Maximise asset availability and reduce maintenance costs – an integrated approach combining condition assessment with data analytics

The scenario in which industries and utilities operate has changed drastically in the recent years. In the past, investment and maintenance decisions were often determined more by avoiding technical risks than by budget restrictions. Nowadays, new business drivers have changed the perspective: investment (CAPEX) and maintenance cost (OPEX) on assets must be financially motivated and optimized, supporting also an increased demand of assets availability and reliability. Most of the operators are starting to apply, also to substations, modern asset management methods. Main pillars of an efficient methodology are the right maintenance strategy, the knowledge of assets failure modes and real understanding of asset life cycles. The proposed tooland technology-based approach combines asset assessment methods with data analytics. The paper describes also the application of the proposed tool in a plant, where the assessment criteria (inputs) and dedicated algorithms (data analytics) are used to estimate the fleet health condition, to analyse the risks and report mitigation actions (output). The estimated risk map and the reported service messages and instructions give a clear prioritization of suggested mitigation actions, like for instance need of preventive maintenance or investments in new assets (retrofit or upgrade).