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Schneider Electric has announced the launch of Asset Connect, a new modernization solution that allows facility managers to implement their installations with smart sensors, transforming non-communicating equipment into connected assets. It arms facilities managers with insights delivered through efficient monitoring of critical connections and environment conditions such as thermal and humidity levels, and reducing probability of failure and downtime by enabling predictive maintenance. Asset Connect can be directly integrated into existing low and medium voltage substations and will be a critical tool for facilities managers across all industries, who face the mandate of predictive and efficient maintenance.
Powerful Information at Facility Staff’s Fingertips
As electrical systems age, they are prone to probability of failure that may result in safety risks, costly downtime and more. Integrating Asset Connect delivers insights into the quality of an electrical system that may not be apparent if facility staff are not proactively monitoring the equipment. Asset Connect allows facility managers to identify problems before they can become detrimental, thereby delivering quicker recovery time and optimized maintenance for issues that do arise.
“Schneider Electric is consistently working to empower managers and staff to modernize their facilities and make use of available data,” said Gabriel Arce, Consulting & Modernization Offer Manager, Field Services, Schneider Electric. “Power distribution systems can be too complex for some facility staff to understand how each piece of equipment is working in conjunction with its counterparts at any given time. Therefore, Asset Connect acts as a 24/7 monitor that can let facility managers know what is working and what is not. This information will help facility managers plan and make decisions about greater modernization, retrofills and replacements further down the line as equipment ages.”
Asset Connect provides facility staff with an unparallel level of data for their electrical distribution systems. It provides information at the basic alarm level – from a local substation monitoring device (PLC + HMI) – through more advanced insights, such as thermal and humidity data for local SCADA processing. In fact, continuous thermal monitoring is a proven method of detecting loose connections early, and humidity monitoring helps ventilation failure detection that can lead to moisture, ozone and partial discharge in the substation.
Simpler Daily Operations
Schneider Electric’s Asset Connect will improve daily operations for facility managers by giving them peace of mind that electrical distribution systems are operating smoothly. By connecting the electrical infrastructure through Asset Connect, they will be able to address complicated contacts and receive notifications about issues that have limited access and visibility. Facility managers will have instant access to this information through SMS alerts as well as 24/7 remote access to Asset Connect features. This modernization solution can be integrated with no modification of cables and connections. Installed Asset Connect sensors can monitor the system and predict potential failure, providing a significant life extension of the existing equipment and continuity of services of up to 15 to 20 years.
