PPG Launches PPG AIM in U.S., Canada
PPG announced that its protective and marine coatings business (PPG-PMC) has introduced the PPG ASSET INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT (PPG AIM) system in the United States and Canada.
This software-based asset management system assists facility owners, managers and maintenance engineers in scheduling, budgeting and optimizing the corrosion protection of metal structures, buildings and equipment under their care for up to 20 years in the future.
The PPG AIM system is based on proprietary algorithms developed by PPG from NACE 509 and ISO 12944® corrosion-forecasting standards. Using data collected by PPG personnel during an initial mapping and field assessment procedure, the system predicts how quickly assets will corrode and helps identify the optimal time to recoat those assets before corrosion can occur.
The collected information is cataloged in the PPG AIM asset manager tool, which asset owners and maintenance engineers can use to proactively rank and prioritize maintenance spending over multiple years. The result is a comprehensive, plant-wide maintenance planning, scheduling and budget strategy.
Acting as the user interface, the asset manager tool provides daily access to asset-related details. These include time-stamped photos, condition analyses, plots, documents, inspection reports and other relevant attachments and information.
The PPG AIM system also delivers a range of ancillary benefits, including reducing the need to inventory and field assess assets every few years. Another is adding the ability to estimate the costs associated with deferring maintenance on specific assets when funds are not allocated for them.
“Asset owners and maintenance engineers are often forced by budget constraints and other circumstances to repair or replace equipment when the cost is highest and the risk to operate is greatest,” said Scott Doering, PPG director of sales, protective and marine coatings USA. “The PPG AIM system assists customers in replacing expensive ‘run-to-failure’ maintenance schemes with proactive planning that can lower overall cost and greatly extend asset service life.”
The system has a schedule manager function that enables customers to run multiple maintenance-cost scenarios to see how they are impacted by budget cuts, weather delays or other variables.