SMART ALERTS: THE SOLUTION TO “ALERT SPAM”

Category: Technology

The monitoring service in a PV system is a critical link in communicating the health of the asset to multiple stakeholders. As such, its role spans Monitoring, Analysis, Reporting and Asset Management. With a life of at least 20 years and with a capital-intensive model, it becomes even more important that the monitoring system deliver high performance at the lowest cost in personnel and resources. Diaspark believes that one of the key elements of a monitoring system is how well it informs the user of system conditions, how it adapts to changing conditions of the PV system and how it communicates with the stakeholders. We call this system Smart Alerts. Asset Management Software Plateform - Diaspark Energy Smart Alerts: The Solution to "Alert Spam" The philosophy of Smart Alerts is to treat alerts as unique messages that require the attention of the O&M manager and how that person can best react to the information provided. The message can vary in its type (ad-hoc, automatic, contractual), urgency level, its frequency as well as the amount of information it contains (multiple failure points can be aggregated in one message, for example). The Rules Engine: All alert messages are handled by the Rules Engine a (Patent Pending) Smart Algorithm in Diaspark Energy, which is adjustable to the needs of the user. It is Hardware agnostic and works with any monitoring agency, data loggers and almost all devices used in the PV plants. It is capable of determining what kinds of alerts are to be aggregated or suppressed, what should go instantaneously vs. what should wait to see if that can be auto recovered. An alert can be a result of some temporary condition and should be reset if that situation is resolved … Smart Alert also helps administrators to configure who should get what kind of alerts and when to escalate them to next level. An alert can be the entry point for requesting a Repair Order, which can then be tracked till the situation is recovered. This greatly simplifies the overall workflow for the O&M manager. Finally, all alerts are logged and reports can be generated to pinpoint key areas of failure or weaknesses. This is invaluable for asset managers who want to maximize returns on their investment. Summary Escalating an alert is just one aspect of the whole Smart Alert feature. It ends with the analysis of the alerts being generated over period across geographic locations, equipment types, weather conditions and many more facts that lets an O&M manager plan the preventive maintenance for coming years, helps an asset manager in making purchase decisions and a finance person in tuning budgets and revenue forecasts.