Maintaining Energy Equipment

Very key thing in an industrial world.  And a good analytical view of the risk involved.

Maintaining the equipment that powers our world
By organizing performance data and predicting problems, Tagup helps energy companies keep their equipment running.

Zach Winn | MIT News Office

Most people only think about the systems that power their cities when something goes wrong. Unfortunately, many people in the San Francisco Bay Area had a lot to think about recently when their utility company began scheduled power outages in an attempt to prevent wildfires. The decision came after devastating fires last year were found to be the result of faulty equipment, including transformers.

Transformers are the links between power plants, power transmission lines, and distribution networks. If something goes wrong with a transformer, entire power plants can go dark. To fix the problem, operators work around the clock to assess various components of the plant, consider disparate data sources, and decide what needs to be repaired or replaced.

Power equipment maintenance and failure is such a far-reaching problem it’s difficult to attach a dollar sign to. Beyond the lost revenue of the plant, there are businesses that can’t operate, people stuck in elevators and subways, and schools that can’t open.

Now the startup Tagup is working to modernize the maintenance of transformers and other industrial equipment. The company’s platform lets operators view all of their data streams in one place and use machine learning to estimate if and when components will fail.  ... "