PLM has been thrown around as a buzzword by consultants, vendors and others who are trying to make sure they are seen as relevant in the marketplace. The truth of the matter is that PLM is more than a technology or group of technologies and has the potential for far reaching benefits when successfully implemented. What often is seen is where a particular tool is adopted to support a project and the vendor considers this supporting PLM.
Figure 1: Basic PLM Concept
PLM is a way of doing business. It is literally a business strategy that leads to improved ROA for plant owners and operators. It so happens that the technologies used for effective PLM implementation can be used for individual capital project deployment. In fact, this is a great approach for gaining confidence in the technology and migrating to a full programmatic approach to managing the plant lifecycle over a series of projects.
BCP has assisted its customers by introducing such technologies as 3D digital modeling, laser scanning and 3D digital simulation of complex evolutions to assure success and reduce risks to production schedules. This in turn helps to avoid unplanned delays by orchestrating complex evolutions down to the second if necessary. Beyond the use for the specific project, the customer is left with a detailed 3D digital model of the plant (or significant portion) that can be used for improving the configuration management at the facility, improving future evolution planning and improved modification planning. One BCP customer used the model to improve their containment outage mobilization by reducing the critical path for the polar crane and thus saving hours on mobilization.
With a clear vision, successive projects can continue to add to the arsenal of tools, models and simulations available to planners. They can ultimately improve the reliability of plans and schedules while reducing risks to unplanned events that impact production, revenue and ROA for plant owners and operators.
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