Smart Maintenance

The first question "Investors and their relationship to maintenance", relates to CAPEX and OPEX, as indirectly suggested in the previous section.

The acquisition of information is an essential part of any modern maintenance concept. This means that every multi-megawatt wind turbine must have systems that monitor and record conditions.

These include systems, known for many years, such as condition monitoring systems to monitor the condition of the drivetrain.

In the future, however, due to ever larger and more complex structures - especially rotor blades, (hybrid) towers (with concrete and steel structures) and foundations - systems will be required for holistic continuous condition monitoring: Structural Health Monitoring systems (SHM systems). As confirmed by modern examples, when building structures are affected by massive damage, there is danger to life and limb as well as to the investment. The measured values from SHM systems can be used to avoid unfavorable operating conditions and thus significantly reduce the dynamic loads acting on structures.

It makes sense here to take a holistic approach, so that every monitoring task does not require a different procedure, or at least to work with uniform interfaces that connect systems efficiently. This reduces the effort, which should not be underestimated, of managing many different measuring systems in order to generate the expected benefits from the information contained in these systems.

 "Challenges and risks"

In essence, this comes down to an analysis of the services provided by an organization (e.g., the combination of operations management and service) and their maintenance processes. Challenges include, for example, distributed locations, type diversity and lack of personnel, as well as the strategic orientation of the organization. Hidden risks may lurk in contracts with OEMs.

Scarce resources in spare parts, personnel and service providers

This issue is closely related to the organization’s size and its ability to realize economies of scale. Many WTGs of a certain type may justify the stockpiling critical components. Conversely, the greater the diversity of turbine types and greater the distance between wind farms, the more information should be provided by turbines (via SCADA or measurement systems) to plan targeted service interventions.

The current market situation will bring about significant change. Supply chains are being restructured and spare parts are significantly more difficult to obtain. Existing crane capacities will be used primarily for new construction, and necessary repairs may not receive the same priority. This also applies to transmission repairs, which logistically cannot be accommodated in a fully utilized series production.

 Demographic developments are already impacting the labor market when it comes to personnel requirements. In future, it will certainly become even more difficult to find motivated personnel who also meet the necessary physical requirements over the long term. In addition, a decentralized energy industry requires more personnel on an ad hoc basis than a centralized energy supply. This leads immediately to the next question:

What does AI/AI have to do with standardization and digitization?

 Demographic changes are driving the need for digitization and the associated opportunities for the profitable use of new technologies. In the future, AI will play a major role in reducing personnel requirements while still being able to efficiently manage a larger portfolio. However, AI is not a magic formula; it requires framework conditions. Even if you wanted to implement digitization without standardization, you would quickly encounter almost insurmountable hurdles. This starts with adequate file naming and the definition of uniform storage locations. The application of AI is much more successful when structured processes are in place.