System and method to provide maintenance for an electrical power generation, transmission and distribution system

• US 8,126,752 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2007
• Issued: 02/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ABB Power Grids Switzerland AG (ABB Limited)
• Original Assignee: Abb As (ABB Limited)
• Inventors: Tveit, Tor Andreas, Kleivi, Roald, Moen, Ragnar, Gundersen, Lars S., Nysveen, Arne, Midtgård, Ole-Morten
• Primary Examiner(s): CHOI, PETER H
• Application Number:
  US11/653,668
• Publication Number:
  US 20070203779A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,873 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.11, 705/412
• US Class Current: 705/7.11
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0283 Predictive maintenance, e.g. involving the monitoring of a system and, based on the monitoring results, taking decisions on the maintenance schedule of the monitored system; Estimating remaining useful life [RUL] preventive maintenance, i.e. planning maintenance according to the available resources without monitoring the system G06Q10/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 20/14 Combined heat and power generation [CHP]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/50 Systems or methods supporting the power network operation or management, involving a certain degree of interaction with the load-side end user applications

Abstract

A method for providing maintenance to an electrical power generation, transmission and distribution system, and an information system and one or more computer program software means for carrying out same. A method to provide maintenance to an electrical power generation facility and/or an electrical power transmission and distribution network system operated by a Utility. Maintenance personnel visit a site to inspect a condition of said apparatus, and examine information from an Information System operated in co-ordination with a Help Desk. The method comprises further steps such as preparing a report of the apparatus with a mobile web camera, making a report comprising a graphic image of the condition of said apparatus, receiving at said Help Desk and Information System the report and graphic image from the inspector/repairman, finding stored information about said apparatus and/or said system in said Information System, comparing said stored information with the report and/or graphic image, the inspector/repairman making in consultation with the Help Desk an assessment of the condition of said apparatus and providing a recommendation such as a repair, a temporary repair or making a plan for a repair at a later time.

Claims

1. A method to provide maintenance to an electrical power generation, transmission and distribution system including a generation facility and/or an electrical power transmission and distribution network system and equipment connected to said system for distributing electrical power, operated by a Utility, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving information from an electrical power generation, transmission and distribution system reporting a condition of equipment connected to the system;

sending an inspector/repairman to inspect the equipment connected to the electrical power generation, transmission and distribution system;

accessing, by the inspector/repairman, a database of information relating to the electrical power generation, transmission and distribution system;

generating at least one graphic image of the equipment utilizing an online inspection kit that includes a camera and an operator computer terminal with a communications link to the database of information relating to the electrical power generation, transmission and distribution system;

generating an electronic report relating to the equipment via the operator computer terminal, the report including the at least one graphic image of said equipment;

transmitting the report from the operator computer terminal via the Internet to the database;

accessing the report at a help desk;

receiving via at least one of the operator computer terminal and the help desk information about said equipment and/or said electrical power generation, transmission and distribution system;

comparing at the help desk said stored information with the report;

generating a maintenance recommendation at the help desk based on the report and the stored information and transmitting the maintenance recommendation from the help desk to the inspector/repairman;

selecting a possible action for a repair or temporary measure;

inputting technical details for modeling and/or simulating individual equipment and/or a part of a power network according to the possible repair or temporary measure;

examining the modeling result and appraising the merits of the possible repair or temporary measure; and

modeling an effect of any of, disconnecting lines, disconnection of a complete or partial load, reconfiguring the power network by disconnecting one switch and connecting another, operation of an equipment at reduced load, operation of an equipment at increased load.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising making a decision for the inspector/repairman to carry out a repair in consultation with the Help Desk.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the inspector/repairman carries out a temporary repair in consultation with the Help Desk.

4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

documenting the repair carried out by the inspector/repairman in consultation with the Help Desk; and

storing a report of the repair within the database of the electrical power transmission and distribution network system.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising creating, by the inspector/repairman in consultation with the Help Desk, a plan to repair a fault at a later time.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising documenting, by the inspector/repairman in consultation with the Help Desk, a plan to repair a fault at a later time in full.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the plan to repair the fault at a later time comprises a guaranty.

8. The method according to claim 1, comprising taking action to place purchase and/or procurement orders for spare parts and or new equipment.

9. The method according to claim 1, comprising taking action to place one or more work orders to procure and schedule work according to a plan for repair to an equipment or to a part of the power network.

10. The method according to claim 1, comprising transmitting, via the Internet, information about a condition of an equipment or part of the power network.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the Help Desk is implemented as one or more engineers with mobile communications, mobile computers, and mobile access to data communication networks including the Internet.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the Help Desk further comprises one or more computer programs of an expert system type configured so as to enable an inspector/repairman to input information concerning an equipment and retrieve further technical information about maintenance of the equipment.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising evaluating a possible result of a maintenance action such as:

a consequence for electrical power consumers; and

a reduction of life-time of a component.

14. The method according to claim 1, comprising receiving, from the Utility, a notice of a condition of an equipment or part of the power network.

15. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving, from the electrical power transmission and distribution network system, a condition of an equipment or part of the electrical power transmission and distribution network system dependent on an analysis of a signal from the camera at a site or other location of the electrical power transmission and distribution network system.

16. A system for providing maintenance to an electrical power generation, transmission and distribution system including a generation facility and/or an electrical power transmission and distribution network system and equipment connected to said system for distributing electrical power, the electrical power system operated by a first party utility and maintenance instructions provided by a second party helpdesk, the system comprising:

an electrical power generation, transmission and distribution system including equipment connected to said system for distributing electrical power;

a central computer having a storage and a network connection, said storage having stored thereon a database of information relating to the electrical power generation, transmission and distribution system;

a utility computer receiving information from the electrical power generation, transmission and distribution system relating to a condition of equipment connected to the electrical power generation, transmission and distribution system;

an online inspection kit including a camera and an operator computer terminal having a network connection operated by an inspector/repairman for the first party utility;

the online inspection kit, operated by said inspector/repairman, generating at least one graphic image of the equipment with the camera and generating a report relating to the equipment, wherein the report and at least one graphic image are transmitted to the database;

a helpdesk computer operated by the second party helpdesk having a network connection and coupled to the database;

said report and information about the electrical power system received by said helpdesk computer from said database;

a maintenance recommendation generated on the second party helpdesk based on the report and the information about the electrical power generation, transmission and distribution system;

wherein said maintenance recommendation is transmitted from the second party helpdesk to the inspector/repairman for the first party utility;

further comprising one or more computer programs for;

inputting technical details for modeling and/or simulating individual equipment and/or a part of a power network according to a selected possible repair or temporary measure;

examining the modeling result and appraising the merits of the possible repair or temporary measure; and

modeling an effect of any of, disconnecting lines, disconnection of a complete or partial load, reconfiguring the power network by disconnecting one switch and connecting another, operation of an equipment at reduced load, operation of an equipment at increased load.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the camera of the online inspection kit is a web camera and is operable to send pictures in a format comprising TCP/IP.

18. The system according to claim 16, further comprising a communication connection enabling two-way voice communication between the inspector/repairman for the first party utility and the second party helpdesk.

19. The system according to claim 16, wherein the database is updated according to work performed on the equipment.

20. The system according to claim 16, further comprising a service report including details of a plan to provide maintenance service at a later time.