Technology advances for operations and maintenance

This paper discusses the emergence of a new, necessary philosophy for the successful implementation of advanced technologies to improve plant performance and longevity. This philosophy is necessary to ensure the expected return on the initial capital investment is realized. This paper defines the elements of an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) methodology that utilizes a holistic approach which considers all aspects of the supporting infrastructure (Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Training, and Administration) as integral parts of the whole system. This paper also includes discussion on application of some of these advanced technologies developed at the Laboratory to provide additional on-line tools to provide predictive and condition-based maintenance decision support.