Improving Equipment Performance with Predictive Diagnostic Software

It’s no news that solutions for monitoring and providing early warning of equipment failure in assets such as power plants and petrochemical refineries can save these capital intensive industries millions of dollars annually in avoided lost production, unplanned maintenance expense and regulatory & environmental penalties.

A good example of this in action is the GE Intelligent Platforms’ Proficy SmartSignal story at the power generation company TransAlta. At TransAlta, the use of predictive-analytic software has paid for itself within nine months of deployment at its Sundance power plant by improving plant availability to its highest level in history and avoiding many major problems, including scoring of a boiler feed pump shaft and replacement of a 6000-horsepower motor. You can read the TransAlta story here.

Our partner GE Intelligent Platforms made the news again this week with the announcement that Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) is expanding its use of Proficy SmartSignal software and services. SSE chose Proficy SmartSignal, which is based on the Microsoft platform including the SQL Server database, in the spring of 2010 to protect its entire large thermal fleet. With this new agreement, SSE will expand the solution beyond its thermal fleet to wind farms and gas storage. You can read the full SSE GEIP story here.

SSE is to be commended for having the vision and leadership to implement the best predictive-diagnostic monitoring software solution across their power assets to improve equipment performance and deliver value to both customers and shareholders. – Jon C. Arnold