BIG Uses AspenTech for Prescriptive Maintenance on AWS

BIG used AWS Partner Aspen Technology Inc. (AspenTech) to achieve equipment runtimes of 99.8 percent. BIG wanted to transition from its on-premises database to Amazon Web Services (AWS) to aggregate data from different sources and unlock insights to predict equipment downtime early and accurately at BIG’s production plants. BIG used Aspen Connect to migrate data from the Aspen InfoPlus.21 process historian on AWS quickly and securely and deployed Aspen Mtell to get early and accurate warnings of equipment failure. Using AspenTech solutions on AWS, BIG also improved maintenance lead time from 1 week to 1 month.

A leading industrial gas and climate technology company, BIG, sought to replace its on-premises database with AWS for plant data retrieval and storage. By moving its data to the cloud, BIG would be able to compile information from numerous sources and discover trends that would improve the availability and dependability of equipment at BIG’s various sites.

As migrating process data to the cloud requires time, resources, and highly skilled workforces, BIG used AWS Partner AspenTech to migrate its data to AWS by using Aspen Connect, a data connectivity solution that enterprises can use to read from and write to a wide variety of data sources, databases, and process historians. After implementing Aspen Connect, BIG was able to connect to AWS with minimal complexity and at the lowest possible total cost of ownership while transferring operational data to AWS with the optimal performance, security, and flexibility.

AspenTech, an AWS Energy Competency Partner, is a provider of industrial software that helps to streamline the life cycles of asset design, operation, and maintenance in challenging environments. The company develops and implements advanced solutions serving many vital industries, including downstream, midstream, and upstream. One such solution is Aspen Mtell, a predictive and prescriptive maintenance solution that offers precise and early warnings of how and when an equipment breakdown will occur, as well as directions on what to do in response. Aspen Mtell runs on AWS. AspenTech uses various AWS services, including Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), which provides secure and resizable compute power for practically any workload. The cloud deployment of Aspen Mtell and Aspen Enterprise IP.21 Historian, a service that aggregates and manages data, runs various critical components—including the Aspen Mtell application, license, and SQL servers—on dedicated Amazon EC2 instances. In January 2023, AspenTech and AWS won the IoT Partner Ecosystem of the Year award in the seventh annual IoT Breakthrough Awards program for developing an asset maintenance and reliability solution featuring Aspen Mtell.

After selecting AspenTech to support its data migration, BIG implemented Aspen Connect to transfer data from Aspen InfoPlus.21, a data historian for aggregating and managing large volumes of near-real-time and historical data, to AWS. “Aspen Connect instantly connects and delivers data rapidly,” says Akkapol Rujipattanapong, data engineer at BIG. “It shortens the implementation time for the customer.” Customers might examine process data on a dashboard using Aspen Connect, which is beneficial for BIG because the company requires access to near-real-time process data to monitor its plants.

In 2019, BIG started using AspenTech solutions. The organization analyzed its needs and the AspenTech solutions that were available for about 1 month before implementing the solutions on its own with support from AspenTech. BIG started using Aspen Mtell for predictive and prescriptive maintenance after transferring its data to AWS. A proof of concept from AspenTech illustrated how simple it is to use Aspen Mtell to forecast equipment failure. Currently, BIG employs Aspen Mtell solely in place of alternative preventative maintenance programs. “Aspen Mtell helps us monitor the condition of our equipment, improving its reliability,” explains Rithidej Wadlom, director of operational excellence at BIG. “We wouldn’t have been able to reach this degree of equipment availability without Aspen Mtell.”

Previously, the company had a 1-week lead time to react to maintenance issues. Using Aspen Mtell, BIG now has more than 1 month. Having more lead time helps BIG improve maintenance planning, implement better decisions, and manage its business more productively and effectively. Now that the firm can forecast and avoid downtime, its equipment runtime has improved from 99.5 percent to 99.8 percent.

BIG’s production safety and sustainability initiatives have benefited from the improved reliability that results from using Aspen Mtell. “We deliver industrial gas directly to customers in almost real time,” says Wadlom. “If our procedure is disrupted, it impacts the client deliveries immediately. Using Aspen Mtell, we can meet our customer deliveries consistently.”

Aspen Mtell was first used by BIG to keep track of five pieces of equipment, and it is now used to keep track of over 100 pieces of equipment, including cryogenic pumps, heat exchangers, and compressors. For instance, the organization uses Aspen Mtell to monitor the efficiency and health of compressors used during gas production, with the result of minimizing the cost of power. “By monitoring the temperature of the compressor, we can operate close to its limitations and maximize its performance while improving energy efficiency,” says Wadlom.

Due to AspenTech solutions running on AWS, BIG is now equipped to aggregate and apply insights to run its plants efficiently, cost-effectively, and sustainably. Through BIG collaborating with AspenTech, the performance of the process will subsequently be further improved. “AspenTech solutions on AWS can be quickly and effortlessly implemented. We are using the analytic tools to get the timely insights that we need,” says Wadlom.