Powerco

2013
Flexible asset data solution

In a New Zealand-lines industry first, Powerco has developed a clever asset modelling tool - known as the flexible data solution - which collates replacement cost value, network performance, and physical asset data into a single source.

Powerco says it increasingly saw a need for transparency around investment decisions. With this in mind, the tool was developed to allow staff to query current and legacy data on its assets so as to inform future investment decisions in a timely, accurate and easy-to-use way.

The modelling tool comprises several core components: a geo-processing engine that takes raw data and groups assets based on commonalities; a modelling tool that provides for definitions of business rules, calculation of derived values and production of an analytics database; network performance layers that match up asset performance and condition information with core data; and modelling capability that allows user input to set rules and parameters.

Bespoke system

Using an off-the-shelf product, and extending existing systems, were ruled out as possible solutions. Powerco developed a bespoke system from scratch instead.

The flexible data solution was developed by a core project team comprised of business subject matter experts, information and solution architecture experts, business analysts, project managers and commercial specialists.

The new tool has resolved previous issues with staff not being able to analyse and link asset data sitting in a multitude of different systems, including information about asset replacement and residual value, historic expenditure, location, age, criticality, condition and importance.

It is already resulting in productivity benefits, by streamlining data analysis and speeding up the processes of information gathering. When fully developed, users will have the ability to extract physical, financial and performance related asset data from a single source. It will be sufficiently flexible to provide for bespoke data queries, which will be the basis for the sophisticated asset health indicator metrics Powerco expects will become a key component of its asset management framework.

The Innovation in Electricity award category is sponsored by Gentrack.