made.

This process can be summarized as follows:

– Diagnose: Identify existing system reliability issues.
− Implement: Deliver identified improvement services.
− Sustain: Manage and continue the improvement process.

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The next installment will explore the uses of remote for technical support, FAT and training, so check back soon for more.  Please let us know what you think and share your experiences on this topic.