IPS-Intelligent Process Solutions GmbH: Electrical Data System Pioneers

Ever the last quarter century, the rising use of digital and networked equipment in the electric power industry is yielding huge amounts of digital data that need to be managed, stored and leveraged to enable people to make better decisions about equipment health. However, the current asset management systems in the market are generic, requiring the user to enter detailed equipment configuration and specifications data at the cost of considerable implementation time. Addressing such a scenario is IPS-Intelligent Process Solutions GmbH that provides systems designed by electric power professionals for electric power professionals from the ground up. The IPS system comes with predefined specifications of the electric equipment assets such as manufacturers, models, and characteristics in its Asset Type Library which accelerates the speed and accuracy of implementation. “The objective for IPS is to manage all the asset configurations and maintenance as well as parameter settings of electric power systems, and we are by far the most advanced in the world in managing relay data,” says Randy Norman, the Executive Vice-President of the U.S. office of IPS.

IPS tracks the location of an asset as well as what needs to be done with that asset, whether it is the initial installation and commissioning, or the on-going inspections, testing, maintenance and repairs. Data from monitoring systems or the data gathered from the field are easily accessed, first to determine the health index or condition of the asset, then to schedule and execute what needs to be done to maximize the effectiveness, reliability and lifetime of that particular piece of equipment on a regular schedule. Using one of three user interfaces for mobile work execution (Windows^®, web or mobile application) IPS can dynamically configure the work steps to be performed based upon data entered in previous steps making it very clear and easy for the person in the field to know what they need to do.

IPS offers a preconfigured and customizable platform for powerful Asset Performance Management (APM) wherein a customer's whole portfolio of assets is examined, and decisions are made on how they can be best managed for maximum productivity. The firm’s Enterprise Asset Management solution (IPS-ENERGY™) combined with the IPS Smart Grid Data Intelligence (IPS-SmartGridDI™) facilitates secure and mobile APM with high technical data quality.