Archive for December, 2009
Wärtsilä Signs Service Agreement with Maersk LNG
Ship power system integrator Wärtsilä has signed a five-year service agreement with Maersk LNG that includes maintenance planning, condition and performance monitoring, co-ordination and supply of technical services, parts and service work for five LNG vessels equipped with Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel engines. Headquartered in Copenhagen, Maersk LNG operates a fleet of seven LNG vessels, with one more on order for delivery early 2010.
“For Maersk LNG, this service agreement means improved levels of certainty regarding servicing of the main engines on our LNG vessels. With this monitoring system in place, maintenance work can be proactive,” said Claus Thomsen, Director of Maersk LNG. “The contract also guarantees us stable maintenance costs for at least the next five years.”
Wärtsilä offers proactive and dynamic maintenance programs called DMP (Dynamic Maintenance Planning), which includes the planning and scheduling of engine maintenance based on online monitoring of each engine’s mechanical condition, performance, system efficiency data and other indicators. As data are collected and monitored daily, the sources of faults can be identified before failure occurs.
“Wärtsilä’s service agreements including DMP are mainly about risk management in vessel operation. By providing this service we are supporting our customer’s business,” said Bo Lindy Jensen, General Manager, Strategic Account Management, Wärtsilä in Denmark. “As a designer and manufacturer of marine and power plant engines, Wärtsilä also has the best possible know-how regarding how they should be maintained. Long-term service contracts provide us with a continuous flow of information on each engine’s operational characteristics throughout its lifecycle. Combined with our experience, this information helps us develop even better products and service solutions.”
The Wärtsilä DMP system offers clear potential for reducing maintenance costs. Intervals between overhauls are flexible based on actual condition and operational risk profile, the need for unplanned maintenance is reduced, uptime is increased, and engine efficiency can be optimized.
DataVera Release 8.18 Now Available from Petris
A brand new module for Master Data Management (MDM) called DataVera Master-Set™ has been introduced as part of DataVera Release 8.18. Developed in collaboration with clients who are using DataVera to implement MDM, this new Master-Set module combines existing features from HealthCheck, Clean and Match modules into a single module with improved functionality.
MasterSet can provide data quality governance across the entire enterprise, helping organizations manage the quality, consistency, usability and availability of data.
The new module has advanced MDM rules to help users consolidate individual HealthCheck metrics across multiple data stores. In addition, it has more matching algorithms and E&P specific rules. Version 8.18 includes 700+ additional standards reference tables – based on the PPDM 3.8 reference tables – that a company can use to store their naming conventions. This version can also support International geodetic conversions. DataVera has integrated with ESRI’s ArcGIS Engine, which means that users can transform geospatial data into a common datum for geospatial data cleaning and matching.
A challenge in managing multiple datasets is that the same attributes may follow different naming conventions (USA in one system, United States of America in another). Manage Alias Set allows users to group these inconsistencies and link them to a single standard value (USA = United States of America). With this feature, users can apply the new MasterSet HealthCheck to validate naming conventions across different systems and identify the ones that fall out of this alias set.
In the past, DataVera could only support column-based units of measure (UOM). The latest version has a new interface and support for row-by-row conversions. When configured to look by row level, DataVera will look at the value and its corresponding UOM and complete the conversion at that row. DataVera comes with its own set of pre-established conversion algorithms, but similar to the rules repository, users are able to add their own UOM algorithms at any time.
In addition, DataVera can now handle French and Italian datasets with Release 8.18.
GE Standardizes on Proficy for Remote Turbine Monitoring, Diagnostics
GE Energy’s Performance & Reliability Center (PRC) in Atlanta, GA has standardized on a remote monitoring and diagnostic platform that utilizes the company’s Proficy® Historian, Proficy SOA, Proficy Workflow and Proficy CIMPLICITY software.
This system monitors more than 1,100 units in GE Energy’s turbine fleet and provides customers with real-time data on impending failures and performance diagnostics. The legacy system utilized an Oracle-based relational database architecture that consumed more than 50 terabytes of storage across four database instances. Over time, the legacy solution became too costly to maintain and support and was not sufficiently extensible to sustain future growth.
“GE Intelligent Platforms delivers a solution that is flexible and scalable while lowering ongoing maintenance costs through simplified IT infrastructure and reduced storage demands. Improving availability and access to fleet data while leveraging diagnostic workflow capabilities will drive improved productivity of subject matter experts,” said Justin Eggart, Performance and Reliability Center leader for GE Energy Services. “The new system will enhance our focus on delivering customer value, applying advanced monitoring and diagnostics solutions, while proactively managing the performance and reliability of turbines and other assets in the GE fleet.”
GE Intelligent Platforms’ Next Generation M&D platform (Gen X), is based on proven, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software products such as Proficy Historian, a platform for data acquisition and storage designed to handle time sequence data at speeds significantly faster than traditional relational databases algorithms that simply aren’t available in relational models, while also supporting a range of data compression. The result is better performance with lower disk utilization without any loss of data resolution.
Key to the solution is GE’s breakthrough work process management backbone for application development, Proficy Workflow, a highly scalable software solution due to its efficient storage model. Also used for this solution is Proficy CIMPLICITY, a client/server-based visualization and control solution that helps you visualize your operations, perform supervisory automation and deliver reliable information to higher-level analytic applications, resulting in faster responsiveness, reduced costs and increased profitability.
“We proved that our Proficy Software’s integrated capability to collect, organize, analyze and drive work processes around massive volumes of real-time data could meet the needs of GE Energy now and into the future,” said Erik Udstuen, VP Software and Services, GE Intelligent Platforms.
Palantir Strengthens Teams In Houston, Calgary, Singapore
Palantir Solutions, provider of oil and gas economics and planning software, announced several personnel appointments:
- Steven King will join the company’s Houston office to help introduce Palantir’s consultancy and software to North American independents – predominantly those with shale gas interests;
- Nickolai Pazin also joined the Houston office to focus on US regime fiscal modeling as well as applying his decision analysis experience to PalantirPS (portfolio services) specialist consulting.
- Purtini Joshi will bolster the company’s growing presence in Asia and Australasia, based in the Singapore office.
- Canadian sales expert and corporate account manager Allison Cuppen joined the Calgary office to help the North American Sales team expand the customer base and manage the portfolio of existing oil and gas customers.
Jason Ambrose, CEO and co-founder of Palantir Solutions, commented: “Oil and gas companies are tightening their belts and many are using portfolio optimization tactics, which are Palantir’s bread and butter. Both our consultancy and software have been honed to assist the oil and gas sector and its advisors to make the right decisions at the right time. We envisage 2010 bringing greater demand for the specialist services we have to offer.”
Invensys Supports Field Device Integration Cooperation
Invensys Operations Management announced that to accelerate deployment of field device integration (FDI) technology, it has joined other key suppliers to enlarge the scope of the EDDL Cooperation Team and become part of the FDI Cooperation. The FDI Cooperation will initially consist of the FDT Group, Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communications Foundation, OPC Foundation and PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation, as well as ABB, Emerson, Endress+Hauser, Honeywell, Invensys Operations Management, Siemens and Yokogawa.
“We need to continue supporting the move to a more open and integrated perspective in the plant because it allows manufacturing and process operations executives to make profitable tradeoffs in real time,” said Rashesh Mody, Sr. VP Portfolio and Strategy, Invensys Operations Management. “That is why we are fully supportive of the FDI project. In addition to being a strong benefit to users, it is also a benefit to vendors because now we can strengthen our focus on providing value-added applications as opposed to supporting hundreds of different devices.”
Invensys believes the FDI project will create a more user-friendly, hardware-independent choice for manufacturing operators. With FDT Group, the definition files provided by instrument vendors are plug-ins to the field device manager framework. This eliminates the need for manufacturers to rely on hundreds of independent diagnostic applications supplied by multiple vendors and the need for distributed control system (DCS) vendors to supply diagnostic applications for all available devices. The real value, however, is that with FDT, the device type manager advanced applications all vendors write can now plug in to any DCS. Customers can use these diagnostics for predictive maintenance, saving millions of dollars in unnecessary downtime and maintenance costs.
The FDI project was kicked off at the 2007 Hanover Fair. At that time, ECT welcomed FDT Group with the primary objective of harmonizing EDDL and FDT/DTM technologies. Since then, the project has carefully shaped the technology direction for the converged FDI solution. The addition of supplier companies, who have agreed to support FDI packages in their systems and products, will strengthen this effort by providing resources for the completion of this project.
Besides the finalization of the FDI specification, which is scheduled for mid 2010, the scope of the enlarged EDDL Cooperation Team is covering common design and test tools, common binary format and interpreter across the protocols of HART®, FoundationTM Fieldbus and PROFIBUS. The intent is to assure a uniform device integration solution for process industries across all host systems, devices and protocols as required by end users.
Teradata Establishes Information Security Center of Excellence
Teradata Corp., the world’s largest company solely focused on data warehousing and enterprise analytics, announced the formation of its Information Security Center of Excellence (InfoSec COE) to help customers better manage the increased risk associated with the dramatic growth in sensitive data, exploding data volumes and privacy compliance requirements.
“There is growing awareness among customers that they must stay ahead of the risks,” said Robert Cromer, VP Professional Services, Teradata Corp. “The Teradata InfoSec COE makes getting started easy, and the payback is tangible.”
The Teradata InfoSec COE offers:
- In-database encryption of sensitive data;
- Integration with centralized directory services for user authentication and access control;
- Operating system level server hardening;
- Risk and regulatory compliance assessments; and
- Semantic layer security controls at the row and column level.
The scope of these consulting services extends beyond the Teradata platform to include network connectivity, directory services, firewall configurations, identity management, user provisioning, segregation of duties, tamper-proof audit trail and centralized log consolidation.
“A comprehensive, holistic, layered approach to security is essential today with the relentless blurring of network boundaries between business partners,” said Cromer.
The Teradata InfoSec COE team is comprised of world-class, certified security consultants with specific expertise in security policy and compliance, privacy, security strategy, policy, design, and the implementation of best practices. Some of those advanced certifications held by the team include: the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), the Information Technology Infrastructure Library certification (ITIL), and the Certified Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act professional (CHP).
Budget Constraints, Cost-Cutting Delay Uptake of New Technology
According to a new online poll conducted by Deloitte, a resistance to adopt virtual workforce tools and methods, along with budget constraints and prevailing cost-cutting strategies, are the major reasons companies are not providing employees with new workplace technologies.
Of the 750 technology executives across multiple industries surveyed during Deloitte’s online poll in November 2009, more than 40% cited organizational resistance as the primary roadblock to new workplace technologies. Additionally, nearly 28% of the respondents, ranging from upper management to managerial level, pointed to budget and cost constraints as the main deterrents.
“The polling results indicate that corporate leaders should devote as much interest and investment into where and how the work is performed as they do into the nature of the work itself. The recent realities of a changing workforce and evolving worker demands are driving up the need for new workplace technologies,” said Hope Hughes, director, Deloitte Consulting LLP. “However, our polling indicated that some companies are still slow in adopting ‘workplace of tomorrow’ type strategies that could help improve agility and effectiveness, as well as respond to workforce changes in a cost-effective manner.”
Highlights from the poll included:
- 44.7% of respondents said their companies have begun workplace of tomorrow initiatives, including alternative work policies, workforce mobility, virtual technologies, telecommuting, and increased collaborative spaces.
- Nearly 30% of respondents’ companies are not using Web 2.0 tools, increasing shared workplace areas, or developing real estate strategies to improve workplace utilization.
- Blogs, wikis, podcasts, instant messaging, social networks and other Web 2.0 tools are the mobile technologies most companies are considering, according to 29% of respondents.
Deloitte Consulting Director Seth Siegel commented: “A hiring surge can result in a significant increase in the real estate and facility costs required to provide a physical workspace for the new personnel. Similarly, a workforce reduction might result in a significant increase in vacant, unused space. Effective workplace of tomorrow strategies and technologies can help de-link physical workspace consumption from headcount and align technology investments with business demands and workforce patterns.”
The webcast about results of this poll is accessible at:
ICIS Heren Launches New Energy Pricing Website
London-based ICIS Heren, provider of pricing intelligence and analysis for the gas, power, carbon and coal markets, also publishes authoritative reports, price assessments, news of key developments and expert analysis of the global energy markets.
The company announced the launch of its new website, which makes it easy for subscribers to access and download their information quickly and easily, ensuring they have the latest news and intelligence to enable them to operate confidently in the marketplace. The new website contains full details of all the reports ICIS Heren offers, plus the opportunity to request free samples of ICIS Heren reports.
ICIS Heren monitors the gas, power, carbon and coal markets through its team of expert correspondents. Companies use its pricing intelligence for planning and forecasting, as a powerful tool in day trading markets, in negotiations and to provide pricing benchmarks accepted by the industry.
INT Releases INTViewer 4.0
INT announced today the general availability of INTViewer™ 4.0, the latest version of its innovative data visualization and development platform for seismic analysis and QC in the upstream exploration and production (E&P) industry. INTViewer 4.0 is designed to be easy to learn, support large data sets, and reduce the preparation time to share data and analysis results with peers, management and partners.
INTViewer 4.0 was redesigned using the Netbeans Rich Client Platform, which provides a standards-based environment for creating and managing plug-in functionality. Featuring a comprehensive API for access and control of menus, data and custom displays, INTViewer can be used as a framework for customized seismic analysis and quality control workflows
The new release includes:
- Extensive programming API for plug-in development;
- GIS functionality including support for ESRI shape files and EPSG projections;
- New FK display;
- Support for GOCAD data format;
- Ability to save selected subset in seismic data (SEGY) format; and
- Improved user interface.
INTViewer is a visualization solution for use on virtually any Windows, Mac, Linux or UNIX operating system and is designed for multiple environments including laptops, workstations and visualization centers. INTViewer also provides an open, extendable architecture that makes it possible for geoscientists, asset management teams and companies to customize the visualization framework to match specific workflow needs through proprietary plug-ins and utilities.
BT Tool Tracks Carbon Savings of Video Conferencing vs Travel
BT Conferencing announced the availability of Engage Tracker, a travel and carbon savings tool that helps companies document monetary savings resulting from the use of video conferencing. With real-time reporting capabilities, the tool is able to calculate employee travel costs avoided through the use of video conferencing, as well as carbon emission reductions resulting from reduced travel.
Engage Tracker facilitates accurate tracking of cost savings using the customer’s own data, not estimates or models. Travel savings can include avoided air travel and per diem costs. Carbon emission reductions are calculated based on avoided air travel.
Jeff Prestel, general manager of BT Conferencing’s Video Business Unit, said: “Our customers who use video conferencing want concrete, measurable evidence of the technology’s benefits. Engage Tracker provides them with cost savings to prove return on investment as well as actual carbon emissions savings. Both are critical to making a solid business case for continuing to invest in video conferencing technology.”
Several global enterprises have piloted Engage Tracker, reporting thousands of avoided trips, millions of dollars saved and thousands of tons of carbon emissions avoided on an annualized basis.
Engage Tracker is available as an add-on module to Engage Meeting Manager, BT’s online scheduling and call launch tool.
PetroComputing 