Paul Studebaker is now chief editor of Sustainable Plant, Paul Studebaker earned a masters degree in metallurgical engineering and gathered 12 years experience in manufacturing before becoming an award-winning writer and editor for publications including Control and Plant Services.
As the recession demonstrated its staying power through 2010, most companies suspended capital investments, jettisoned experienced personnel and cut way back on maintaining their equipment. But while many of their customers laid off and cut back, Emerson Process Management and Meridium continued to work together to expand interfaces and improve integration of Emerson's device, machinery and performance health monitoring systems.
Introduced a year ago as a result of the partnership that Emerson formed with Meridium in 2009, the AMS Suite APM asset performance monitoring system adds a key component to the PlantWeb digital plant architecture, enabling plant managers to quickly access integrated information from multiple data sources, view real-time analyses and reports of asset health and availability, and devise management strategies for reaching new levels of performance. It works with competitive platforms and legacy systems, as well as Emerson's DeltaV and other Emerson systems.
With Emerson's extensive installations of DCS, smart instruments and predictive technologies, "The amount of available information is exploding," says Bonz Hart, president and CEO, Meridium, "and it's great information, brought directly into the systems without human intervention, for monitoring the health of equipment."
In the past, the need for wiring could inhibit installations, but now low-cost wireless technologies are making it easy to add sensors, connect them to a centralized system and get equipment health information.
The resulting real-time information is also dynamic. Instead of static studies of equipment condition sitting in binders on a shelf, condition data is constantly updated and available to other systems. Hart says, "It's letting us use a living asset strategy we couldn't achieve in the past."
AMS Suite APM breaks users out of the predictive maintenance cycle trap of simply responding to upcoming problems. It allows them to get to the next level, where they can identify bad-acting equipment in their applications and revise maintenance procedures that cause and perpetuate ongoing problems.
Over the past year, while Emerson has been enhancing AMS Suite APM, plants have been starting to feel the effects of cutting back on maintenance and releasing experienced plant professionals. "Customers have been bringing us more opportunities to solve maintenance challenges, better manage asset bases and drive equipment performance," says Ron Martin, vice president and general manager of Emerson's Asset Optimization businesses. AMS Suite APM is acquiring condition data from a wider array of process sensors and predictive technologies such as vibration and lubrication analysis. "We're covering mechanical and electrical equipment including heat exchangers, motors, pumps and compressors, as well as process control equipment."
Plant maintenance and reliability managers are receiving more integrated, real-time information to determine that maintenance dollars are being spent in the most critical areas for the greatest business return. This extension to AMS Suite easily accesses the predictive information customers are using and combines this with CMMS/ERP data to deliver an integrated view. The result is that the islands of asset information from across the plant or the enterprise are integrated in a proven solution that helps them make the best decisions for improved asset performance and plant reliability.
Better decisions pay off in higher productivity, overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), reliability, energy efficiency, and safety of plant personnel, the surrounding community and the environment.
Learn more about how companies are implementing AMS Suite APM in these Emerson Exchange user sessions:
Workshop 1A-2837
"A Demonstration of the Principles Deployed for the EDF Energy West Burton Asset Management Solution"
presented by Jason Bryant, EDF
Thursday, 11:00 a.m., Washington B
Thursday, 2:15 p.m., Washington B
Workshop 1A-2837
"How Operators Drive Reliability at Irving Oil,"
presented by Mark Porter, Irving Oil
Wednesday, 2:15 p.m., Governors Chamber D
