Sensors & Electronics
Awards & Recognition
R&D 100 Awards
The developers of the Decision Support for Operations and Maintenance™ (DSOM).
2001 - Decision Support for Operations and Maintenance™ (DSOM)
Developers: Donald B. Jarrell, Richard J. Meador, Daniel R. Sisk, Darrel D. Hatley
The cost of operations and maintenance can make or break a business-especially with rising capital equipment and energy costs. Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have attacked this problem by developing a suite of analysis procedures, software and hardware that has proven to reduce life-cycle operations and maintenance (O&M) cost by as much as 25 to 50 percent. The product is called DSOM™, short for Decision Support for Operations and Maintenance™. Dramatic savings are achievable because DSOM 1) improves process efficiency, 2) cuts maintenance costs, 3) extends equipment life, and 4) reduces energy consumption and associated harmful emissions.
Based on the concept of condition-based management, DSOM focuses on finding the balance between high-production rates, machine stress, and failure. DSOM allows online condition monitoring of equipment and provides early warning signs of degraded performance. DSOM's diagnostic capabilities empower the operations staff to become the first line of maintenance. Moreover a customized, integrated database, and intuitive access system provides the information staff need to make informed decisions necessary to for optimum plant operation.
This is how it works. An initial assessment of a facility's physical condition, performance levels and the organization's O&M infrastructure provides baseline data that is used to identify and prioritize improvement opportunities. Some problems can be addressed easily with the DSOM software. Others may require recommended changes in organization and infrastructure. PNNL then creates a customized database and interface matrix that is tailored to the specific needs of each user group. Through this holistic approach, DSOM links the entire plant in an enterprise-wide system that makes it possible to achieve the highest level of effectiveness and the greatest economic impacts.
Excerpted from PNNL R&D 100 webpage.
Selected Links to Related Information:
- Related Examples (Same Project)
- Advanced Root-Cause Analysis (242)
- Control Operations to Extend Service Life (240)
- Customized Tools to Improve O&M (42)
- Documented Savings & Reliability Benefits (199)
- Equipment Monitors for Power Plant O&M (243)
- Evaluation of Equipment Operation (245)
- Facility Improvement Opportunities (43)
- Facility Operation Characterization (44)
- Intelligent Automated Equipment Diagnostics (117)
- Power Plant O&M Improvements (229)
- Understanding Component Failure Risks (244)
- Understanding/Predicting Equipment Failure (241)
- Related Websites