Monitoring mission-critical assets & balance-of-plant equipment

Constellation Energy deploys new predictive diagnostic technology to help avoid surprises and eliminate equipment failures

Constellation Energy has chosen to upgrade and widely expand its use of GE Intelligent Platforms's Proficy® SmartSignal solutions across the company’s entire high-capacity power generation fleet. Constellation will deploy the SmartSignal Shield predictive-diagnostic solution, along with SmartSignal Cycle Watch software, a high-speed solution specifically designed for combustion turbine start-ups.

Constellation initially tested the SmartSignal Epi-Center software in 2008 and expanded its use in 2009 to five plants, including coal, combined-cycle, and combustion turbine. The software provided early warning of several hundred equipment problems, which helped Constellation increase reliability and reduce maintenance costs. As a result, Constellation has decided to implement a three-phase project to maximize its monitoring of all mission-critical assets and balance-of-plant equipment that impact performance.

The program includes:

Deployment of SmartSignal Shield software within the initial five plants.

Deployment of SmartSignal Shield software in all additional plants in the Constellation high-capacity fleet.

Deployment of SmartSignal Cycle Watch software on all 21 combustion turbines across Constellation’s fleet.

“With the addition of Proficy SmartSignal solutions across our national fleet of fossil fuel plants, we’re already seeing good results in reaching our reliability and maintenance goals,” said David Lillefloren, Director, Business Performance for Constellation Energy’s CPG Support Services Group. “Ultimately, this technology is going to help us to extend the life of these important assets.”

Constellation Energy is an industry innovator and world leader in operations excellence. On the cutting edge of use of technology to improve the performance of plants, Constellation Energy uses Proficy SmartSignal technology in its own Performance Monitoring & Diagnostic (PM&D) Center, with support from the SmartSignal in-house Availability & Performance Center (APC).

SmartSignal Epi-Center software is an industry-leading predictive solution for managing, controlling, and optimizing equipment maintenance and industry operations. The new SmartSignal Shield solution builds upon years of experience and provides even earlier predictions of impending failures and, now, apparent causes of the impending failures, along with prioritisations. The new SmartSignal Cycle Watch software is the only solution for increasing reliable starts in combustion turbines. Using patented technology and special high-frequency sampling, SmartSignal Cycle Watch software uniquely analyzes the highly variable conditions of start-up and detects subtle deviations that only are visible in these high-stress and transient conditions.

Erik Udstuen, GE Intelligent Platforms Vice President, Software & Services, said, “Constellation Energy is one of our most proactive customers, always looking for ways to improve availability, reliability, and efficiency. Constellation’s use of Proficy SmartSignal to protect all of its critical plants and equipment is leading the industry with new and powerful technologies. As we both continue to innovate, we look forward to a long and productive partnership.”

The Proficy SmartSignal solutions are the latest examples of how GE’s $4 billion-a-year software and solutions services businesses are helping customers improve productivity.