The industrial market has exploded with new sensors and solutions which can quickly and affordably monitor vibration in rotating machinery and predict potential failure.  From wireless sensors to handheld devices to completely outsourced condition monitoring services, you now have many options when looking to mitigate one of the most common failure risks in rotating machinery, high vibration.

In addition, we are seeing industrial organizations increase their adoption of standards as they can provide reliability and maintenance teams with the opportunity to take advantage of expert perspectives and years of learning at a very low cost.  These technical standards, in particular, provide a solid starting point for organizations looking to implement basic condition monitoring.

As a technology provider to the industrial market, Itus Digital leverages standards as they allow our customers to quickly develop best practices built on what experts across industrial sectors, have developed over the years.  Our latest work here is the inclusion of ISO 10816 compliance elements into the Itus Asset Twin Library.

This article offers insights into the ISO 10816 Standard and provides a walk through on how Itus Asset Twin capabilities enable the requirements of this standard.  As a technical footnote to this article, we will limit our discussion to the use of overall vibration readings as defined in the ISO Standard.  We will not be addressing the use of detailed vibration data (such as waveform) which are also a key aspect of vibration data diagnostic activities.

What is the ISO 10816 Standard?

The ISO 10816 standard provides guidelines to evaluate the severity of overall vibration levels of machinery taken from sensors or handheld devices.  The standard has seven ‘parts’ which offer guidance for a variety of machine designs and applications.  For the audience reading this blog, ISO 10816-3 (Part 3) will be of particular interest as it specifically applies to industrial machines with nominal power above 15kW and speeds between 120 and 15,000 revolutions per minute (RPM).  Typical machines included in this standard include pumps, fans, motors, blowers, and rotary compressors which can often be significant drivers of repair cost and downtime.

One of the most valuable aspects of ISO 10816-3 are guidelines on how best to interpret the results from vibration readings taken on non-rotating parts of the machine (such as the housing).  The chart below provides a concise summary of how to interpret the severity of overall vibration readings based upon the machine group and foundation type.

Once readings are taken, the standard can be applied to evaluate if further action should be taken such as a more thorough diagnostic, operator check or specific maintenance activity to prevent equipment damage.  It can also be a trigger to check the execution of standard preventative maintenance activities.

Applying the ISO 10816 Standard

Here is a common situation we see with our customers.

• Vibration monitoring programs are recognized as a valuable method for early detection of failure risk across various equipment types to prevent catastrophic failure, unnecessary repair costs and production downtime.
• Investments in continuous vibration monitoring solutions have been made in highly critical equipment which represent a small percentage of all rotating equipment.
• Expansion of vibration monitoring programs is desired on medium and low criticality equipment leveraging low-cost sensors and handheld devices.

The key challenge they face is how to leverage these new equipment condition data streams to their fullest potential without putting more burden on already stretched resources?  Additionally, how to implement these new data streams without creating another siloed data source.

This is where enabling technology such as the Itus Asset Twin can be leveraged to develop best practices such as those that can be enabled with ISO 10816.  With Itus technology, not only can the prescribed decision criteria be automated, but the results of the evaluation can also be driven into broader reliability and maintenance processes in your organization, realizing more value from your assets:

• Centralized management of all vibration monitoring advisories from your various sensors, field data collectors, and solutions to drive collaboration among your equipment experts.
• Integration of additional equipment conditions from other systems such as thermography, oil analysis, and process monitoring to enable broader failure mode coverage and overall asset health scoring.
• Automatic generation of requests in your maintenance management to drive appropriate follow up or repairs as needed.

Let’s walk through a quick example of how ISO 10816-3 requirements are enabled with an Itus Asset Twin.  Below is the configuration of the standard’s requirement for Machine Group 1 on a flexible foundation.

In this configuration, the Itus Asset Twin is utilized as a screening tool for machinery vibration to identify situations which require more diagnostic tests or the initiation of an inspect/repair activity.  Here are the key aspects of the Protection implementation.

• Tag Aliases – The incoming vibration data stream from sensors, handheld devices or historians. This template is set up for readings with units of in/sec but mm/s is also supported.
• Thresholds – The definition for the analytical evaluation of the vibration readings. This example is very straightforward with two threshold evaluations, .28 in/sec and .44 in/sec.
• Actions – The prescribed action which will be recommended when the Threshold condition has been met. In this case, when the ISO defined Threshold of .28 in/sec is met we recommend performing a more detailed vibration diagnostic at a high priority within the next 3 days.  If the vibration readings exceed .44 in/sec, we recommend an operations/maintenance intervention as the standard indicates the machine may experience damage.

This example of an Asset Twin demonstrates how ISO 10816-3 requirements can be technically enabled ‘in kind’ but you can easily adjust this definition based upon your specific operating experience and context as needed for your business needs.

Itus Libraries quickly enable the requirements of this standard

Our use case for this article has focused on one specific aspect of ISO 10816, Part 3, more specifically, machine group 1 with a flexible Foundation.  Beyond this example, subscribers to the Itus solution have access to every scenario covered in Part 1 and 3 of ISO 10816 through the Itus Asset Twin Library.  For subscribers of the Itus solution, the requirements of the ISO standard can be enabled for a piece of equipment within minutes by accessing the library, selecting the appropriate machine group and foundation type, and then applying the model to the vibration data feeds from sensors, devices or monitoring solutions.

The Itus Asset Twin Library also provides Asset Twin templates for the most common failure modes across over 200 types of industrial equipment.  Leveraging this library allows maintenance and reliability teams to standardize their asset strategies and drive a consistent approach to preventive maintenance activities, condition monitoring and evaluation of equipment health.

Minimize failure risks by enabling standards requirements with Itus technology

Vibration monitoring is a very effective approach for early detection of potential failure in rotating machinery.  Historically, applications of vibration monitoring have been limited to highly critical equipment due to the cost and required resources.

Advancements in sensor technology and handheld data collection have dramatically reduced the cost of assessing machinery vibration which now opens the opportunity to expand usage for medium and low criticality equipment.

The downside is organizations are now drowning in sensor data and need simple methods to analyze and interpret that data from a myriad of equipment and condition data sources.  Fortunately, ISO 10816 provides a practical model to assess the severity of vibration readings and should be considered when implementing a vibration monitoring program.

Evaluation of vibration data and compliance to the ISO 10816 standard is just one simple use case of how the Itus APM solution can be used to drive optimal asset strategies to reduce maintenance cost and lower equipment failure rates.  If you would like to learn more about our approach and solution, please connect with us here.

The post Rapid Compliance to ISO 10816 Vibration Monitoring Standard appeared first on Itus Digital.

The primary mechanical failure risk being investigated in the accident is the overheating of a wheel bearing. Overheated bearings are not the only problem that can cause a train to derail, but they are essential to a train’s safe and efficient operation. Inside each bearing is a series of rollers that are a critical component in turning the rail car axle. When lubricated, the bearings limit friction while supporting the railcar’s weight. If a bearing gets too hot, usually from a loss of lubricant, it can melt, causing it to seize up or come off the axle. The resulting damage can throw a railcar out of alignment and cause it to jump the tracks.

“Roller bearings fail. But it’s absolutely critical for problems to be identified and addressed early so these aren’t run until failure”  NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy

Norfolk Southern has implemented protections to mitigate bearing failures on its railcars using a Hot Bearing Detector (HBD). The HBD is placed trackside at fixed points and automatically measures the axle temperatures as the train passes by. Its function is to detect overheated bearings and provide real-time warnings to train crews so they can take appropriate action. A more detailed view of the protection scheme, evaluation thresholds, and prescribed actions is provided below.

The protection definition follows very similar constructs to an Asset Twin in the Itus Solution. Key components which are defined include a Failure Risk, which is the elevated bearing temperature due to lack of lubrication. Also defined is the specific Protection, which monitors the bearing temperature over time. The Advisories (prescriptive actions) are also defined, which detail what should be done when certain conditions identify emerging threats.

The report found that the temperature of the bearing in question had been increasing for 30 miles before reaching East Palestine. However, only the third reading reached Norfolk Southern’s threshold to stop and inspect the train via a real-time audible alarm. Unfortunately, the alarm was triggered too late as the train derailment was already in process.

The bearing temperatures were evaluated at three data points before the train derailment. The 23rd car’s axle had a recorded temperature of 38 degrees above ambient temperature at Milepost 79.9 on the Fort Wayne Line. At the next detector at 69.01, it increased to 103 degrees, and at Milepost 49.81 on the east side of East Palestine, the recorded temperature was 253 degrees above ambient.

The accident highlights key constructs to consider when designing failure risk protection models.

Data polling rates should consider condition escalation rates to allow for enough time to detect and respond to mitigate the identified failure risk. In the case of the NS derailment, the distance between the last two temperature measurements on the wheel bearing was 19.2 miles, and the temperature difference over that time was 150 degrees. Somewhere over that time, the bearing temperature passed through a non-critical threshold that would have advised the train engineer to stop and inspect the rail car but significantly pushed past the critical threshold of 200 degrees. To mitigate this potential data gap in the future, the Association of American Railroads announced that all seven Class 1 railroads in the country have committed to adding approximately 1,000 detectors to close the gaps between detectors and achieve an average spacing of 15 miles.

Design thresholds, analytics, and actions from actual experience. When designing a Failure Risk Protection, reliability engineers must make key decisions, including how many thresholds to implement, how much tolerance should be given for each threshold, and what to prescribe for risk mitigation at each level. Design thresholds, analytics, and actions from actual experience, using historical data to simulate a model and define analytics for a specific operating context. Sometimes this information is available through the collective knowledge of industry experts via standards such as ISO10816 (mechanical vibration).  In other situations, this information may be available from OEMs in their operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting manuals defined from their specific failure testing.  Many times, these models are developed from a ‘really bad experience’ or consequential failure.  As a result of this accident, Norfolk Southern is working with manufacturers to develop more sensors, reevaluate triggering thresholds, and analyze data for patterns that could provide earlier warnings. A more robust method to design Protections is from actual operating experience.  Solutions like Itus provide an ability to simulate a model from historical data which is an ideal method to define analytics for a specific operating context.  The capability allows engineers to understand how often the system will advise at various threshold levels, ensuring there is appropriate time to respond with the most appropriate prescriptive action to mitigate the risk.

Accounting for the worst-case consequence is essential in evaluating risk and advising on mitigations with critical context to drive appropriate action. Unfortunately, we often see analytical models which are not designed from a complete risk context.  By injecting risk into a Failure Protection scheme we can assess the situation more accurately (historical probability of failure) but more importantly we can advise on mitigations with critical context to drive appropriate action.  According to the Federal Railroad Administration, about 1,000 derailments occur each year but on average only 17 of those accidents involved rail cars with hazardous cargo that could present significant safety or environmental risks.  Ideally, risk should be evaluated within the analytical model to provide more advanced warning, increase time to respond, and offer more specific context on what is happening and what to do. As we are learning from the East Palestine accident, there is a very different consequence when a rail car carrying freight has a failing bearing vs. a rail car carrying highly toxic vinyl chloride.

The East Palestine accident impacted 2,000 residents with long-term environmental and health concerns. The rail industry has a keen understanding of the wheel bearing – lack of lubrication failure mode for rail cars and is making progress on the protections that can be put in place to mitigate the risks. The preliminary report has provided great insights for anyone building analytical or failure risk monitoring models that are great reminders for design moving forward.

If you are interested in learning more about Asset Twins and how the Itus solution can rapidly implement failure risk protections to predict and minimize unplanned events, feel free to reach out to us, we would love to chat!

The post Failure findings from Norfolk Southern train derailment in Ohio appeared first on Itus Digital.

The term “digital twin” is seemingly used today to cover any possible use case where there is a digital representation of a physical object.  In the industrial space alone the term is used to describe digital capabilities which can include 3D modeling, virtualization, augmented reality, and machine learning analytics.  For the management of industrial assets, the term Asset Twins better describes the overall strategy and plan to optimize the performance of assets over its lifespan.  As a digital, virtual representation of a physical asset, the Asset Twin includes:

• Design characteristics
• Failure Modes and consequences to the business
• Expected mission time
• Preventative Maintenance Plan
• Inspection & Monitoring Plan
• Historical failure rates and costs

More importantly, it defines the key components for maintenance, reliability, production, and operations professionals to manage the asset strategy and monitor asset performance in the context of its use. Going one step further, asset twins constantly assess failure risk, proactively identify emerging threats and automatically prescribe corrective actions.

An Asset Twin focuses on operationalizing your asset strategy, both in terms of monitored conditions and activities performed.  It brings your asset strategy (or maintenance tactics) together seamlessly with asset health monitoring of conditions and allows you to strategically manage industrial assets to ensure optimal performance at an ideal cost profile.

The Itus Digital Asset Twin Technology

Our Asset Twin actively monitors the asset and advises you of emerging failure risk and associated business consequences through three core constructs:

• The Asset and its business objectives.  We start with the virtual definition of the Asset and provide a classification, mission time, and typical failure rate.  Armed with this knowledge, you can assess the overall failure risk in the context of operational consequences. Further, you can gauge the financial impact of the potential failure in terms of lost production, repairs, and other costs.

• Dominant Failure Modes that point to the asset’s vulnerabilities. Our technology provides a definition of dominant Failure Mode definitions for the asset and presents it clearly and straightforwardly.  Also, for each Failure Mode, it gives the best approach to mitigate the failure risk.  By defining the conditions to monitor and best maintenance activities, you can protect the asset and extend its value and lifecycle.

• Protections employed to guard against the failure modes occurring unexpectedly.  Protections are more than just a statement of intent to perform an activity or collect data; they are essentially the operationalization of the strategy.  Protections include active monitoring of data with analytics that trigger prescriptive and proactive action to mitigate emerging threats.  Two primary forms of protection can manage failure risk:  condition-based and activity-based.

Together, the (1) Asset, (2) Failure Modes, and (3) Protections provide an active digital model of current condition, risk, and prescriptive remediation as needed.  This Asset Twin provides the “operationalization” of the asset strategy to ensure business objectives are not interrupted.  It virtually models your asset, improves equipment performance, and optimizes maintenance without the cost and complexity associated with a Digital Twin.  We based our approach on core reliability engineering principles that our platform applies to assets across all levels of criticality and consumable by industrial organizations of all sizes and maturity.

Learn more about how Asset Twins drive the management of Asset Strategies.

.

The post How Asset Twins™ boost Asset Performance Management appeared first on Itus Digital.

There is no better time for a new approach to asset performance management. Why?

The fundamental goal of asset performance management is improved operational performance and productivity. Overall, it serves the business purpose of mitigating risks, reducing costs, and maximizing margins. Most production and infrastructure assets have a life span of 25+ years. So, organizations need to make the best financial decision at every stage of an asset’s life. Leveraging asset performance management, you can accurately determine the maintenance cycle and necessary investment levels. As a result, you not only extend the asset’s useful lifetime but its end-of-life value.

An effective APM platform should translate your asset strategy from a written plan into a dynamic digital reality. It needs to include an optimized set of monitored conditions and specific maintenance actions. And a successful asset strategy must ensure that you stay in front of unplanned failures and maintenance costs. Toward that end, asset performance management centers on asset strategy, implementation, and ‘active’ management and governance.

Itus offers a purpose built approach to APM

Itus Digital offers a seamless process to manage and govern the asset strategy lifecycle.  We believe that industry experience combined with a practical business process is critical in developing and maintaining a successful asset strategy. Further, our process engages and integrates all of the key asset stakeholders such as engineering, reliability, maintenance and operations.  The business process connects the data and people to drive the active management of asset strategies over the equipment’s lifecycle:

• Start by assessing the risk of credible failure modes on asset that impact business objectives.
• Develop strategies to protect asset from potential failure risk through mitigation activities such as PM’s, Inspections, Monitoring and Overhauls.
• Leverage existing data to monitor asset and operational conditions and automatically prescribe mitigations when threats emerge.
• Ensure appropriate corrective action is take to minimize risk to the business and ensure learnings drive optimization of asset strategy.

Our method guides you through the design, implementation, and management of asset strategies, including digital Asset Twins.  We know that the asset twin must be accessible across the organization and for the asset’s entire life span.  Further, we believe what can’t or doesn’t get measured doesn’t get improved. That is why we designed our process to enable maintenance, reliability, and operations professionals to easily measure their APM program’s effectiveness. By helping you drive a continuous asset optimization cycle, our model provides increased equipment reliability while lowering operating costs.

Overall, with our approach, you can balance maintenance activities and asset lifecycles within budget constraints. The result is a dramatic drop in unexpected and costly failures and asset downtime. There is no better time for a new approach to asset performance management.

See how Itus Digital has purpose built an APM solution focused on optimizing your asset performance!

The post Purpose built Asset Performance Management appeared first on Itus Digital.

The History of APM

Historically APM solutions have been large, enterprise-scale deployments that took months and, in some cases, years to implement.  Teams of valuable IT, Operations and Manufacturing resources had to dedicate time and energy to work with the respective vendor to make the undertaking a success.   Because of its complexity, these solutions only fit more extensive enterprise operations that had the resources to manage and maintain the project on an ongoing basis.

But today, the circumstances are different.

Technology has continued advancing rapidly, the workforce demographics are changing, and the COVID pandemic has introduced unforeseen challenges. Examples of these difficulties are supply chain hiccups, the requirement of supporting a remote workforce, and the global economic downturn. Executives now understand that they need to digitize their industrial processes to compete.

The APM Market

Evidence of the willingness to invest in APM is clear. In a recent report, Verdantix forecasted that the market for APM solutions would reach $4.4 Billion in 2025.  At the same time, Markets and Markets predict this market to grow as high as $6.7 Billion in the same timeframe.

But how will they choose the solution that is right for them? It is no secret that APM solutions have shown themselves challenging to use and limited in the scalability and integration with existing technology.

Enter the digital twin concept.

Next-Generation APM

This next-generation approach to APM must allow non-IT staff to implement and manage. Also, it must enable domain experts to manage asset strategies in a simple business process directly. That means it needs to be easy and intuitive to use without scrimping on the functionality or scalability. Further, it needs to support mobile workers without creating security gaps. More importantly, it should be flexible and platform-oriented to lend itself to a “marketplace” strategy (aka Amazon). Other technology vendors can contribute to libraries. Asset operators can leverage their engineering expertise. And service providers to leverage their deep knowledge and proven best practices.

The result? The best minds and seasoned experts have a platform to deliver their expertise to those that need it most. And more companies will be able to improve their overall asset reliability and availability. See what Verdantix thinks in this article.

The post Asset Twin Marketplace Drives Next-Generation APM appeared first on Itus Digital.

Fast track RCM, FMEA, and PM Optimization Efforts

First, organic strategy development programs utilizing RCM or FMEA methods can require valuable time and resources to complete. Suppose you are looking to establish your initial preventative maintenance (PM) program or optimize existing plans. In that case, predefined Asset Twins provide a great starting point. They fast-track these efforts and ensure you drive maintenance based upon dominant failure modes for a given asset type.

Operationalize your asset strategies

Second, most predefined asset strategy templates focus their definitions on failure modes and mitigation activities. For instance, preventative maintenance inspections and overhauls are good examples. But, what if you had templates that directed what conditions to monitor, how to evaluate those conditions analytically, and what prescriptive actions to drive when you identify a failure mode risk?  The Itus Asset Twin Library offers complete digital Asset Twin definitions to not only define your maintenance plan but to fully operationalize your asset strategies with conditions, analytics, and prescriptive actions.

Collaborate and continually improve

Third, optimized asset strategies are rarely static or finished once initially defined. You should review and revise them using insight from actual operating experience, input from equipment experts, and updated OEM recommendations.  The Itus Asset Twin Marketplace enables secure collaboration between your experts and suppliers. By working together, you can standardize asset strategies across your organization.

Get more from your existing solution investments

Fourth, there are many solutions in the industrial asset management space that can benefit from standardized and optimized asset strategies. Enterprise asset management (EAM), asset performance management (APM), condition monitoring, and inspection software all function better when known failure modes and associated risks direct its activities.  You can deploy elements from the Itus Asset Twin Library to many EAM, APM, monitoring, or inspection applications. By doing this, you ensure that your optimized asset strategy drives execution in your various asset management systems.

The post Four Reasons Why You Should Use Itus Asset Twin Library appeared first on Itus Digital.

Roanoke, Va. – May 19^th, 2021 – Itus Digital announced the availability of new capabilities that allow industrial organizations to implement Asset Performance Management (APM) techniques on their equipment in minutes.  The approach lowers the risk of unexpected equipment failure while optimizing maintenance activities. Best of all, it does so without the cost and complexity required of traditional processes.

The Asset Twin Marketplace provides Itus subscribers with direct access to Asset Twins that model the failure modes, preventative maintenance activities, analytical protections, and prescriptive actions for the most common industrial equipment types.  Further, it provides a platform for the secure collaboration and sharing of asset strategies across industrial stakeholders.  The Marketplace solves the current challenges associated with fragmented and proprietary libraries that are difficult to leverage and implement.

“We have seeded the Marketplace with our Asset Strategy Library. Any subscriber can securely leverage, share, and extend our models to their specific use cases,” said Joe Nichols, President, Itus Digital.  “This approach expands industry coverage and use of Asset Strategies to fast track any APM initiative or solution.”

Asset Twin Builder

Itus is also introducing the Asset Twin builder, which directly accesses the Marketplace and allows Asset Twin activation in minutes.  The builder provides a simple process to apply, connect, tune, and activate twins. And it monitors assets and quickly mitigates failure risks.

“Many organizations see the value in APM programs but cannot justify the cost and effort associated with implementation,” said Nichols.  “We have unlocked the potential for anyone operating or maintaining equipment to reduce asset operating costs and improve availability.”

Malavika Tohani, Research Director at Verdantix, noted, “While Industrial firms are investing in APM software to improve asset reliability as well as reduce maintenance costs, they still face multiple challenges in terms of usability, scalability, siloed IT systems, and getting quick ROI. Itus Digital provides the ability to quickly replicate the failure modes and protections across hundreds of assets. Simultaneously, the Asset Twin Marketplace offers an environment for equipment OEMs, service providers, and asset owners to exchange best practice APM strategies.”

About Itus Digital

We are industry veterans maniacally focused on practical asset performance management. Our approach focuses on increasing profit margins while improving asset safety and reliability. By leveraging digital asset twin technology, we help companies define their asset strategy, detect emerging threats, mitigate asset risk, and extend the asset lifecycle. And our mission is to protect people, the planet, and profits.

The post Itus Digital Announces Asset Twin Marketplace appeared first on Itus Digital.

• meet regulatory compliance,
• create reporting standards,
• manage assets efficiently and sustainability and
• optimize total cost of ownership.

From their perspective, the market is fragmented, and there are many players.

For this reason, ARC Senior Analyst, Paula Hollywood recently interviewed Joe Nichols, Co-Founder and President of the newly launched Itus Digital.

Listen to this podcast or read on for the transcript as they discuss why

• the market needs to rethink APM,
• now is the right time to launch a new platform featuring digital twin technology,
• the focus needs to be on getting the asset strategy right from the beginning is essential.

APM Challenges Central to Genesis of Itus Digital

Paula’s opening question was, “You and the Itus team have a long history in the APM space. Can you tell us what motivated you to start a new APM company at this stage of market maturity?”

“We had multifaceted motivators for building an APM solutions company,” responded Nichols. He stated that the challenge of optimizing without increasing the operating costs and risks to people and the environment is their motivator. APM now has a proven value proposition; lower maintenance costs and risks and increase production and availability. Nichols believes that solution providers are not addressing large aspects of the APM market. The veteran APM team at Itus enjoys solving complex problems. Further, they think that a new approach and new business model could fundamentally shift the adoption of APM.

Addressing APM Challenges

When asked what APM challenges impacted the solution’s development, Nichols indicated three common themes. Their research uncovered:

• cost, particularly the considerable upfront costs associated with software licensing and implementation;
• the complexity of monolith applications stitched together via acquisitions typically using older, less efficient software architectures;
• and the capabilities of existing solutions.

Further, he elaborated that existing solutions are enterprise APM apps requiring large implementation teams, consulting services, or analytic/AI/ML applications to solve specific equipment anomalies or focus on anomaly detection.

Nichols summarized how Itus addressed those challenges. To solve cost concerns, Itus Digital offers subscription licensing based on actual usage. The company drives an onboarding process that completely de-risks the customer from massive up-front investments. It defined an efficient architecture that allows for on-premises or cloud-based deployment on-premises within minutes to lower complexity. And an intuitive user experience and workflow serve to simplify the process further.

Similarly, the company’s philosophy is that equipment and domain experts should be able to navigate the APM process easily and measure the APM program’s value. In terms of capabilities, the Itus platform is out-of-the-box ready, thus offering rapid time-to-value. Moreover, it fully integrates the implementation process for an asset strategy and tightly couples it with analytical models. This approach identifies when risks emerge, equipment health degrades, or when strategy activities are not completed. The company’s development team based this feature on an embedded and extensible asset strategy library covering 200 of the most common equipment types. Consequently, the combination of the Itus application process, strategy library, and asset twin models enables customers to be up and running rapidly.

Asset Twin Drives APM Value

When asked to explain the Asset Twin concept, Nichols addressed it in terms of the digital twin and acknowledged the variability in how that term is interpreted in the marketplace. In addition, he stressed the belief that the core constructs of a digital twin are critical for driving APM value. Itus views an Asset Twin as a software-defined asset, connected and analyzed in real-time to generate proactive insights as emerging threats are detected. Also, he believes that APM use cases, such as condition-based maintenance, failure prediction, and risk identification, must be firmly grounded with an asset strategy. Nichols summarized, “an Asset Twin is the fusion of an asset strategy with a digital twin. You must have both elements to ensure you optimize the performance of your assets.”

Taking a Different Approach

“Does using this methodology allow you to approach the APM market differently, and whom do you see as your target market?” asked Hollywood.

According to Nichols, “there are huge aspects of the industrial space that have challenges with unplanned failures, high maintenance costs, and the inability to identify emerging risks. The challenge these companies have is that APM only applies to a small portion of assets. Maybe they have limited IT and change management resources, or their particular ROI on APM initiatives does not align with existing solution costs, so they don’t do it. We have made APM easier across the board, but that does not mean organizations cannot use it in highly sophisticated APM environments. Our target market is anyone looking to solve for core APM use cases, such as equipment failure prediction, condition-based maintenance, or operational risk identification in an intuitive, scalable model that matches to their APM investment capability.”

The post Podcast: Why Now is the Right Time to Rethink APM appeared first on Itus Digital.

The Platform

The platform includes an extensible Asset Strategy and Digital Twin Library covering 200 of the most common equipment types. This feature enables asset operators and maintainers to rapidly deploy models to support foundational APM use cases. For instance, condition-based maintenance, failure prediction, and operational risk identification are good examples of these cases.

The Itus Digital platform is available as a subscription with on-premises and cloud deployment options. It provides a structured process to manage asset strategies, monitor asset health, and address advisories. Further, it ensures continuous learning of asset management processes and practices.

Best of all, unlike other solutions, customers experience a limited investment risk from the start. An easy pay-as-you-go model allows customers to accelerate the time-to-value. Customers begin with a small number of assets and incrementally grow optimization initiatives as they recognize the value.

The Opportunity

“We founded Itus Digital with the mission to simplify how industrial organizations optimize asset performance, and we have spent the past year doing that,” said Joe Nichols, President, Itus Digital. “Asset Performance Management processes and solutions have become too complex and expensive. As industry veterans, we saw an opportunity to provide industrial companies of every shape and size the ability to optimize maintenance costs and minimize equipment downtime through an innovative APM platform and approach.”

“The APM basics have been lost in the hype surrounding machine learning and analytics,” according to Paula Hollywood, Senior Analyst at ARC Advisory Group. “Asset strategy management is the foundation of APM. Consequently, it is the mechanism for manufacturing organizations to define equipment failure risk, establish maintenance and monitoring plans and ensure alignment of analytic models with engineering principles and business goals. This approach is the key to balancing risk and cost with performance.”

About Itus Digital

We are industry veterans maniacally focused on practical asset performance management. Our approach focuses on increasing profit margins while improving asset safety and reliability. By leveraging digital asset twin technology, we help companies define their asset strategy, detect emerging threats, mitigate asset risk, and extend the asset lifecycle. And, our mission is to protect people, the planet, and profits.

The post Itus Launches Asset Performance Management Solution appeared first on Itus Digital.

What is a digital asset twin, why are they important, and how are they used in driving successful asset performance management programs? Listen to this podcast or read the transcript below as Eddie Amos from Virginia Technology Today interviews Jason Cline and Joe Nichols on this topic and the recent launch of their new company – Itus Digital.

What is a Digital Twin?

Eddie:  Jason and Joe tell us more about ITUS and what is a Digital Twin?

Joe:  Let’s start by defining the concept of a Digital Twin.  A Digital Twin is a virtual representation of a physical object. It is usually modeled in software applications to predict future behavior.  As we are in a very active hurricane season, most of you have probably recently seen examples of Digital Twins.  As Hurricanes form, systems develop forecast models that define the expected path or track of the hurricane.  Weathermen usually refer to these models as spaghetti plots.  A type of digital twin that models hurricanes generate each one of the lines in the spaghetti plot.

In this example, the digital twin knows about the hurricane’s current characteristics, such as wind speed & direction.  Also, the twin monitors other environmental conditions that can influence hurricane behavior– elements such as water temperature and upper-level winds.  And it has historical tracking knowledge on how past hurricanes.  Finally, all this information is then analytically modeled to predict future hurricane behavior.  That’s a Digital Twin!

Our Business

ITUS Digital provides Digital Twin software for industrial manufacturing companies.  Our platform analytically models industrial equipment to predict how it will behave in the future.  We model how the manufacturer designed the equipment and monitor current conditions while the asset is operating. When we detect a potential problem, we provide a warning and direct activities to minimize disruption to the business.

Eddie:  Why are Digital Twins important?

Joe:   Our customers manage large Industrial equipment, which can be complex and very expensive to maintain.  Unexpected failures can impact our customers’ ability to meet their production demands, create very costly repairs, and potentially harm workers or the environment.   We can model equipment behavior, predict potential failures, and avoid expensive accidents with a digital twin.  When an organization applies this approach to large equipment populations, they can save millions of dollars by preventing equipment downtime and ensuring the right maintenance program to avoid equipment failure.

What Makes Itus Digital Different?

Eddie: Several companies in the market claim to have this technology – why are you different?

Jason:  Because of the complexity and cost of developing and managing a digital twin, companies have reserved this approach for very expensive or highly critical equipment.  Think aircraft engines, satellites, and wind turbines.  ITUS has defined a platform that simplifies the process of creating and managing a digital twin.  Furthermore, we have taken advantage of new computing methods and approaches to connect with equipment sensors and data systems.  This technology allows us to offer an affordable platform that customers can use on the most common equipment in many types of industrial facilities.

Now organizations like local water authorities can use digital twins to ensure water delivery to our homes.  For instance, utility companies can monitor transformers in substations and predict potential failures before the lights go out.  And, smaller manufacturing facilities can reduce the amount of money they spend maintaining equipment and improve productivity.  We believe we have built capabilities that can rapidly expand the use of digital twins in the industrial world.

Why Start a New Company?

Eddie:  Both you and Jason are long-time software professionals who played important roles in the success of Meridium.  So why go the startup route instead of working for a more established organization?

Joe:  First, let me state that our experiences at Meridium and later General Electric were amazing.  Consequently, we were able to experience starting and growing a local business with Meridium and then how to deliver software at a global scale with GE.  As our careers progressed, we got further and further from the customers we had enjoyed working so closely with at Meridium.  Also, we were limited in how much we could invest in innovating on new approaches and business models. So, our team had a significant amount of experience and new ideas on solving some huge industrial problems effectively but no easy way to execute them.  The time was right to build a company that allowed us to get back to our roots, work closely with customers, and create innovative software solutions right here in the region.

Where is Itus Digital Heading?

Eddie:  Where do you see ITUS in five years?

Jason:  Having worked in the region over the last 20 years, we believe this is a great place to start and grow a software business.  There is a tremendous amount of local tech talent. The universities continue to provide new graduates knowledgeable in programming, data science, and advanced manufacturing. All of us have witnessed many software companies thrive in the region.  ITUS has recently released our software technology, and the response from the market has been amazing.  We expect to see rapid expansion in Itus Solutions over the next year, providing the foundation for significant company growth.  Our goal is to be a leader in the Industrial Digital twin market in five years, with our global headquarters located right here in Roanoke.

What Has Your RAMP Experience Been Like?

Eddie:  We had Mary Miller on the show recently talking about the new cohort at RAMP.  She mentioned that ITUS was in the program.  What has the RAMP experience been like?

Joe: The RAMP experience has been great. It has challenged us to assess our customers, their problems, and what our solutions need to provide. This process helped shape our solution’s capabilities. Also, the program has given us the vital infrastructure to help us establish our business. For example, its simple but essential elements, such as a great working environment, internet access, and easier access to regional and state-sponsored funding sources, have considerably helped us.

RAMP’s support gave us a foundation on which we are already growing. One of the most significant benefits of RAMP has been the introduction into the regional tech community. I am amazed at the engagement from the local tech community and our program mentors, how supportive they have been, and their desire to see us succeed. The coaching, mentoring, and support we have received have been exceptional, and we are fortunate to be part of the program.

How Can the Roanoke Community Help You?

Eddie:  What help do you need from the local community?

Jason: If you took a map of the region, centered it on Roanoke, and drew a circle with a 100-mile radius, you would be amazed at the number of industrial manufacturing organizations that reside here.  Water treatment facilities, power utilities, paper mills, chemical plants, to name a few.  Many of these facilities can most likely take advantage of our solutions to reduce costs and prevent equipment failures.  We would be interested in working with them to see how we can help them save money and be more predictable in their operation.  The community can help by getting the word out that a local company is providing innovative solutions to help them manage their assets.

Eddie:  Jason and Joe, unfortunately, we are out of time.  Thank you for updating us on RAMP and ITUS Digital.  I want to thank our Executive Producer Joey Self for making the show possible.  So, until next week, I’m Eddie Amos, and this is Virginia Technology.

The post Podcast: Why Are Digital Asset Twins Important? appeared first on Itus Digital.