The compelling case that Plant Asset Management (PAM) Systems provides for reducing operational costs while simultaneously improving performance is the primary factor driving growth of PAM. The worldwide market for Plant Asset Management Systems will experience growth this year and throughout the forecast period according to a new ARC Advisory Group study.

Plant Asset ManagementPAM growth is being fueled in part by the increased amount and complexity of automation equipment in manufacturing plants that requires a higher order approach to maintenance provided by PAM systems. “As aging workers leave the workforce, maintenance specialists are vanishing and are being replaced with generalists. These generalists will need user-friendly tools and more simplified work procedures to maintain plant equipment,” according to Sr. Analyst Paula Hollywood, the principal author of ARC’s “Plant Asset Management Systems Worldwide Outlook”.

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The Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) and Field Service Management (FSM) market has achieved strong growth particularly in the area of field service despite the difficult economic environment. In 2011, the market size passed the previous 2008 peak just prior to the economic decline. Overall, the market is expected to grow from $2.2 billion in 2011 to $3 billion in 2015 for a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7 percent.

Some regions will grow more quickly due to macro-economic trends. China, India, and Brazil, though having a smaller base, will grow rapidly. The Middle East and Russia, with high oil related revenues, have the fundamentals for robust growth. The Americas, with the largest regional market, will also show strength. With the acceptance of mobility, field service applications achieved double digit growth that is expected to continue.

"ARC’s 2012 user survey confirms that four factors — uptime, cost control, asset longevity, and safety — represent the key business reasons organizations acquire maintenance management systems,” according to Ralph Rio, Research Director, the principal author of ARC’s “Enterprise Asset Management and Field Service Management Worldwide Outlook”. Ralph continued, “The growing variety of technologies and the rising speed of business require a modern EAM/FSM system for asset management.”

Mobility Expands EAM Applications and Benefits

As smartphones and other mobile devices for consumers become more pervasive, expectations and willingness to adopt mobile devices improve. The expanding capabilities of mobile devices drive new areas of business value – especially for EAM/FSM systems. The convergence of technologies includes GPS, GIS, Wi-Fi, RFID, voice-to-text data, text-to-voice, digital camera, and gauges with Bluetooth enable more powerful applications. Increased productivity can be realized with applications such as location identification to optimize the travel time of technicians to geographically dispersed assets. Mapping the location of people in real-time in the plant, mine, or field also improves safety (emergency management). The benefits of real-time location awareness are magnified when combined with the optimized planning, scheduling, and dispatch functions provided by an EAM and FSM applications. Mobile solutions drive EAM upgrades and wider user adoption.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, BP and TransCanada, through its participation in the Alaska Pipeline Project, announced today that they are working together on the next generation of resource development in Alaska.

The four companies have agreed on a work plan aimed at commercializing North Slope natural gas resources within an Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA) framework. Because of a rapidly evolving global market, large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from south-central Alaska will be assessed as an alternative to a natural gas pipeline through Alberta.

“Commercializing Alaska natural gas resources will not be easy. There are many challenges and issues that must be resolved, and we cannot do it alone. Unprecedented commitments of capital for gas development will require competitive and stable fiscal terms with the State of Alaska first be established,” the CEOs of ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and BP wrote in a joint letter to Governor Sean Parnell.

The producing companies support meaningful Alaska tax reform, such as the legislation introduced by Governor Parnell, which will encourage increased investment and establish an economic foundation for further commercialization of North Slope resources.

With Point Thomson legal issues now settled, the producers are moving forward with the initial development phase of the Point Thomson project. Alaska’s North Slope holds more than 35 trillion cubic feet of discovered natural gas, and Point Thomson is a strategic investment to position Alaska gas commercialization.

Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) announced today following a formal signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that it was awarded a contract by PETRONAS Gas Berhad, a subsidiary of PETRONAS, to provide front-end engineering and design (FEED) services for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal in Malaysia. The new terminal will supply gas to an adjacent 300-megawatt combined cycle power plant in the town of Lahad Datu, Sabah. Fluor booked the undisclosed contract value in the first quarter of 2012.

“We are pleased to add another significant LNG project to the growing relationship between the PETRONAS Group and Fluor in Malaysia,” said Ken Choudhary, senior vice president of Fluor’s Energy & Chemicals business. “This LNG terminal will help address additional power generation needs, which in turn, will contribute to further industrial and economic development in the region.”

Fluor will be utilizing local subcontractors and suppliers for various facets of the project. This contract further consolidates Fluor’s position in Malaysia where the company is performing other projects in the oil refining sector and in the LNG regasification business and where significant project growth opportunities are expected in the near term.

Fluor was previously part of a joint venture that provided PETRONAS with preliminary engineering services for a new LNG liquefaction plant at the existing facility in Bintulu, Malaysia.