Seafood Producer Reduces Costs with Cat® Connect
What happened?
A seafood producer headquartered in the Pacific Northwest operates a network of fishing vessels and processing facilities that run from Alaska, down the west coast of the United States, all the way to New Zealand. Cat® generator sets provide electric power at many locations. The Cat dealer team convinced company leaders to begin using Cat Connect technology and services to monitor and manage a portion of the assets. Four Cat 3512 generator sets working at an Alaskan processing plant were the first units to be connected. While they run, critical performance and health data is captured and transmitted securely to company headquarters, 3,500 miles away. With easy access to reliable data about fuel consumption, engine speed, load, emissions performance, and other factors, the customer can spot problems, plan repairs, and prevent disruptive shutdowns. The customer is also using data from two units equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) aftertreatment systems to demonstrate emissions compliance, reducing annual testing costs.
What was the underlying cause?
This application of Cat Connect technology and services has been successful for several reasons:
- 35-year dealer relationship. The dealer team has decades of perspective on the customers’ key business challenges, including those related to its vast network of remotely located facilities.
- IT expertise. Making sure the customer has easy access to a single stream of reliable data from each asset has been challenging because the generator sets are older (mechanical and early-generation electronic controls), and some are equipped with SCR systems while others are not. IT experts from Caterpillar created custom configuration files to consolidate and deliver the information in an easy-to-use format.
- Focus on uptime. Using the data to manage repairs and prevent failures allows the company to maintain high production levels and avoid the cost of shutdowns.
- Creativity and transparency. The company’s environmental compliance team, recognizing another use for the information, began sharing emissions data from the SCR-equipped units with the Alaska Department of Energy (DOE). As a result, the DOE requires less frequent environmental compliance testing, saving time, costs, and disruption.
What was the value?
Using Cat Connect technology and services to prevent unplanned shutdowns can save the company as much as $200,000 per day in lost production. Repair costs are also reduced because the assets are not run to failure. In addition, because the company is sharing emissions data with the DOE regularly, they are no longer required to conduct annual compliance testing. The testing, which typically costs more than $40,000, will likely be done every two years. The customer is pleased with results achieved to date and has begun deploying Cat Connect technology and services to four other power systems at the Alaskan plant. Plans call for connecting more assets at other locations over the next several years.
