In our increasingly competitive power generation industry, survival depends on aggressive cost cutting and efficiencies gained through more effective business processes. Even at the highest levels of management there is an increased focus on the bottom-line impact of effective asset and MRO materials management. Next generation enterprise asset management systems that provide integrated support for asset maintenance, MRO supply chain planning, document management and workflow, and equipment optimization are becoming critical to gain an early competitive advantage in the emerging deregulated power generation market.

Although the power generation market is diverse and includes nuclear and fossil generating plants, hydroelectric dams, and cogeneration facilities, every power company shares common concerns including increased global competition and market expansion, changing environmental regulations, and increased environmental scrutiny. But the business issues are rapidly expanding to include things that utilities have never faced before. In the United States market, for example, deregulation will gradually allow customers, for the first time, to consider which supplier is the most reputable and offers the best package of services that meets their particular needs. Already, many major power producers started aggressive market branding and image campaigns to prepare for the coming competitive market. At the end of the day, despite these branding efforts, however, electricity is electricity and most of us will sign on with the low cost leader regardless of branding. As the free market takes hold, generation uptime will become an even bigger business driver. Becoming the low cost leader while providing continuous uptime and customer service is now the dominant business driver in the power generation market worldwide.

  As the free market takes hold, generation uptime will become an even bigger business driver.

Just as the utility market is becoming increasingly competitive, competition in the enterprise asset management software market is heating up as well. This is a major benefit to the power generation industry. The major suppliers including best-of-breed as well as ERP companies that offer plant maintenance as part of their product suites are competing to win key marquee utilities and gain new smaller accounts and sites. Best-of-breed providers are competing by offering specifically tailored best practice implementation services and by providing detailed enterprise functionality tailored to power generation.

Every power plant, regardless of size or scope, needs to implement an asset management system. The plant managers that think they can continue to compete in the current market with anything less than the most basic maintenance automation are setting themselves up for extinction. An effective asset management system manages the entire life cycle of securing, maintaining, and optimizing a utility's enterprise-wide assets. It should go beyond automated record keeping or reactive maintenance management. Instead of discretely managing resources for labor, material, tools, and documentation, a basic solution optimizes capacity and integrates plant processes. Emerging technology including cost effective connections with field-based mobile maintenance workers and integration between customer service and billing and the asset management systems also help utilities attain a competitive advantage.

Some plants are attempting to implement their second or third generation system, while other plants are not getting the full benefit from their current system because they have merely sped up an inefficient preventive maintenance program with latest desktop technology. This lack of complete success implementing an asset management software solution is not usually the fault of the end-users and shop floor personnel. Lack of complete success is likely attributable to a poor definition of what the system should do and a misunderstanding regarding what it takes to make the process and work methodology adjustments required to achieve a return-on-investment. Ultimately, those power producers that have merely sped up their old ways missed the opportunity to completely rethink and retool their maintenance function like many of their competitors are already doing. The false sense of security gained from using an old set of rules in a new software package can be dangerous in a market where the rules of the game are changing fast and only the strongest providers survive.
 

  The plant managers that think they can continue to compete in the current market with anything less than the most basic maintenance automation are setting themselves up for extinction.

What should an electric utility look for when shopping for an asset management solution? The vendor is just as important as the product itself. It should have experience in the utilities industry which lends to a familiarity with regulatory issues and provides valuable references and experiences against which to benchmark. The vendor should have alliances with other leading suppliers of complementary technology, market expertise and a commitment to customer service support.

Also, look for an asset maintenance software solution that allows for easy tailoring of the package to the needs of an individual user or group of users. Some packages provide a data dictionary that allows users to expand and customize fields, as well as change default values, error messages, field titles and so on. However, be wary of too much flexibility as you will need strong central control over who has access to what level of customization. Too much flexibility also ramps up training and upgrading costs substantially.

Client/server architecture changed the way businesses use information systems. In the past, companies relied on a single vendor to develop, manufacture, and support the software required to meet their needs. The trend toward open, network-based computing now lets you choose what applications and platforms you require to meet the needs of your utility. Instead of being everything to everybody, the vendor should focus on asset maintenance solutions and offer robust applications targeted at specific problems associated with your utility.

Another consideration is the network environment in which the asset maintenance software will run. The most advanced packages are ideal for Wide Area Network as well as Local Area Network environments--an important consideration as Wide Area Network architectures continue to displace local networks. With Wide Area Network compatibility, an asset maintenance solution easily manages relevant operations including remote locations and elements within your utility's corporate headquarters. This should be particularly important to companies that need to gather and manage information from geographically distributed locations. If your need is to write and store procedures from a central location, consider thin-client architecture. Implementing thin clients as opposed to high performance work stations and personal computers can significantly reduce hardware capital and maintenance costs.

  If your need is to write and store procedures from a central location, consider thin-client architecture.

Finally, although the software should be functionally rich, a good software system will be underutilized unless it's introduced into your operating environment through comprehensive implementation services and customer support programs. Your goal, as well as that of your vendor, should be to implement a solution that provides a significant, and documented, return on investment for your utility.

Just as the changing utility market dictates, to implement any of these strategies or tactics successfully the whole company must have a change in philosophy, culture, and methodology. Change must occur, not only within the maintenance function, but also in customer service and senior management. These other groups within a power company must accept that, more than ever, maintenance is at the very center of the battle for competitive advantage and low cost leadership. To remain competitive in the power generation market, maintenance cannot be viewed as a cost center. Power plant maintenance and operations managers must be viewed as keepers of a profit center capable of tremendous return to stakeholders. Enterprise asset management software is tool to harness that return.