Operation & Maintenance of Power Plants
Kosisko comments: “Te combination of data analytics and aggregation along with computing power and machine learning allows us to create what I believe are unique solutions across the industrial and utilities space.”
Susan Peterson-Sturm
we consciously decided we were not going to create our own platform; rather we were going to use technology that existed in the marketplace that we could grow but that also had the ability to connect with other solutions out there in an easy way. We believe our solution long-term is not a singular platform for one vendor but rather there will be multiple platforms out there. “Key for our customers’ success is not only for us to be able to deliver solutions on our platform but also to be able to interconnect with other platforms to bring data in from those to drive broader solutions.” To deliver this approach, ABB
partnered with Microsoft and used the Azure platform for data aggregation, analytics and connectivity, and with IBM for the AI and machine learning tools.
Responding to industry demand Explaining the inspiration for the new collaborative approach, Susan Peterson- Sturm, ABB’s digital lead, says that, “many times we got engaged by our customers on a reactive basis – at start-up, or when there were already issues at a plant. Customers asked for more intensive support; starting at their control systems but extending around their processes and their overall plant performances.” Peterson-Sturm describes the platform
as, “robust and extensible. It’s easy to add plants in or change scope around applications. Robustness and security are at the heart of the platform. In this market there are lots of new opportunities and lots of challenges: and the teams that will thrive most will see those opportunities to drive in the time of disruption.” Discussing ABB’s overall approach, she says that the firm has “a very people- centric view of digital.” Explaining this, she says: “Tere is a lot we can do to make our colleagues lives easier. Looking at plant-specific performance issues, for example, a really simple task is looking at a specific operating move across our peer
POWER IN THE SMART CITY I
n a real-world example of how ABB’s collaborative approach benefits users, it has been awarded a contract with Swedish energy company Mälarenergi
to develop “smart city solutions” that will make Västerås, Sweden’s fifth largest urban area, more attractive as a community for citizens and industry. Mälarenergi provides a broad range of essential
services for Västerås’s 150,000 residents and businesses. The utility operates hydropower plants, the local power grid, a waste-to-energy plant, heating and cooling networks, water and wastewater treatment plants, a water distribution network and a fibre-optic network. In 2017, Mälarenergi and ABB formed a team
to develop digital solutions that will minimise environmental impact and create high-value digital
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services for customers. A key objective of this digital investment is to integrate the control rooms of the many automation systems that manage these expansive operations to create one unified operating environment. This approach will transform Mälarenergi from a
traditional utility infrastructure company to a provider of integrated “infraservices” with the end-user experience in mind.
Applied to the district heating network, for example, which serves 98% of the city’s buildings, Collaborative Operations will optimise operational performance and reduce energy consumption. Data analytics will make it easier for operators to identify, categorise and prioritise potential issues with assets, processes and risk areas, so they can increase efficiency and reduce costs. l
The new operations centre is at ABB’s office in Genoa, Italy
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