GE ‘industrial Fitbit’ solutions underpin SPR Energy’s plant modernisation plans in Malaysia

“It is like having an industrial ‘Fitbit’ on your wrist and being able to monitor the pulse and heartbeat of the plant from anywhere in the world, 24-hours a day,” said Chris Sy, Chief Executive Director, SPR Energy Malaysia at the signing of an 18-year operations and maintenance agreement with GE Power Services in Kuala Lumpur on April 5.
 

Reduced downtime and extended maintenance intervals

The ‘plant Fitbit’ described by Mr. Sy refers to GE’s Asset Performance Management (APM) suite of digital solutions designed to help SPR improve their asset reliability and availability. The APM software enables data from SPR’s connected assets – regardless of make or model – to be analyzed 24/7 by GE’s Monitoring and Diagnostics Center in Kuala Lumpur.

From there, data is transformed into actionable insights including real time diagnostics, troubleshooting, and condition forecasting to improve plant reliability, and reduced downtime. In addition, intervals between maintenance events can be extended from 12,000 to up to 32,000 hours. Data processed by the APM platform can also help balance maintenance costs, improve inspection intervals, and provide more insight into operational risks.

 

GE digital tech & operational support drives SPR’s modernization plans

SPR is the first company in Southeast Asia to utilize GE’s APM offering.

“For small plants like us, we need to be cost effective in the long term. With this digital software, it will reduce manpower without compromising efficiency and reliability,” said Mr. Sy.

Adding to his comments, Anders Maltesen, Asia Pacific Region General Manager, GE Power Services said, “GE’s APM solution is designed to help smaller power plants, such as SPR’s 100MW Kimanis plant, achieve the same cost-efficiencies as bigger facilities.

“By applying in-depth data analytics we can make plants as close to 100% reliable, so customers like SPR can enjoy better efficiencies and many other benefits, including reduced gas consumption and emissions.”

In addition to the APM offering, GE will provide complete operations and maintenance at SPR’s combined cycle power plant in Kimanis, Sabah, covering all on-site equipment including two GE 6B gas turbines, two heat recovery steam generators (HRSG), and a non-GE steam turbine to provide access to parts and assets, for both original equipment manufacturer (OEM), and other OEM technologies.

 

Global opportunities

Looking to the future, Mr. Sy said the SPR-GE deal offers potential global growth opportunities as well.

“Strategically, it makes sense for us to enlist a single, trusted and credible service provider to help upgrade, manage and modernize our existing assets. This multiyear agreement complements our growth strategy in Malaysia and presents opportunities for us to expand our collaboration with GE in the global arena.”

His thoughts were shared by Paul McElhinney, president and CEO of GE’s Power Services, who said the 18-year agreement builds on an association with SPR Energy that began in 2014.

“We have a longstanding relationship with SPR Energy built on years of mutual respect and trust, and we are delighted to help them find alternative solutions for its day-to-day management and improve their operations at the plant.”

He added, “SPR Energy is a thought leader, not just in the region but globally. A lot of customers inside and outside the region will look to this relationship as the new way to drive increased productivity, efficiency and performance for power assets around the world.”