The asset life cycle refers to the entire process that assets undergo, from their initial acquisition to their final disposal. This concept is fundamental to asset management, enabling organisations to understand and effectively manage their investments over time. In the maintenance phase, the application of intelligent technology allows for anticipating any critical repairs, thereby extending their useful life.
An asset is defined as something useful or valuable to an organisation. The term includes physical and non-physical assets, such as infrastructure and equipment, capital (money) and people. The asset life cycle refers to the end-to-end process by which the owner of the PV installation acquires, uses and maintains an asset throughout its useful life.
The asset life cycle is generally divided into several stages, which may vary depending on the type of asset and the industry in which it is used. However, some of the most common stages according to the total life-cycle asset management or TLAM proposed in 2006 by IBM, include:
- Acquisition: This stage involves the initial purchase or construction of the asset. At this stage, feasibility assessments, vendor selection and contract negotiations may take place.
- Operation and maintenance: Once acquired, the asset is used in the organisation’s operations. During this stage, predictive, preventive and corrective maintenance activities are carried out to ensure that the asset operates efficiently and safely.
- Upgrade or upgrade: Over time, the asset may need to be upgraded or improved to maintain its performance, meet changing regulatory requirements or take advantage of new technologies.
- Refurbishment: At this stage, the asset undergoes significant refurbishment to extend its useful life or improve its performance. This may involve upgrading equipment, expanding capacity or implementing technological improvements.
- Decommissioning or disposal: Finally, there comes a point when the asset is no longer useful or profitable to the organisation. At this stage, the asset is safely dismantled and disposed of, which may include sale, recycling or proper disposal following environmental regulations.
Effective and efficient asset lifecycle management involves planning, monitoring and strategic decision-making at each stage to ensure that assets are used optimally and their value is maximised over time.
Asset lifecycle: predictive maintenance using smart technology
Predictive maintenance uses sensorisation and data analytics to identify irregularities in the operation of equipment and processes, as well as signalling potential failures if they are not corrected in time.
The focus of predictive maintenance lies in preventing failures before they occur and contributing crucial information to identify the source of failures and abnormal equipment operation to eliminate the root cause and optimise operations. To do this, it is necessary to collect useful data from the real-time operations of assets, which is done through the deployment of distributed sensors and smart devices.
Industry 4.0 sensorisation leverages all the technological advantages of the Internet of Things (IoT) and digitisation to collect data in real-time, remotely and at all monitored points in a photovoltaic farm, thus enabling advanced predictive analytics to be carried out resulting in the identification of timely and optimised maintenance actions.
Asset lifecycle – predictive maintenance through earthing system monitoring
The 4.0 intelligent monitoring approach of Aplicaciones Tecnológicas S.A. uses specialised systems and technology to achieve the optimisation of resources and operations thanks to digital transformation in diverse sectors such as power generation or telecommunications. This approach starts in the planning and design phase, but can also be implemented during the operation and maintenance phases.
If you would like to know more about how Aplicaciones Tecnológicas S.A.’s intelligent solutions can contribute to improve maintenance, you can contact us following this link.
You can also attend any of our free trainings on intelligent solutions through our webinars page.
