To provide customers with power and energy solutions, Finning’s power systems team uses the Cat® Productivity Optimizer - a web-based tool that provides advanced compression analytics to help customers improve productivity, reduce operating costs and increase profits. As a member of the power systems team, analyst Aaron Klassen keeps close tabs on the tool’s data and analytics. When an issue is identified, he alerts customers on what they need to do to resolve the issue before it becomes more serious.
“The tool flagged a major pressure deviation on a system belonging to one of our multinational customers based in Alberta. The deviation indicated something in their system was quickly failing,” says Aaron. “Thankfully, we resolved it early on, preventing any chance of a system-wide failure.” For another one of our customers, the tool flagged two separate issues on two different work sites, one day apart from each other.
On the first day, the tool indicated three of their engines were overloaded. If left unresolved, the engines would likely not meet their maintenance intervals, signifying a potential unplanned shutdown. Once the customer was alerted to this issue, they immediately took action to decrease the engine load.
Based on guidance from the Cat Productivity Optimizer, the customer adjusted the mechanical settings on the engine and compressor. This preventative action allowed them to maintain production levels and avoid a shutdown that could have cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars a day.
The next day on another site, a separate issue was caused by wide-open recycle valves. If left open, the recycle valves would have continued burning a ton of fuel and emissions. Not only was this money down the drain, but this could have shut down the site if not corrected. Luckily, the customer responded quickly by diverting the gas and load overage to other units. The customer’s quick response resulted in fuel savings, and they gained additional profits once the extra gas was diverted.
The great thing about the Cat Productivity Optimizer, Aaron says, is that it helps to predict issues early on, before they become full-blown problems. “In the end, the insights from the tool enable us to fix issues before they become larger and require more labour, downtime and additional costs to fix,” says Aaron. “By reducing system-wide shutdowns or failures for our customers, we’ve been able to help them save more on repair costs and increase productivity.”