Ince Bio Power in Cheshire and Energy Works Hull, two of the UK’s largest renewable energy producing facilities, have undergone major digitisation projects to move their asset management processes to the cloud.
The operator of Energy Works Hull – Bioenergy Infrastructure Group (BIG), turned to Manchester-based technology specialist SRO Solutions, part of The Cohesive Companies, when it needed a new asset management system to ensure compliance with industry regulations.
SRO was able to provide access to IBM’s Maximo software via its own cloud-based platform, reducing the setup time by eliminating the need for any new IT infrastructure.
Tony Lackey, SRO Solutions managing director, said: “To implement a piece of enterprise asset management software usually takes months, and in the case of some clients, more than a year. We were able to implement much quicker for Bioenergy due to our cloud platform.
“The key benefit for BIG of choosing SRO’s cloud-based Maximo as a Service (MaaS) solution was the simplicity of setup – it only took us a few days to get the platform up and running. We were then able to start loading the company’s data into the system, so there was a massive time saving compared to a standard onsite installation.”
SRO gathered essential data relating to Energy Works Hull’s assets and equipment, and uploaded this information to the cloud. It took less than four weeks to meet the site’s compliance requirements and provide BIG with access to an operational asset management system.
Phase two of the project took place once the biomass facility was operational. SRO’s team carried out workshops to determine bespoke processes relating to work and inventory management, ensuring Maximo was tailored to the company’s specific needs.
Joe Lightfoot, project lead for SRO Solutions, said: “MaaS offers complete peace of mind because we take on all the responsibility that the client would usually have. It is a private and secure cloud-hosted solution that’s ISO 27001 certified. There’s no infrastructure involved, and we cover all the software. The client doesn’t need to worry about maintaining any servers, software or databases, and we also take on additional responsibilities like license compliance. Any problems can be easily reported through our support portal.”
Following the successful delivery of MaaS in Hull, SRO was contracted to upgrade BIG’s Ince Bio Power facility. The 22MW biomass plant near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire can process up to 170,000 tonnes of waste wood per year and generate electricity to power more than 42,000 homes.
The facility’s asset hierarchy, which details equipment and components on site, was uploaded to the cloud, along with data linked to job plans, users and security groups. SRO also created new start centres in Maximo, along with bespoke forms covering health and safety practices.
Mr Lightfoot added: “Digitising all these processes and forms in Maximo has brought everything together in one place. It has provided BIG with much greater control over its assets and inventory, and will simplify everything from maintenance management to stocktaking. In theory, Maximo will help increase uptime across both sites and also allow the company to benefit from economies of scale.”
Mark Roberts, Head of Engineering at Bioenergy Infrastructure Group, said: “SRO Solutions expertly moved us across to IBM’s Maximo software, implementing the computerised maintenance management solution professionally and efficiently without delay or trouble.”
Contact SRO:
Email: info@SROsolutions.net
Phone: (+44) 845 408 4250
Web: www.srosolutions.net
Notes to editors:
For IBM Maximo background visit: https://www.ibm.com/products/maximo
About SRO Solutions
SRO Solutions is headquartered in Eccles, Greater Manchester UK and has a strong engineering heritage, thanks to years of hands-on industry experience.
The company is renowned for streamlining the management of assets and achieving seamless data replication, on and offshore. It manages projects across all seven continents, for an extensive list of blue-chip companies.
SRO was responsible for bringing IBM’s Asset Management Maximo software to the marine industry and has since broadened the scope of its work with a multitude of clients across numerous different sectors. SRO is proud of its status as a Gold Accredited IBM Business Partner, and the fact that SRO is the only IBM Maximo Business Partner worldwide with the capability to provide unique Maximo zero downtime upgrade (SDU) and Data Replication (SDR).
About The Cohesive Companies
The Cohesive Companies form a wholly-owned but independently operated business unit of Bentley Systems (Nasdaq: BSY, the infrastructure engineering software company www.bentley.com).
The Cohesive Companies provide advisory, systems integration, and technology strategies and services to help infrastructure owner-operators advance their BIM, enterprise asset management (EAM), and asset lifecycle information (ALIM) environments through asset performance digital twins. The Cohesive Companies comprise PCSG (leading provider of digital advisory services for built-environment owners), Cohesive SRO (leading UK-based provider of solutions for IBM’s Maximo EAM software), Cohesive Solutions (leading North American reseller of Maximo, helping owner-operators to continuously improve their asset management) and Cohesive Asset Performance (leading global integrator for Asset Performance Modelling). www.cohesivecompanies.com
© 2020 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Bentley, the Bentley logo, Cohesive Solutions, Cohesive Asset Performance, PCSG, SRO Solutions, and The Cohesive Companies are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. All other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
