Industrial Automation Magazine India

Companies use asset lifecycle planning to make real-time decisions about their assets

Published on : Sunday 05-03-2023

Komal Pawar, Senior Consultant – Pre Sales, Hexagon Asset Lifecycle Intelligence division.

How important is asset lifecycle planning in the Industry 4.0 era? 
Asset lifecycle planning is becoming increasingly crucial as industries progress towards digitalization and Industry 4.0. This applies to any operational asset, tangible or intangible, such as equipment, raw material inventory, buildings, land, cash, or any other item that yields profit to the company.
 
To illustrate what asset lifecycle planning can do, let me consider equipment as an example. Equipment will typically have drawings of technical specifications, and documents related to its purchase, installation, testing, and commissioning. It is possible to track this equipment’s performance if its documents are linked with operations and maintenance data in one single digital platform. This feature makes it possible to track whether the equipment performs according to expectations.
 
Companies use asset lifecycle planning to make real-time decisions about their assets. As a result, downtime and maintenance costs decrease, and asset utilisation improves. This ultimately leads to maximising the value of their investments. 
 
Digitalization has made the adoption of asset lifecycle planning and maintenance easier. Has this increased the number of companies opting for it? 
Adopting advanced technologies in the enterprise is an integral part of digitalization. This adoption also creates a demand for enterprise asset lifecycle management and planning. Digitalization made it easier to integrate various systems such as 3D models, drawings, historian data, CMMS, ERP, etc., giving real-time asset visibility. Today market surveys show the growing adoption and demand of asset lifecycle planning in many large industries, and it is expected to become even more widespread in the coming years.
 
Industry in general – and SMEs in particular – often finds it difficult to embrace digitalization. Is there an ideal way to embark on this journey?
SMEs are experts that are highly knowledgeable in a specific field. In my view, their domain knowledge can make the digitalization process smoother. Because digitalization creates new ways of working, it takes time for SMEs to embrace it. However, if they accept change, get trained, and invest the time needed, they will often develop new ideas that will help the company grow further.
 
The ideal way to get on with this journey is to break down the process into stages, which depends on the company’s digital maturity and vary from industry to industry. However, the building blocks of the digital landscape and the solutions that can help address business challenges remain constant. 
 
Hexagon provides a comprehensive set of solutions for design, construction, operations, maintenance, and even cybersecurity, to address key business challenges. During the digitalization process, organizations optimize and standardize the processes, and SMEs can help. At every stage, employees get trained and provide input to improve further in the journey. 
 
Speaking about the manufacturing industries, how does asset lifecycle planning help reduce the carbon footprint?
Going digital is one way of reducing carbon footprint. In manufacturing, many companies still rely on traditional way of maintaining records, such as paper logbooks or inventory, and print documents such as work permits or procedures. Hence, going digital with asset lifecycle planning reduces carbon footprint. 
 
What are the typical constraints that industries face in implementing asset lifecycle solutions? 
We notice three common constraints: first, the lack of strategy for the digital transformation journey and change management system; second, data security concerns; and third, the unwillingness to move out of their comfort zone.
 
How can Hexagon help enterprises to ensure a bump-free path to digital transformation?
Hexagon is a global leader in Digital Reality solutions that helps enterprises in their digital transformation journey. Hexagon supports its customers in achieving digital maturity through four pillars: Data, Digitization, Automation and Sustainability. This helps companies unlock the value they can obtain from their data, which potential is key to driving innovative solutions. It leads to greater connectivity, collaboration, and consistency across the asset lifecycle. 
 
We foster a flexible and collaborative approach to integrate Hexagon’s technologies with legacy systems and use innovations in sensors, software, and autonomous technologies to address real-world challenges. 

As a result, organizations can build their future success by combining physical and digital systems to develop greater data intelligence, situational awareness, and operational integrity, ultimately achieving improved productivity and profitability. Hexagon has a track record of helping organizations achieve potential capex savings of 10-15%, 70% productivity savings in documentation and completion of inspections, and 95% savings in time retrieving and searching for quality evidence post-inspection.

Finally, Hexagon helps organizations marry economic and environmental sustainability. Today every bit counts, every bit of waste, and every bit of pollution must be reduced. This is achieved by helping enterprises in their digital journey. 
 
Today a humongous amount of data is generated, but is it harnessed effectively to make the entire manufacturing process smarter and more efficient?
Today due to the digital transformation of manufacturing units, a huge amount of data is generated daily. This includes structured, unstructured, or semi-structured data collected from various sources, which must be made interoperable. 

To manage this overwhelming amount of data, particularly in asset operations and maintenance, companies are investing in digital twins. Enhanced visualization plays a key role in analysing raw data and providing insights. In turn, it allows organizations to make better decisions and improve businesses or manufacturing products or services. Moreover, this data is used for predictive analytics to reduce downtime further.
 
As a woman leader in a male-dominated industry, what is your experience, and message to aspiring women engineers?
My family has always encouraged me to pursue a career in the field of my choice. I initially chose to teach because there is a vast opportunity to scale up domain knowledge in all possible aspects. I am always keen to explore new career options utilising the knowledge gained from my teaching experience. 
 
In 2007, the opportunity knocked at my door and I joined an MNC in the EPC domain. I pursued my Ph.D during these years working after office hours and on weekends. In early 2021, I switched my career from the EPC Service industry to the product industry as a Senior Industry Consultant in the Presales department at Hexagon. 
 
I would advise all aspiring women engineers to keep exploring career opportunities until they find a role that suits their aspiration and their calibre, and gives them the utmost joy.

Komal Pawar has over 24 years of rich professional experience in both Industrial and Academic fields. She has executed diverse engineering design projects and has been instrumental in setting up engineering software design departments. She plays a vital role in Project Management, Scheduling, and Resource Planning along with software license management.Komal is a published thought leader and focuses on Owner operators’ requirements.