Aspect Introduces Plant Equipment Management Module with Expanded Content to Drive eBusiness in the Energy Industry
Aspect partners with Tektonisk AS to lower the cost of equipment
design, build, operations and maintenance in Oil & Gas, Chemicals,
and other process industries
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Aspect Development, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASDV) today announced a unique new capability for its eOperate(TM) solution that will significantly reduce the costs of building and maintaining capital-intensive plant equipment, particularly in the energy industry. By partnering with Tektonisk AS to incorporate their Common Equipment Catalog (CEC) -- an Internet-based database with product specifications and documentation on typical process equipment such as motors, generators, transmitters, etc., found on off-shore oil platforms-Aspect will provide a comprehensive plant equipment life cycle management solution.
"Aspect is known for its eContent as it provides the critical backbone for successful B2B eBusiness," said Bob Evans, Aspect president and COO. "To expand our leadership position, we are accelerating the development of our Content operations with quality data garnered from key partnerships such as Tektonisk. This partnership will add enormous value for Energy, Chemical, Food and Consumer Packaged Goods industry customers using these new capabilities in Aspect's eOperate solution."
Aspect's eOperate solution will be used to support multi-year, multi-phase capital intensive projects that involve equipment design, build, and operations processes. For example, during the design and build phase of a project, which typically lasts between one to three years, the owner/operator of the project and the multiple-vendor design/build team use the Aspect eOperate solution integrated with Tektonisk data to collaboratively design and document the project's equipment. In the operation and maintenance phase of a project, which can be thirty years or longer, the owner/operator of the facility uses the Aspect solution to maintain and upgrade equipment using Aspect eOperate decision support software coupled with content that includes the Tektonisk CEC.
"Our partnership with Aspect came together smoothly due to our mutual belief in the enormous value of Content coupled with decision support software," said Dag Pettersen, Managing Director of Tektonisk. "Aspect's eOperate decision support solution adds enormous depth and flexibility for strategic use of our CEC Content throughout the life cycle of plant equipment -- from design, build, and operate, to management and maintenance -- offering the invaluable addition of integrating with purchasing and plant maintenance systems such as the SAP R/3(R) system."
eOperate Cuts Cost for Design, Build and Maintenance
The costs to build and maintain a capital-intensive facility such as an off-shore oil rig or a large processing plant are enormous. But there are numerous areas of inefficiency because of the multiple vendors involved that have no easy way to share information. Industry studies show that there is very little re-use of preferred designs, unnecessary equipment variation, erroneous purchases which are extremely costly for project owners, coupled with remote facilities, high disposal costs, and little recycling of equipment. The Aspect eOperate solution provides a common catalog of designs, parts and supplies that can be quickly and easily accessed by all participants in a project. As an Internet-based solution, eOperate enables instant collaboration between EPC firms, owners/operators and the equipment supply chain. This approach typically yields savings of 20 - 30% of the cost of engineering and speeds design and construction. By increasing part preference management and equipment re-use, including more complex and costly commodity spend categories, further savings can be negotiated through better buying leverage and supplier collaboration.
"This is another step in Aspect's strategy to provide a complete solution for strategically sourcing and managing both material-mastered and non-material mastered items, covering both products and services purchased by Process industry companies," added Bob Evans. "This will allow our clients to purchase varied products in one step and will enable purchasing leverage to be applied across diverse organizations resulting in significant bottom line savings."
Availability of the Aspect eOperate solution
Aspect's eOperate solution, complete with Tektonisk data is available today. Aspect and Tektonisk will present this unique solution at the Plant Information Management Conference (PIMC99) on November 9th and 10th, 1999 in The Hague, Netherlands. |
