As more power outages rolled in this month business owners large and small are frustrated about the business interruption and the cost of implementing alternative power sources. The availability of energy has emerged as a global business challenge and in South Africa has worsened in the past decade as reliable accessibility to power appears to be an elusive, almost impossible goal.
Having invested in generators to keep operations going, the reality of the running costs and new challenges like the maintenance and optimal performance of a generator are the latest issues to be addressed. Regular inspections are often required to check operational efficiency and generator health, which adds to the time and cost of managing generators, especially at multiple sites.
“All those challenges can be addressed with an Internet of Things (IoT) solution – the Solved Connected Generator. It allows businesses to measure performance against generator KPIs to ensure the most optimal operating conditions are maintained. Improve the uptime and reduce maintenance costs by accessing real-time generator insights. The purpose of the system is to ensure business continuity through monitoring of vital performance and health aspects such as fuel and coolant levels, location, temperature and energy generation. Proactive responses and decreased downtime by providing real-time information about all generators in a network” says Vusi Mngomezulu, Head of Sales at IoT.nxt.
What it offers:
- It improves generator uptime
- Real-time alarms allow businesses to increase the operations uptime across the fleet.
- It reduces maintenance costs
- Complete visibility means reduced unplanned service visits; this can reduce total maintenance costs drastically.
- Performance can be monitored against generator KPIs
- Immediately see underperforming generators on dynamic dashboards.
- Reports are generated with ease
- Gain access to reports offering insight into the current and historical generator and maintenance information.
Beyond performance, the connected generator can drive the achievement of sustainability goals as it can also monitor CO² emissions and provide insight into another challenge facing SA business – theft. If fuel supplies are suddenly lower than anticipated, especially when a generator is not running, an immediate alert can allow for swift action to address it.
Without a generator, businesses will not operate when the power supply is interrupted. And once a company has committed to installing generators the immediate problem is solved, only to present new challenges.
”Like many other businesses challenges, smart technology can be implemented to make a grudge purchase to keep the lights on one of efficiency, thanks to the availability of metrics and a range of data to manage a generator fleet optimally,” Mngomezulu says.
* The IoT.nxt solution for generators is in operation at one of the largest commercial property owners in SA.
