Asset Performance Management, aka, APM can be a bundle of opportunities for millennial entrepreneurs. Defined as a cluster of advanced software applications and tools, Asset Performance Management has proven to be a game-changer in optimizing the overall performance of business operational assets.
Like it or not, there is still no ‘cookie-cutter’ or ‘one-formula-fits-all’ method of saving organizations in spare parts or labor costs. However, APM, being the biggest boon of new maintenance technology, has come a long way in streamlining different business operations by minimizing costs and maximizing availability.
As per some the recent surveys, about 50-60% of asset-intensive companies are expected to bank upon APM to optimize and streamline the performance of critical assets in the days to come. Asset Performance Management can be highly beneficial and rewarding for the asset-heavy industries including, mining, manufacturing, transportation, utility, oil & gas et al.
So, is your business all set to explore Asset Performance Management? Before vouching for APM, why don’t you unearth some crucial facts related to it? Maybe, you should read the following excerpt before making an investment in APM technology –
Things APM is Comprised of
As mentioned earlier, an Asset Performance Management platform is comprised of a bunch of tools and software via which it collects and streamlines data to boost the performance of assets. One of the major reasons why this platform has received immense popularity is due to low-cost sensors and devices, which can be mounted on various assets for stream-conditioning a deluge of data. The key to using APM is to leverage such data to ensure more proactive asset maintenance.
The Endless Capabilities of APM
Asset Performance Management software has been in the asset-driven industries for quite some time now, providing manifold capabilities in streamlining different operations by cutting down on costs.
The pivotal capabilities of this software can be divided into a few categories that include –
- Asset strategy & risk management
- Predictive asset management
- Condition-based management
APM capabilities that fall under the category of asset strategy & risk management include data collection, EAM integration, failure modes collection, analysis techniques and tools including risk-based inspection, failure effect analysis, reliability-cantered maintenance, etc.
APM capabilities belonging to the category of predictive asset management include data collection, statistical modeling, machine learning, neural network analysis, etc. The last category, which is condition-based management includes data collection & aggregation, EAM integration, rule engines, and the like.
How Can APM Help in Gathering & Analysing Data?
From the elaborate elucidation regarding APM capabilities, it’s vividly evident that Asset Performance Management is mainly ideated to use data from multiple sources for making more informed decisions about asset maintenance.
Wondering how APM gather or analyze data to foster smarter and better decision-making? Here’s a break-down of the process to help you gain a better understanding in this regard –
- Firstly, the process begins with gathering real-time data from different assets. To ace this deal, APM places an advanced sensor on machineries, which monitor different states i.e. vibration, temperature, lubrication, etc. of an asset.
- The second step is to analyse the collected data. When users establish maximum or minimum amounts for every kind of asset, the APM system will automatically provide the maintenance teams with notifications based on if the real-time condition of a data hints at a potential failure.
- The subsequent step revolves around data visualization. All the data including the ones that are meant for historical or condition maintenance, could be presented in the forms of graphs or charts for identifying different trends in asset operation.
- The final step is all about acting. Backed by advanced EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) software, APM automatically produces work orders to solve maintenance tasks suggested by the phase of analysis. This keeps the risks of any major failure or glitch at bay.
Notable Benefits of APM System
One of the major perks of integrating an Asset Process Management system is that it helps an organization in maintaining even the most complex task with surprising ease. Backed by the APM system, the Key Performance Indication or KPI teams will get benefited from maximizing asset availability, boosting workforce efficiency, minimizing maintenance or operational costs, reducing inventory costs, and the like.
Almost all the major benefits of APM systems hail from the fact that it monitors the way every asset is influencing other assets or the overall operation. Owing to this holistic approach, a maintenance team can identify asset risks and determine the necessary actions to mitigate them. This apart, an Asset Process Management system includes every tool and system required to figure out asset relationships, thus spelling the aforementioned benefits.
In a Nutshell
Over the past few years, more and more asset-intensive brands have been investing in APM, and it is not coming to an end anytime soon. If you are looking to get more values from the already existing assets and dabble in proactive maintenance going beyond the reactive methods, then opting for an APM system should top your priority list.
