System shutdowns due to unexpected power failures have a big impact on finances, safety and reputation. By adopting more strategic approaches, businesses can enhance their efficiency and thrive in our electric future.
In today’s interconnected global economy, disruptions to the power supply have become one of the most prominent challenges for businesses. Across many sectors, these have caused serious implications, with every minute of downtime damaging an organization’s finances, processes, and reputation, as well as putting the safety of workers at risk. The impact of unplanned downtime is particularly severe in industries where reliability and continuous operations are paramount.
The need for reliable electrical systems has never been more critical, especially as the importance of more complex and energy-intensive industries, such as data centers, grows. For instance, the Uptime Institute’s 2023 survey found that 54% of data center managers experienced a significant outage, with 16% reporting losses exceeding $1m. The primary cause of these outages was power failures, accounting for 52% of the incidents.
In the semiconductor industry, a critical sector dependent on a stable power supply, power outages in 2021 caused by severe weather in Texas led to a loss of $360m for one manufacturing giant. The facility had to shut down for over a month, demonstrating just how expensive a single outage can be.
Downtime can also have a huge impact in glass production – an industry where Schneider Electric and one of its key customers have worked together to deploy a first-of-its kind, software-defined automation system. There was an urgent need for greater reliability in the critical lehr process, which is used for annealing and cooling flat glass. The technology used for this procedure usually lasts for 15 to 20 years. However, any downtime in the process halts production completely. The impact can be so severe that a pause of just one minute due to power interruption can lead to up to 6 months of lost production, often requiring equipment to be replaced, and costing up to €200,000 a day.
In India, The Economic Times reported in 2023 that due to unplanned downtime, industries are estimated to lose approximately INR 7m per hour. And the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers has estimated that the country loses over $12bn annually due to inadequate maintenance of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems. When this equipment is poorly maintained, it results in unexpected breakdowns, which can lead to production delays and downtime.
In fact, in almost every industry segment – whether it’s manufacturing, healthcare, mining, electronics or life sciences – unplanned downtime poses significant risks to both performance and safety. The rapidly growing demand for electricity, coupled with the rise in more volatile renewable energy sources and more frequent extreme weather events, is increasing the risks that businesses face regarding their power supply. And the complexity of modern supply chains means that even a brief disruption can have cascading effects, leading to significant financial losses and operational inefficiencies. What’s more, the reliance on digital infrastructure and automated systems makes industries more vulnerable to power outages, emphasizing the need for robust backup solutions and business contingency planning. How can they respond to this situation?
From reactive to proactive electrical asset management
When an unplanned outage happens, it’s natural for the business to focus above all on getting systems up and running again as quickly as possible. While this immediate response is necessary, it’s equally important to pause and assess the root cause of the problem. Why did the incident happen? What triggered the outage? Is there anything you could do differently to reduce the risk of it being repeated? By asking these strategic questions, businesses can begin to shift from a reactive approach to a proactive one, ensuring that they’re better prepared to handle such disruptions in the future.
At Schneider Electric, these are the kind of questions that we discuss with businesses to explore how they might develop a different approach to managing their electrical assets. Rather than reacting to a succession of emergencies, we consider what they can do to design and manage systems that never reach that point – anticipating problems and intervening to prevent them before they can happen. We adopt a strategy of proactive asset management and advise our clients to implement this approach by continuously monitoring their assets.
Schneider Electric’s proactive asset management concept emphasizes minimizing downtime, optimizing maintenance schedules, and promoting energy efficiency. By leveraging digitized asset monitoring and predictive analytics, businesses can enhance operational efficiency and extend the lifespan of their equipment.
Nescafé, for example, implemented Schneider Electric’s proactive asset management to enhance its production efficiency. By leveraging digitized asset monitoring and predictive analytics, the company was able to reduce unplanned downtime by 75% and cut maintenance costs by Other leading companies, such as BASF, have also embraced Schneider Electric’s proactive asset management solutions. Through continuous monitoring and predictive analytics, BASF was able to optimize its maintenance schedules, extend the life of its equipment, and minimize unplanned downtime. This not only enhanced operational efficiency but also contributed to the company’s sustainability goals. 40%.
Case studies of Schneider Electric’s work
Case Study 1: BASF – Enhancing operational efficiency and sustainability
BASF, a global leader in the chemical industry, faced the challenge of improving the reliability of its electrical systems to ensure smooth, uninterrupted production. By partnering with Schneider Electric and implementing a proactive asset management strategy, BASF optimized its equipment maintenance schedules and extended the lifespan of its critical electrical assets. Real-time monitoring and predictive analytics allowed the company to detect early signs of failure, enabling it to take corrective action before issues escalated. As a result, BASF not only achieved operational efficiency but also improved energy consumption and aligned its operations with sustainability objectives.
Case Study 2: Nestlé – Preventing costly downtime and improving reliability
Nestlé, a major player in the food and beverage industry, collaborated with Schneider Electric to enhance the reliability of its production facilities. Schneider Electric deployed its predictive analytics and remote monitoring technologies at two of Nestlé’s key production plants. This enabled the continuous monitoring of electrical assets and helped the company identify potential failures in advance. As a result, Nestlé was able to prevent major incidents, including one that could have caused 24 hours of downtime for a crucial transformer. By avoiding these disruptions, Nestlé not only ensured continuous production but also reduced maintenance costs and improved the overall efficiency of its operations.
Case Study 3: Capgemini – Cutting energy use through more efficient management
Capgemini, a leading strategic partner for businesses globally, wanted to monitor and reduce its use of energy across 23 campuses in India. It worked with Schneider Electric to set up an Energy Command Center – a single point where experts can remotely monitor energy consuming assets at all of these sites. In this way, our technology allows the company to optimize operations, maintenance and performance for 70 different buildings based on real-time data. This has resulted in a 29% reduction in energy consumption. The company was able to transition to 100% renewable energy for its own operations, and export excess renewable energy from four of the sites to the local electricity grid.
These examples demonstrate how Schneider Electric’s proactive asset management approach has helped clients globally achieve better operational efficiency, cost savings, and sustainability.
To successfully transition to a proactive asset management model, organizations must have an in-depth understanding of the condition of their power systems – a capacity that we can support through our technology. We do this with the help of our expert consulting team, which visits sites and assesses their critical electrical and related assets using a range of devices and IoT sensors, as well as measuring many other important parameters.
Based on this, we advise businesses on how they can continuously monitor their systems through connected digital sensors – installing this technology where it’s needed. This data can then be analyzed using Schneider Electric’s AI-powered predictive analytics to provide real-time insights into the health of electrical assets. For example, the analytics can provide a health score card which can indicate that a transformer or circuit breaker is beginning to deteriorate, potentially leading to a failure in the coming months. With this early warning, businesses can schedule maintenance before the issue results in a costly breakdown, minimizing downtime and associated costs.
Without this knowledge, an organization may have had to wait until a serious incident until it could take action. But once it’s aware of the issue, it can schedule maintenance to address it promptly, keeping the equipment running safely and smoothly. AI further enhances the effectiveness of this approach by continuously refining predictive models. This enables businesses to make informed decisions about when and how to maintain their equipment, thus extending its lifespan and reducing the need for emergency repairs.
By minimizing unplanned downtime in this way, businesses who manage their electrical assets proactively gain a significant competitive edge. Having a detailed picture of their equipment’s condition also allows them to take a more efficient approach to maintenance overall – carrying it out only when and where it’s needed, rather than following a fixed schedule. As well as reducing the time and cost of the necessary work, this extends the lifetime of system components – which can be repaired in time to avoid breakdowns. What’s more, businesses benefit from improved safety, due to fewer incidents and less need for in-person inspections.
Developing a plan for digital transformation: Electricity 4.0
Clearly, there are many advantages to taking a more proactive approach to managing electrical assets. But it isn’t easy to transform your systems overnight, or even to know where to start. Our analysis of data from 400 audits found that more than three quarters (76%) had a limited view of their energy usage due to a lack of network-connected meters and sensors. And nearly eight out of ten (79%) had obsolete electrical equipment. If the prospect of addressing issues like this seems overwhelming, that’s where Schneider Electric can help – working with you to understand your challenges, and advise on the most appropriate strategy to tackle them.
Our vision, Electricity 4.0, brings together electric power and digital technology to bring out the best in each, supporting the sustainable industries of the future. With a presence in more than 140 countries and experience across a broad range of sectors, we can provide reliable advice on which parts of your power infrastructure to focus on improving – and how to go about doing it. Our deep expertise informs our AI-powered analytics, which are continuously refined by hundreds of data scientists. We incorporate the latest generative AI capabilities into our work, too – helping our engineers to compile in-depth reports and share their knowledge.
Supporting a close ongoing relationship with our customers and partners, we provide our monitoring services through a dynamic web platform, allowing organizations to review the health of their power systems across multiple global locations. And for those that require it, the experts in our Connected Services Hub can remotely monitor electrical assets 24 hours a day, seven days a week – sending an engineer to the site if the situation requires.
Sites whose electrical systems Schneider Electric has recently helped to bring up to date include two large production plants for Nestlé in Mexico. Similarly, China Unicom has benefited from Schneider Electric’s proactive asset management system at their massive data centers, achieving zero interruptions and realizing up to 30% operational savings.
Key benefits of proactive asset management
Reduced Downtime: By predicting and preventing equipment failures before they happen, businesses can avoid costly outages and ensure uninterrupted operations.
Cost Savings: Proactive maintenance allows businesses to optimize maintenance schedules, extend the lifespan of equipment, and reduce the need for costly emergency repairs.
Improved Safety: Regular monitoring of electrical systems helps identify potential hazards, minimizing the risk of safety incidents and accidents.
Sustainability: Proactive asset management aligns with sustainability goals by optimizing energy consumption, reducing waste, and extending the life of critical equipment.
Conclusion
In a world where unplanned downtime can cost millions, adopting a proactive approach to electrical asset management is no longer just an option—it’s a necessity. Businesses must embrace the digital transformation of their electrical infrastructure, utilizing AI, IoT, and predictive analytics technology to enhance reliability, minimize downtime, and stay competitive in an ever-evolving market.
There’s no single answer on how to transform your electrical power infrastructure. The best approach will be different in each case. But when you get it right, the rewards are real – from the immediate improvements in safety and resilience to better decision-making in the years and decades ahead.
Schneider Electric’s proactive asset management solutions provide companies with the tools they need to anticipate potential failures, optimize their maintenance processes, and ensure the long-term sustainability of their operations. Whether you’re looking to improve energy efficiency, reduce costs, or enhance safety, Schneider Electric is here to guide you on your path to a sustainable future.
If you’re ready to explore how a proactive asset management strategy can yield quick benefits and a strong ROI, I invite you to connect with me on LinkedIn or complete the form for a complimentary 30-minute consultation. Let’s work together to secure a more reliable and efficient future for your electrical assets!
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