Development of asset management model using real-time equipment monitoring (RTEM) : case study of an industrial company

Globally, the issue of implementing efficient and effective asset management systems has been a challenge for most companies, especially those operating in the oil and gas industry due to the complex nature of their operations. In recent years, with the decline of oil prices, market conditions have become so competitive such that even a few minutes of downtime of equipment could lead to significant loss of revenue. A case study of an Industrial Company is presented, with the goal of assessing its current asset management system. Based on the evaluation of the current asset management system practiced by the Company, it was noted that there are significant gaps in the current practice, and the Company is yet to leverage advanced technological tools in managing its assets. Specifically, the Company does not currently have an appropriate system of tracking and monitoring its assets location, and utilization, despite the fact that the assets move from one location to another in fulfilling customer’s needs. A Real-Time Equipment Monitoring system is developed for the industrial company using GPS, Barcodes and RFID technology to provide information relating to assets location, status, condition and maintenance history which led to 30.8% increase in assets utilization. Generally, a benefit analysis carried out shows that the new system will always provide real-time observation data and instrument parameters for maintenance engineers and ultimately company managers for effective decision-making at strategic levels.