Strategic Asset Management and Operational Expenditure plan development
Project Objective: To develop a Strategic Asset Management Plan and Operational Expenditure plan that assures the financial and asset integrity of solar-based microgrids over their 25 year lifecycle.
Client: Energy service provider
Asset: Renewable Energy Microgrids
Location: North America
Project overview and context
A start-up investment consortium contacted us with the aim to install solar microgrids at the sites of a wide range of businesses with the ability to operate independently from the local grid to produce and store power.
As a greenfield project, the client had to understand the long term maintenance responsibility of the microgrids. With a wide range of maintenance providers and options, we provided a tool to enable the comparison of maintenance costs, as well as advice on where maintenance tasks could be reduced via a Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) approach.
Challenges faced by the client
- Solar microgrids were to be supported by BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems), CHP (Combined Heat and Power), GENSET (Back up and Emergency Generators) alongside ECC (Energy control centers) systems which presented significant financial and technical challenges to the formation of accurate lifetime models and maintenance plans
- As a start-up, the company needed experienced support with its approach to technical solutions and OPEX management for ancillary systems
- The client required the ability to formulate accurate OPEX plans across a wide range of commercial energy requirements and property types
A 2 phased approach was taken to complete this project
Phase 1: Development of Asset Management System
Developed a Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP)
Created in accordance with ISO 55000, the document specified exactly how the client’s organisational objectives were to be converted into an Asset Management System.
Developed an Asset Management Plan Template
The AMP served as a blueprint for a tactical plan that was utilised in managing the client’s infrastructure and asset management in the form of a standard service agreement.
Developed a Cost Model Template
The framework template and the maintenance tables outline were built to calculate the costs of service for Photovoltaic System (PV) sites.
The analysis and generation of the actual model per site was executed in Phase 2 of the project.
Phase 2: Development of Asset Management Plans specific to sites
Equipment options were assessed using ABL’s formulated RCM approach.
Created Maintenance Tables
Processed data obtained from OEMs and provided by the client to build the maintenance tables, identify gaps, and coordinate with the client to action the collection of missing data to create a complete and accurate AMP per site. The following steps were completed:
- Worked with 3rd party vendors to obtain maintenance data and cost profiles
- Collected and scrubbed the data set for each site
- Created a Data Gap Analysis Report
- Reconciled a Client Gap Analysis Report for Maintenance and Cost information
- Created a Maintenance Summary
Reliability Model
Developed a reliability model for mutually agreed equipment systems. The model was utilised to support the AMP and Cost Model on a site-by-site basis. The following steps were completed:
- Analysed and provided engineering level review of reliability data
- Generated a Reliability Report to be included in the Asset Management Plan and Cost Model
Cost Model
Considered the Mean Time Between Failure analysis, Reliability Data, and Maintenance Tables to develop reliable Cost Models per site, utilised in the rationalisation of as-built assets, maintenance strategy, and warranty selection decisions.
The generation of an OPEX model for each site was the final output of this process.
The key project benefits
Accurate OPEX estimations over a 25 year lifecycle
With the Cost Model and Reliability Model projected over a 25 year lifecycle, the client now has confidence in the accuracy of future OPEX estimations on each individual site
Accurate and reliable data for each site
With the creation of a Data Gap Analysis report and the collection of 3rd party vendor maintenance data, the client has complete, accurate and reliable data for each site
Decreased maintenance costs when compared to OEM costs
Our RCM approach allows the client to challenge OEMs on recommended maintenance schedules hence reducing the overall maintenance costs significantly
Increased maintenance reliability to help minimise downtime
The Reliability Model allows the client to optimise their reliability maintenance, minimising downtime and extending equipment lifetimes