Spescom Software USA launches asset management solution

Spescom Software, the US operation of JSE-listed Spescom Limited, announced the release of eB Plant, a solution for the lifecycle management of complex plant and asset information.

"Daratech forecasts that the market for PLM/AECO (product lifecycle management for architects, engineers, construction firms and asset operators) solutions will grow by 12% annually to $5.5 billion by 2005," says Spescom Software CEO, Carl Mostert.

"The pressures are intense on companies engaged in the architectural design, engineering, construction and operation of built assets to compress time-to-revenue, lower project execution risks, reduce asset lifecycle costs and boost revenue and profitability.

"The launch of eB Plant is a logical next step based on our growing success in the nuclear plant and rail infrastructure markets with customers such as Ameren UE, Entergy, Seabrook and Network Rail. It extends the knowledge and experience obtained to the far broader PLM/AECO market. Some early successes include BP's Joliet plant in Michigan as well as Petrobras in Brazil."

Based on Spescom's powerful enterprise content and configuration management software platform, eB Plant is an all-encompassing information management solution that supports engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors with their project documentation and configuration management requirements.

eB Plant seamlessly transfers all information to owner/operators (O/O) at the end of the construction phase. It then provides the O/O with a platform to manage the plant configuration and all associated documents and data during the operating and maintenance phase of the plant.

eB Plant delivers much-needed clear, concise and valid information about a plant throughout its lifecycle, as it is continuously upgraded, modified, maintained and eventually decommissioned. It enables plant construction firms and operators to streamline operational processes, implement effective configuration and asset management processes, comply with regulatory requirements regarding safety and environmental issues, control all documents, drawings and records, improve profitability, and reduce costs and enterprise risk.

"What makes us different from other enterprise content management players offering plant and asset lifecycle management solutions is that we not only capture, store and manage content and documents such as specifications, engineering drawings, operating procedures, reports, e-mails, purchase orders, invoices, etc, but we also identify and relate this content to the physical items such as the equipment, systems and components that comprise the plant," Mostert adds.

"This enables change to be managed far more effectively as the impact of a proposed change on both the plant and all associated documents can be determined prior to making the change. In addition, all approved changes can be implemented in a controlled manner by modifying both the plant and all effected documents simultaneously and by notifying all affected parties. This leads to a far higher level of information integrity as the documents that describe the plant accurately reflect the actual configuration of the plant at all times, thereby eliminating the costly exercise of having to perform plant 'walk-downs' in order to validate the accuracy of existing documentation.

"These 'walk-downs' often cost millions of dollars with the updated information being put back into the same systems and processes that caused the information integrity problem in the first place. eB Plant provides a rapid ROI by delivering a robust process to manage change and maintain information integrity thereby eliminating the need for future plant 'walk-downs'."

eB Plant contains the master equipment list (MEL) or asset register that defines the exact configuration of the plant at any point in time. It enables both a physical as well as functional definition of the plant to be maintained, enabling different views of the plant, depending on the users requirements or job function. The functional definition is of particular value during the design phases of a plant, as it enables a progressive modelling of the plant to be made as ever more detail is created.

eB Plant enables multiple organisations to simultaneously work on the plant design, accessing common information and making necessary changes, yet ensuring full visibility and control of these changes. This not only eliminates the many silos of information that are typically created in this environment but also ensures the integrity and accuracy of plant information.