In today’s digital era, where efficiency and data-driven decision making are increasingly important, the role of an inspection data management system (IDMS) has become critical for operators in asset intensive industries.
Operators managing complex, asset-intensive plants must meet stringent regulatory requirements that require them to provide auditable reporting. In addition, they are required to demonstrate proof of fitness of their assets. This includes proving an asset’s ability to function effectively while protecting health, safety, and environment. In these plants there is a significant volume of diverse asset data to manage, including historical records, inspection scheduling, corrosion details, maintenance histories, and real-time operational data from sensors.
Often, this data is unstructured and located in disparate sources, leading to difficulties in retrieval and prolonged search times – especially in multi-site operations where data is stored independently. As a result, it can take a long time to retrieve. Information silos then erupt, which create critical errors in maintenance planning. These data silos can lead to critical errors, relying on outdated information for decision making or receiving alerts too late to prevent downtime. This, in turn, complicates regulatory compliance.
When data is difficult to retrieve, informed decisions are harder to make. The likelihood of errors in maintenance planning increases, and with it, so too does the risk of expensive consequences like equipment failure or unplanned shutdown.
As a result, companies face multiple challenges meeting these mandates due to difficulty in data collection, time to access data, information silos caused by data being stored in multiple disparate sources, and so on. This negatively impacts visibility into asset health, the ability to plan inspections and maintenance prudently, and the ability to adhere to regulatory compliance. Further, it heightens the risk of catastrophic loss of containment or equipment failure, leading to environmental and safety impacts to personnel and surrounding communities.
A robust IDMS resolves these challenges by consolidating all asset data into a unified platform. An IDMS is a digital solution designed to collect, store, manage, and analyze data generated from the inspection and testing of equipment. It centralizes this data, making it easily accessible and reducing the time spent searching for documentation or information related to equipment, improving productivity.
An IDMS converges data sources from both the informational technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) sides into one single version of the truth for heightened, instant insights into asset intelligence. In this context, IT refers to legacy information on the equipment (from sources like Enterprise Resource Planning, Computerized Maintenance Management Systems, like SAP, Maximo, or INFOR.) and OT refers to information received from the asset itself, in the Edge environment (sensor data, humans with devices, NDT data, etc.).
By converging all data sources into a digital database where the full picture of an asset can be viewed in real-time, IDMS create substantial time and cost savings for operators – while simultaneously extending asset lifespans and reducing risk in a facility. Here are five key ways an IDMS does this:
Time to Find (TTF)
In a typical process facility where data comes from various sources, it takes an average of four hours to locate documentation or information for a specific piece of equipment – known as the Time to Find (TTF). This becomes even longer when the data is poorly stored, difficult to retrieve, exists in another department, or cannot be found in its correct version at all. According to Accenture, 42% of process employees use incorrect or outdated information weekly. Factoring in a per-incident cost of $300 for meetings or corrective actions and the hourly cost for TTF per employee, a plant of 200 could save over $1.8 million USD annually per site. Moreover, this calculation excludes potential savings from mitigating risks associated with delayed information leading to accidents, damage, or unplanned shutdowns, which could amount to tens of millions in expenditure.
Efficient resource allocation
An IDMS streamlines workflows throughout the entire operation, ensuring work performed is role-specific without redundant crossover or duplication. Rather than having 2-3 people all doing the same thing, IDMS makes workflows linear and streamlined for each department, maximizing the efficiency of each person. This efficiency translates into savings by optimizing resource allocation, minimizing downtime, and reducing labor costs associated with manual data retrieval and analysis. It also helps companies prioritize budget spending in a smarter manner. Rather than conduct unnecessary inspections (and in doing so, perhaps miss critical issues happening elsewhere), IDMS informs data-driven maintenance planning to ensure resources are allocated to the most critical assets. Overall, IDMS facilitates efficient resource allocation by streamlining operations, improving data accuracy, and enabling predictive maintenance strategies.
Preventive maintenance optimization
Because an IDMS enables real-time monitoring by integrating with sensors and other monitoring systems, operators can continuously track equipment performance and identify potential compliance issues before they escalate. With simultaneous access to all sources of data input on an asset – including both historical and real-time insights – operators can glean predictive analytics for informed preventive maintenance strategies. This helps identify potential equipment failures before they occur, enabling cost-effective proactive maintenance instead of unplanned shutdowns. In turn, it helps extend asset lifecycles while minimizing repair expenditure.
Compliance
With an IDMS implemented, operators have assurance that documentation is organized, accessible, and up to date. This enhances the ability to remain audit-ready and demonstrate compliance by providing regulators with easy access to the necessary information during audits or inspections. With preventive maintenance and real-time monitoring enabled, the risk of non-compliance is reduced. Finally, automated reporting enabled by an IDMS reduces or eliminates the time required to compile and submit regulatory reports. By maintaining detailed records of inspections, maintenance activities, and compliance actions, the IDMS also facilitates easy demonstration of compliance with audit trails and document tracking. In general, the centralized and instant access afforded by an IDMS enhances transparency, accountability, and the ability to both remain in compliance and readily demonstrate that to auditors.
Real-time data with remote accessibility
An IDMS not only centralizes data and provides real-time access to it – it also facilitates remote accessibility and remote collaboration. This fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing among teams, regardless of their physical location. As a result, inspections can be conducted at the physical asset (even hands-free, if wearable technology is used) while the rest of the team watches from a remote location simultaneously. This informs instant and data-driven decision-making capabilities. Another use case is for onboarding or training, where the trainee can be onsite as the mentor observes and guides from afar. All of these situations translate to fewer personnel being required onsite in hazardous environments, and significant reductions in the time and resources to collaborate on asset intelligence. Pulling reports from the software, operators can examine anomalies taken on a project and determine percentages that were coming out of that project. This provides an instant visual overview of what’s occurring at the site. It also enables sophisticated data trending and analytics over time, paving the way for machine learning and artificial intelligence to further digitize and optimize main business processes.
In summary, asset integrity and inspection data management systems are not just about compliance or maintenance—they are strategic business tools that drive operational excellence. By adopting a more robust IDMS to manage their assets, companies not only enhance safety and reliability but also achieve a competitive advantage through improved efficiency and reduced costs. As industries continue to evolve, the integration of sophisticated IDMS and asset management strategies will be crucial for sustainable growth and operational resilience.
By fostering a culture that prioritizes asset integrity and adopts innovative inspection technologies and methodologies, businesses are well-positioned to face the future with confidence, ensuring they can meet both today’s needs and tomorrow’s challenges.
Additional Resources
To learn about Antea’s globally trusted IDMS solutions with digital twin, visit: Antea IDMS (Inspection Data Management System) Software
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