Asset management

Addressing today’s critical utility challenges proactively and with confidence

Asset management is not new a new practice - utilities have always managed assets. How utilities manage their assets is undergoing profound change. Asset management approaches and analytical tools have finally matured to the point where decisions can be based on data and facts – not just “gut feel” instincts and intuition.

 

These solutions have come just in time to address critical challenges related to aging infrastructure, aging workforce and increased operating performance pressures. And assets can now be truly managed in a proactive manner with a high degree of confidence. 

 

KEMA’s condition assessment and asset base modeling tools help utilities evaluate the impact of aging infrastructure on O&M and capital spending and system reliability. The results can be fed into KEMA’s asset management portfolio selection tool to create an optimized portfolio of investments.

 

The result – a portfolio of maintenance and replacement projects optimized against corporate asset management strategies, operating performance targets and financial constraints. Executive management knows what planned projects should deliver, the risk-tradeoffs between available options, and the risk of not meeting performance targets. Operations personnel have an effective means for quantifying and forecasting system needs in a manner that can be consistently communicated enterprise-wide. The tools also provide a process that captures best practices and is not at risk of walking out the door when experienced resources retire.

 

Optimizing utility asset management for cost, performance and risk

At the heart of asset management is how to optimize asset decisions across three conflicting dimensions: cost, performance and risk. KEMA offers the combination of technical and business expertise to help clients balance these three dimensions. We understand the business consequences of technical decisions and the technical consequences of business decisions as they pertain to the impact on assets.

 

Our asset management solutions leverage KEMA’s heritage as an independent testing and certification firm addressing asset performance. Our solutions also tap into our deep, hands-on knowledge of power plants and electric system equipment, its characteristics and its operation. We offer superior analytic tools and solutions supported by experienced professionals who know how to use them effectively.

 

Our proprietary asset management models and tools include asset base and trend modeling, asset management project portfolio options evaluation, condition assessment forecasting, maintenance scheduling and review evaluation. We also offer, where appropriate, a commercial grade utility maintenance management system, CASCADE, supported by KEMA-company Digital Inspections.

 

KEMA is a co-sponsor and member of the review panel for Public Available Specification for Asset Management (PAS 55). PAS 55 is a third party UK-based specification and associated maturity model assessment tool.

 

Components of KEMA utility asset management solutions

We offer asset management solutions to enhance transmission and distribution, generation and system hardening performance. Our asset management solutions encompass the follow critical success factors:

• organization – establishing effective asset management organizations, including business processes, systems, and performance management structures, by providing designs, best practices, models and tools

• asset strategy – aligning asset management objectives and directions with overall corporate strategies by developing strategies, policies, and long-term asset management plans

• investment planning – developing and defending long-term asset investment plans based on quantitative methods, modeling and analysis tools

• budgeting – assessing capital project alternatives and select an optimal portfolio of capital investments utilizing sophisticated analytical prioritization tools

• capital projects – executing capital projects on time and on budget to deliver expected value utilizing best practices for project management

• operations – providing analysis tools and methodologies to identify and quantify risks and enable informed near-real-time decision-making

• maintenance – implementing optimal maintenance programs by providing system software and analysis tools to evaluate and execute maintenance strategies

• performance management – continuously improving asset management capabilities by providing analysis tools and best practices to identify performance issues and develop tactical solutions.