Here is an excerpt from our Decision Management Systems Platform Technologies Report on Asset Management:
Many organizations must use assets, fixed plant for instance, as effectively as possible if they are to operate profitably. The use of a Decision Management System to improve decisions about such assets is still relatively unusual but there is a growing set of examples. Particularly as more equipment is instrumented and connected to a network, the value of a Decision Management System for making targeted decisions specific to each asset is rising.
Service needs
One of the most basic uses for a Decision Management System is the identification of service needs. Today most assets are serviced on a fixed basis. However as usage data is collected for a specific machine or piece of equipment it becomes possible to calculate unique service needs for that piece of equipment. Thus a tractor being driven more aggressively, though traveling the same number of miles and the same age as another, will be identified as needing service more often. This keeps equipment “healthy” longer while also eliminating unnecessary services.
Validate usage
This same increased instrumentation is driving remote monitoring and advice to new levels. When a piece of equipment is constantly monitoring its own usage and logging this information, a Decision Management System can be used to check that the usage is appropriate. For instance if heavy equipment is being left idling too much during a particular shift or if a particular operator is heavy handed in some way, this can be flagged and remedial actions suggested. This uses a Decision Management System to provide supervision through the remote logging. Service needs and potential failures can also be flagged and alerts issued.
Preventative Maintenance
Failures and problems with expensive assets can result in extensive, and costly, downtime. The ideal for many organizations is to fix things before they become critical to minimize the risk of such downtime. Decision Management Systems can use predictive analytics to identify assets at risk of failure and then use rules to assign an engineer’s spare time to check the asset or extend a scheduled visit to proactively fix something early.
Proactive use of asset
If assets are not in continuous usage then there is a potential opportunity to use the asset for some other activity during its “down time.” Deciding what to do with otherwise idle assets is increasingly something that can be automated using a Decision Management System based on the prediction of the likely value of the various possible actions.
Read more in our Decision Management Systems Platform Technologies Report.