In predicting how the future desalination plant will be maintained we do not need a crystal ball, enough to look at Elon Musk's Tesla car. It continuously sends back to the factory the information about the car systems and the performance metrics. This feedback loop is a bridge to evolutionary design for safety and reliability. "We can actually adjust the design of the car and adjust how the repair is done," said Elon Musk.
In other words, digitized maintenance is a prerequisite for the next generation desalination mega-plants linked continuously for the entire asset life to design hubs.
Today the concept of digitized maintenance is not fully shaped. But it definitely starts from CMMS. Without it any expert's talks are just prattling.
Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) is a software that handles a maintenance-related database. Its core is information model which may come with a different set of features. It explains why so many CMMS products exist on the market.
For example, one may count over 14 products specifically tailored to water utilities, like IBM Maximo, Oracle WAM, Schneider Electric Invensys Avantis, SAP EAM, Maintenance Connection, Infor EAM, eMaint, NEXGEN, etc.
Despite the variety of options, almost 80% of CMMS implementations fail. Reason #1 is difficulty in CMMS setup. Increasing complexity of the plant design and operation push this figure even higher. This, combined with substantial price of ownership ($90-300 thou/year) is a good reason for rethinking the whole process.
Let's start from theoretical assumption that the plant operator already selected, installed and customized CMMS according to the purchase specification and database mockup prepared in advance (at least 6 months).
The next step is to populate it with real data handed over by the plant designer. Documentation (not data!) handover is part of any EPC/BOO contract, and it takes about 6 months before and after the mega-plant final acceptance to make it complete and classified.
The third step is turning documentation into information structured to match the database design. As a bare minimum, it shall include
- Original equipment manufacturers (OEM) database (over 350)
- OEM warranties (over 850)
- Spare parts and items inventory (over 1300 items)
- Preventive maintenance tasks (over 1200)
- Operation and maintenance procedures
- Troubleshooting procedures
- Engineering package: P&ID, general assembly drawings, specifications and datasheets
- Price lists for equipment pieces, services, spare parts
All these entries are interrelated, so database design shall be relational and integral. Modular plug-in approach for every entry used by many CMMS providers does not work here. To build such a database different set of skills is needed, which the plant operator does not have. Nor does it have the resources to handle huge amount of work.
Does it mean "farewell to feedback loop"? Not in the least as all these entries are already included into crenger.com database design populated with all the handed-over data. It may be easily shared with the plant operators through API (under development).
Crenger.com integrates all the database entries through the common foundation – the plant engineering. It is not available to CMMS providers. Smart algorithms rooted into engineering data auto-generate warranties, spare parts and items inventories and price lists, preventive maintenance tasks schedules and workloads and troubleshooting procedures.
Next target is integration of CMMS with crenger.com procurement system.