The Scenario – Too Many Data Sources Leads to Added Complexity
The Asset Management team at a regional electrical utility is responsible for maintaining the health, performance, and reliability of critical transmission and distribution infrastructure. Along with the Operations & Maintenance team, they require data from various sensors, data sources, technologies, and sites.
Without a unified dashboard, users must constantly switch between numerous applications and databases. The time and effort required to maintain these databases adds complexity to the system, increases the risk of missing crucial data, and makes it difficult to implement a Condition-Based Maintenance program.
To enable remote monitoring of critical substation assets, utilities require a single, easy-to-use dashboard that integrates data from multiple sources and presents it in a customizable, role-defined view based on the data most important to them.
The Challenge – Purpose-Built or a Proven Utility-Grade Solution
As the need for a unified view of data becomes more apparent, the utility must decide if it’s better to build its own dedicated, purpose-built software or leverage an existing utility-grade solution.
Many utilities consider developing software to gain the features, capabilities, and views required for their specific needs. However, as the scope of the project becomes more defined and the number of features and views grows in response to feedback from various teams, the project quickly becomes difficult to manage internally.
Further, because most utilities do not have an in-house development team, they often lack the skills and experience needed for such a large development effort. They must hire additional staff, allocate budget and resources, and overcome the typical challenges that arise during the development process.
Instead of taking on such a large project and drawing critical resources away from other initiatives, utilities can turn to a proven, utility-grade visualization solution.
The Solution – A Single Pane of Glass With Utility Intellect™
Utility Intellect™ from Systems With Intelligence is a fully customizable Enterprise Visualization tool designed and built for the electrical utility industry.
By integrating with standard utility systems, databases, and technologies, Utility Intellect™ provides a single pane of glass view for all data and allows customers to get the most out of their PI System.
Users can view temperature trends and analytics to detect hotspots, while the Asset Heat Map provides a view of where to focus maintenance resources. Automatic alarms alert maintenance teams to potential issues, while the Operations team can view real-time thermal and video feeds to monitor the health and performance of critical substation assets.
Utility Intellect™ Features
- Fully customizable and configurable dashboard with role-based views
- Integration with standard utility systems and databases
- Simple user interface with clear visualizations and reporting
- GIS interface for a system-level view of all assets on the grid
- Centralized reporting from PI and other sources including SQL, Oracle, SAP, and Maximo
Utility Intellect™ Benefits
- Simplified access and use of relevant information
- Reduced development effort and budget allocation compared to building an in-house system
- Full support from Systems With Intelligence from planning through to integration and training
- Enhanced management of high-value substation assets
- Improved asset health and performance
Enable Condition Based Maintenance that can reduce risk of failure and outages The Requirements – How Utilities Can Get the Most of Their Visualization Software
Before implementing Utility Intellect™, utilities should dedicate a project leader who works alongside the Systems With Intelligence team to define project goals, determine schedules and key milestones, and identify the various user groups and integrations.
Systems With Intelligence can then create role-based views and develop ongoing, real-time connections with the utility’s databases.
Once the dashboards are created, Systems With Intelligence will train users on using the software, customizing the views, and setting up new users. They can then incorporate feedback from teams to improve the dashboards and make changes as needs evolve and users become more familiar with the solution.
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The Result – Reduced Complexity and Enhanced Substation Monitoring
After working with the Systems With Intelligence team, the electrical utility will have a fully functional system of dashboards for every level of user. Having seen how Utility Intellect™ simplifies access to data and improves strategic decision-making, users will quickly adopt the solution and no longer switch from one application to another.
With all the information in one place, Asset Management teams can efficiently manage the health and performance of substation assets, while Operations & Maintenance groups can easily identify potential issues and shift toward a Condition-Based Maintenance program.
By reducing complexity, utilities can reduce maintenance costs, allocate resources more effectively, and deliver reliable power to customers.