“Predictive-Diagnostics” Saved Space Shuttles From Disaster, Now It Helps Industrial Companies Save Billions

Project Management Software On Steroids

Chalk up another “win” for US investment in the space program which seems to be a gift that keeps on giving.

When NASA was seeking to monitor and detect faults in the space shuttle’s main engines, it developed “Model-Based Condition Monitoring” (MBCM) to improve “quality assurance.” NASA’s automated data collection and analysis systems provided 24×7 condition monitoring and warnings if faults in the main engines were forming. According to NASA, the system prevented disasters by providing “early warning” of impending failures and insights into equipment health.

Today, industrial companies of all kinds are adopting MBCM type systems to more proactively and accurately deal with technical issues while directly and positively influencing business outcomes.

Predictive Analytics Helps Avoid Shutdowns

General Electric (GE) and others now provide a full suite of services based on this technology. With GE’s “Proficy SmartSignal” or “Condition Monitoring Predictive Analytics” (CMPA) software, users monitor industrial operations, diagnose manufacturing, avoid unexpected shut-downs and “predict” problems before they occur.

Increasingly adopted by a wide range of manufacturers, MBCM detects equipment problems, avoids surprises, minimizes costs and increases productivity and reliability. Operators of heavy rotating equipment such as gas turbines, generators and compressors and producers of oil, gas and power now use “predictive analytics” to reduce the number of tests required during a production process, saving millions of dollars.

Statoil Adopts CMPA To Augment Existing Work Process Systems

Recently, Statoil, the largest oil & gas operator on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, with over 30 offshore platforms and onshore facilities for gas treatment, crude oil reception, refinement and methanol production, added GE’s Proficy SmartSignal to its existing “Condition Monitoring Center.”

Satoil now benefits from the low risk and high value software that uses exception-based, prioritized, “apparent cause diagnostics.” GE’s Industrial Performance & Reliability Center (IPRC), staffed with oil and gas experts, provides Statoil with consulting services as part of the deal.

Statoil now has the foresight it needs to be more proactive in running its operations.

Tags: GE, Model Based Condition Monitoring, predictive analytics

This entry was posted on April 28th, 2014 and is filed under Uncategorized. Both comments and pings are currently closed.