“We already use Flowcal,” is a common response from gas measurement professionals when starting a conversation around C-SMART Analytics. It’s a natural response, but it inherently implies an apples to apples comparison. C-SMART is different technology and takes a different approach, putting it in a class of its own that in fact complements measurement solutions like Flowcal. But how?
The routine nature of field maintenance only allows for meter inspection and analysis of data monthly or quarterly, a primary reason for the pervasive 0.40% industry average LAUF (lost and unaccounted for gas). Field staff and back-office measurement teams are simply overwhelmed by the volume and velocity of SCADA datasets, limiting their ability to analyze meters daily and leading organizations to adopt a top-down, yet less sensitive, system balancing approach for LAUF.
Bottom-up gas measurement analysis on the other hand offers numerous areas for improvement and optimization. The C-SMART SaaS product and reporting services tap directly into your measurement stations either through automated file transfer of diagnostics data or through C-Guard, an RTU with a cellular device installed close to the source of your diagnostics data from ultrasonic meters, flow computers, and gas chromatographs. C-SMART processes device level data hourly, applying good old fashioned analysis tools alongside digital twins and AI in real time to provide the fastest possible detection and quantification of errors, with actionable instructions to resolve the error quickly.
By adopting a bottom-up approach, C-SMART allows organizations to leverage their high value assets and talent to achieve optimal measurement, resulting in faster error identification and resolution times that reduce LAUF by as much as 80%. Plus, C-SMART delivers real time reporting and a monthly summary with KPIs like number of errors identified, resolution time, and error quantification (in dollars). That’s just not something other measurement solutions do well or do at all.
If you are comparing other solutions to C-SMART, keep in mind 5 ways we’re different:
- Automated – many solutions require data wrangling, report formatting, and decoding of dashboards. C-SMART provides all of these – automatically.
- Operations Diagnostics – Top-down approaches force users to drill into diagnostics through layers of reporting. C-SMART starts by analyzing diagnostics data to generate actionable insights faster.
- OEM Agnostic – C-SMART not only consumes data from any vendor, but we also build digital twins based on equipment specs to rapidly pinpoint problems.
- Onboarding – Our proven project management and customer onboarding methodologies ensure timely and on-budget implementation and ongoing success.
- Scalable – C-SMART begins generating immediate value on day 1 by enabling teams to shift to maintenance by exception for 1 meter or dozens.
Is your team considering building a 24/7 gas measurement monitoring solution yourself? Be sure to read this blog first to learn how C-SMART outperforms the status quo and DIY projects on all dimensions.