Enabling Sustainable Asset Management: Leveraging Real-Time Data and Predictive Analytic

Real-time data and predictive analytics enable sustainable asset management, allowing companies to make strategic investment decisions, assess asset health, and identify risks to achieve long-term success.

FREMONT, CA: The current administrations focus on achieving net-zero emission by 2050 and a sense of urgency to prioritise sustainability in their operations. The government's commitment to combat climate change sends a clear message to industry leaders to prioritise renewable energy and sustainability in their existing operations, not in the distant future. As companies face significant challenges in managing their assets in recent years due to various factors, such as economic uncertainty, supply chain issues, and the possibility of a recession.

The urgency of effective and sustainable asset management has increased for many C-suite executives due to growing concerns about unforeseeable threats to society and the environment. Assets are crucial for any organisation, and in the current economic and political climate, companies cannot afford any downtime, production loss, or quality disruptions.

Having an ineffective asset management system can have negative consequences for a business. Poor asset management practices can result in excess carbon emissions due to frequent trips to assess the wastage of resources due to time-based maintenance, and early depletion of the investment's usable life due to unnecessary maintenance, potentially leading to legal action, reputational damage, and increased costs.

In the current justifiable landscape, asset managers are facing unprecedented challenges, top navigate these challenges, industry leaders need to adopt real-time data and predictive analytics to improve sustainability. Legitimate asset management allows organisations in various industries to evaluate the health of their assets and make informed decisions regarding expenses, risk, and availability.

The use of real-time data and predictive analytics in asset management can aid in the development of eco-friendly processes. Furthermore, these insights can provide a competitive advantage and aid in the reduction of operating costs.

Three Ways to Leverage Data and Analytics  

Effective asset management is crucial for ensuring the optimal functioning of a company, and the application of data science can help enhance its effectiveness, offering new possibilities and methods for assisting management.

1) Data and Analytics Deliver Better Investment Insights

Data and analytics play a vital role in making environmentally responsible decisions and conducting operations. They provide valuable insights to asset managers by enabling them to analyse structured and unstructured data in strategic investment decision-making. As individuals transition towards a sustainable future, data can assist in determining when and for how long assets needs to be maintained, repaired, or upgraded.

2) Making Better Decisions About the Future of the Asset Network

Through the use of data, asset managers can obtain a deeper understanding of their assets requirements and the demands of their clients, they can evaluate how scientific market conditions may impact sustainable investments, while also aiding in the optimisation of existing eco-friendly initiatives.

3) Extending the Life Asset

Assets are of utmost importance in the power and utilities industry, and engineers aim to extend their lifespan without risking catastrophic failure. In the past, surpassing an asset's shelf life was deemed risky, but real-time data and analysis have transformed this approach. Through online monitoring, data collection, and analytics, operators can gain a comprehensive understanding of an asset's health and intelligently predict which equipment is at a higher risk of failure, eliminating guesswork. Sustainability considerations can be integrated to reduce fuel consumption by technicians and lower energy costs by identifying problem areas.

What it Takes to Implement This System 

Having access to significant amounts of data can lead to substantial growth for a company. However, there can be obstacles if executives are not fully supportive and merely having the right tools and technologies is insufficient. Therefore, companies must establish the appropriate infrastructure to support their requirements, and I suggest following these three essential steps: 

1) Secure Third-Party Validation From Employees.

To overcome barriers to the exponential growth that significant data can provide, it is essential to have executive buy-in, and having the right tools and technologies alone is not enough. To achieve success, companies must establish the necessary infrastructure to support their needs, and three key steps are recommended. The first step is to identify an internal champion for the technology who has successfully used it before, as this can help alleviate concerns about the significant change involved in digital transformation.

2) Establish Trust in the Technology and its Predictive Abilities.

Asset-heavy industries have relied on time-based maintenance or collective knowledge to maintain their assets for many years. 

3) Align Business Goals with Asset Management.

The effectiveness of asset management software increases when it is integrated with the company's overall business objectives. This alignment can provide support for business decisions, risk identification, and prioritisation of actions. As the rate of innovation accelerates, a sustainable asset management program must be coupled with data and analytics for long-term success. The future is now, and with the appropriate technology, evaluation can lead towards a more sustainable future.

Sustainable asset management is critical for companies across all industries to operate efficiently and responsibly. Real-time data and predictive analytics are essential tools that help asset managers navigate uncharted waters and build environmentally friendly processes. With data insights, asset managers can make strategic investment decisions, assess asset health, and identify potential risks or failures. Aligning asset management with overall business goals can also yield significant benefits. By taking steps like finding internal champions for new technologies and investing in the proper infrastructure, companies can create a sustainable asset program that supports their long-term success. The future is here, and it's time for companies to embrace data and analytics to lead the charge toward a sustainable future.