OREANDA-NEWS. GE Digital (NYSE: GE) today announced the launch of its suite of Asset Performance Management (APM) solutions, the first commercially available applications running on GE’s Predix platform. Industrial companies can now use data and cloud-based analytics to improve the reliability and availability of their assets, minimize total cost of ownership, and reduce operational risks for both GE and non-GE assets.

While APM is not a new concept, companies have been forced to integrate a range of disparate solutions to monitor and maintain their industrial equipment. No comprehensive solution has existed to support the industrial data generated by these assets. For example, Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems can report on how equipment was used and maintained – but cannot analyze the volumes of rich diagnostic data that can be processed with Big Data techniques to predict and prevent equipment issues.

APM powered by Predix combines GE’s expertise in both asset physics and industrial software to offer a unique cloud-based solution for Asset Performance Management. GE was able to develop this comprehensive solution in record time due to the power of the underlying Predix platform. Predix provides developers with robust security, real-time data management and cloud infrastructure management to more easily develop and maintain applications.

“GE’s deep expertise in developing and servicing machines for industry gives us a greater understanding of real business operations and the insights to deliver on industry needs,” said Derek Porter, General Manager for Predix Applications, GE Digital. “With the launch of our APM solutions suite, GE is commercializing its own best practices for customers.”

GE’s suite of APM solutions, built on decades of experience with industrial machines, is deployed in three tiers:

  • Machine and Equipment Health provides a unified view of the asset, virtually anytime, anywhere, to understand equipment performance at many levels, to reduce the effort it takes to collect and report on asset data, and ultimately to make faster decisions.
  • Reliability Management predicts equipment issues so operators can schedule maintenance activities to remedy them and avert costly unplanned downtime. It also streamlines case and issue management with cross-functional collaboration tools and a single “source of truth” of asset health for maintenance, operations, engineering, and other functions.
  • Maintenance Optimization, which will be available later in 2016, helps operators develop optimal long-term asset maintenance strategies; balancing asset life, maintenance costs, and risk.

Enabling Brilliant Manufacturing

GE is also highlighting the first generally available module of GE Digital’s Brilliant Manufacturing Software Suite – Efficiency Analyzer. Manufacturers looking to take advantage of the large amount of manufacturing data they own can deploy Efficiency Analyzer to address the rapidly eroding time buffer between market demand and production. The module provides machine and production efficiency analytics to help reduce equipment downtime and scrap maintenance costs through improved visibility into operations, identifying bottlenecks and increasing yield.

With Efficiency Analyzer, GE is employing a new deployment approach. Through a SaaS pricing model and minimal ongoing IT impact, this offer completely changes how manufacturers can think about deploying operations technology. 

GE also uses these Brilliant Manufacturing software products in its own plants. “GE’s Brilliant Manufacturing Suite has enabled significant reduction in unplanned machine downtime resulting in higher plant efficiency,” said Bryce Poland, Advanced Manufacturing Brilliant Factory Leader, GE Transportation. “As part of our digital thread strategy, we will increase our machines and materials visibility by 400% in 2016.”

GE’s Predix Platform

Predix is an industrial cloud-based service designed to meet the unique security, scale and speed requirements of industrial-strength machines. More than 7,500 developers from within and outside GE and its customers including Boeing, ConocoPhillips and Pitney Bowes are building on the Predix platform. Predix enables GE to quickly and efficiently bring software innovations like its APM and Brilliant Manufacturing solutions to customers and to update them seamlessly with new improvements. GE will demonstrate both solutions portfolios at Hannover Messe.

About GE Digital

GE Digital connects streams of machine data to powerful analytics, providing Industrial companies with valuable insights to manage assets and operations more efficiently. World-class talent and software capabilities driving big gains in productivity, availability and longevity.