News

Sennen Spotlights: Downtime Analysis

2nd February 2024


Spotlight 1: What problem does it solve?

Our Downtime Analysis tool has been designed for renewable energy asset managers, helping them understand and analyse energy production losses caused by site incidents and other operational losses.

It also produces clean and corrected device timelines which can form the basis of contractual availability calculations. It draws on SCADA and alarm log data so it is fully automated but it allows asset managers to delve into the data, analyse it and respond effectively.

Performing production assessments can be a complex and time-consuming exercise. With Sennen, you can gather reliable data quickly on what is causing the downtime and ultimately reduce those losses and increase revenue.

Unlike other downtime analysis tools that are solely reliant on algorithms and multi-system cross-references, Sennen leverages the power of user knowledge to enrich, refine and enhance the raw data. Operators can draw on the knowledge of the whole team to understand fully the causes of downtime rather than relying purely on SCADA data, which can be inaccurate or misleading.


Spotlight 2: Features


1. Handle multiple sites on one dashboard:

Allowing users to switch easily between them. Different site types (such as solar and wind) can co-exist.

2. Edit alerts at scale:

Simply drag and drop over multiple events and bulk reallocate with a single click.

3. Event categorisation:

Clear and colour-coded event categorisation makes it easy for users to analyse the data in many ways.

4. Change your view:

Flexible overview of turbine events via list or timeline.

5. Filter events:

You can filter the data according to what you need to know, such as turbines, event codes, contractual categories, components. Combinations of filters can be saved, so that a user can quickly select the saved view that shows them the information they require.

6. Edit, merge and split events:

Make changes to specific fields and apply overrides.

7. Fully reversible interactions:

You can easily restore events to the original state.

8. Contextualise event data using different metrics:

Multiple metrics (such as active and potential power, and wind speed) can be displayed alongside event timelines and will differ depending on the technology type of the site selected.

9. Export user corrections:

Reclassified timelines and information about user corrections can be automatically exported when changes occur. This can be offered in a range of data formats and export destinations.

10. Visualise the data as you need it:

Calculated KPIs can be visualised in the tool alongside device timelines and real-time metric graphs.

11. Integrate with Sennen software:

The tool can be deployed alongside Sennen’s other modules, providing combined functionality in a single set of dashboards.


Spotlight 3: Onboarding

We are experienced in integrating our tools with a diverse range of client systems. This allows us to ensure that our tools fit seamlessly into our clients’ workflows.

1. Where does the device alarm / event data come from? We have experience with a range of different data sources such as AWS S3 / Athena and OSISoft PI. Our integrations convert data from a diverse range of sources into a common format based on industry standards, such as IEC 61400-25.

2. How often should new data be ingested? Should this be dynamic (event driven), or scheduled periodically? The tool can operate in either mode, either responding to events almost immediately after they occur or by polling for new events regularly.

3. Should static data (such as lists of sites and turbines) be sourced automatically from a client system, or does it change infrequently enough that it can be manually configured, either by the client or by Sennen? The tool can operate in either mode.

4. Is there a requirement for reclassified timelines to be automatically exported? We offer a range of “out of the box” export formats / destinations, but are also able to develop bespoke export pipelines to suit client needs.

Once a client signs up, we start user testing, which is an essential period for identifying and addressing bugs, evaluating usability, gathering feedback on features, and validating assumptions. We ensure that the final product aligns with user expectations, functions as intended, and delivers a positive user experience.

We are responsive, involving clients in the deployment at the earliest stage and we actively encourage feedback and input into the development of the system.


Spotlight 4: What’s coming next

We are continually expanding the functionality of the Downtime Analysis tool and this is directly driven by conversations with our clients. They are heavily involved in the prioritisation of feature development – we listen to what they need and we implement it.

Read on to discover new features in the pipeline:

1. A new ‘user event’ mode: SCADA event/alarm data is frequently unreliable, for example due to network reliability issues. This means that the raw data from devices may change over time, even once the actual event has long passed. For situations where this happens frequently it can be a challenge to maintain the association between manual user timeline reclassifications and the raw events.

2. Additional technologies: We will be expanding the tool so that it can handle a wider range of renewable technologies, such as battery storage.

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