Benefits of Using an Asset Hierarchy in Wind Farm Maintenance

1. Standardized Asset Identification: An asset hierarchy provides a uniform system for labeling all components within a wind farm, ensuring consistent identification across different turbines and systems. This standardization facilitates clear communication among operators, maintenance teams, and external stakeholders.
   
2. Enhanced Maintenance Efficiency: With unique identifiers for each component, maintenance personnel can quickly locate and address issues, reducing downtime. The system’s hierarchical structure aids in pinpointing specific parts, streamlining troubleshooting and repairs.
   
3. Improved Data Management: An asset hierarchy’s structured approach allows for efficient organization of operational data, maintenance records, and performance metrics. This organization supports better analysis and decision-making, leading to optimized maintenance strategies.
   
4. Facilitated Digital Integration: The standardized coding system of an asset hierarchy enables seamless integration with digital tools and software platforms, enhancing capabilities in monitoring, analytics, and predictive maintenance.

Best Practices for Developing Asset Hierarchies

Define Clear Objectives

• Alignment with Organizational Goals: Ensures that the asset hierarchy supports broader business and operational goals.
• Enhanced Decision-Making: Establishes a structured framework for evaluating asset performance and prioritizing actions.
• Efficient Resource Allocation: Helps in identifying critical assets and processes, leading to optimized resource distribution and maintenance prioritization.
• Performance Measurement: Allows for the creation of measurable targets, enabling ongoing monitoring and continuous improvement in asset management.

Adopt a Standardized Framework

• RDS-PP (Reference Designation System for Power Plants): Commonly used in power generation, RDS-PP provides structured asset identification and classification.
• ISO 14224: A standard for reliability and maintenance data collection, widely used in the energy sector.
• ISO 55000 Series: A broader asset management standard that covers all aspects of asset lifecycle management, including hierarchy structuring.
• IEC 81346: A system designed for structuring complex industrial systems, ensuring functional and location-based classifications.
  

Develop a Hierarchical Structure

• System Level: Major systems (e.g., turbines, substations).
• Subsystem Level: Components within each system (e.g., rotor, nacelle, tower).
• Component Level: Individual parts within subsystems (e.g., gearbox, generator).

Implement Consistent Naming Conventions

Develop Location and Product Aspects

Location Aspect

• Define Location Codes: Assign unique identifiers to physical areas within the wind farm, such as specific turbines, substations, or control rooms.
• Establish a Hierarchical Structure: Organize these codes to reflect the physical layout, enabling clear navigation from broader areas to specific locations.
• Integrate with Functional Designations: Combine location codes with functional designations to provide comprehensive identifiers that convey both the physical and functional context of each component.
  

Product Aspect

• Identify All Components: List all physical parts of the system, from major assemblies to individual elements.
• Assign Product Codes: Use standardized codes to designate each component, detailing its type and characteristics.
• Create a Hierarchical Breakdown: Organize components into a hierarchy that reflects their assembly relationships, illustrating how smaller parts combine into larger systems.
• Document Interconnections: Clearly define how components interface with each other, supporting maintenance and troubleshooting activities.

Integrate with Maintenance Management Systems

Provide Training and Documentation

Regularly Review and Update the Hierarchy

Asset Hierarchy vs. Asset Registry

An asset hierarchy and an asset registry serve distinct but complementary purposes in asset management:

• Asset Hierarchy: A structured representation of assets, organized in multiple levels based on their functions, components, and relationships. It provides a logical framework for asset categorization and management.

• Asset Registry: A comprehensive database or inventory of all assets, typically including key details such as specifications, location, condition, and maintenance history. While an asset hierarchy focuses on relationships and structure, an asset registry emphasizes asset tracking and record-keeping.

Summary

• Clean Power Organization: "AWEA O&M Best Practices"
• ETIP Wind: "Operations and Maintenance Roadmap for Offshore Wind"
• Industry Reports on Wind Farm Asset Management
• IEEE Xplore: "Asset maintenance simulation: The case-study of an offshore wind farm" (https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7105158)