What Do I Need to Know About OSI’s Asset Framework?

Asset Framework from OSIsoft changes a manufacturer’s ability to extract value from plant data. It takes the seemingly infinite number of tags registered within the data historian and organizes them in an intelligent, hierarchical manner. This structure is increasingly valuable as plants apply sensor technologies to more and more equipment for the purpose of monitoring performance. Helping manufacturers to make sense of that data and facilitate performance improvements is at the heart of the market’s leading data historian – the PI Server.

There are several benefits of Asset Framework worth noting, including the following:

Setting Standards:

While something as mundane as setting standards may sound like a simple and almost meaningless benefit, OSI views Asset Framework as providing the foundation for enhancing data management and establishing a competitive advantage. Within Asset Framework tags can be assigned to specific asset groups using unique templates for each type of asset (e.g. pumps vs motors). This approach assures two things: 1) tags are assigned consistently across a plant’s countless assets, and 2) the naming convention for each asset type is applied consistently.

Configuration Cuts:

While a historian puts data within reach, potential limitations still exist when it comes to performing analysis. 3rd party tools are often needed to conduct advanced analysis, and those tools can be difficult to configure if the historian’s tag structure is disorganized. The standards and structure provided by the Asset Framework within OSI’s PI Server eliminate the guesswork that’s too often associated with application integration. Quick and simple integration with Asset Framework reduces configuration costs and accelerates the time to meaningful analysis.

Apples to Apples:

Like apples and oranges, there’s little value in comparing the performance of either unrelated or incomplete assets. Whereas it’s common for assets to be assigned tags inconsistently within other historians, the templates within PI’s Asset Framework all but assure that assets are configured both correctly and comprehensively. The result: when assessing the relative health and performance of similar assets – whether Heat Exchangers, Tanks, or other assets – the analysis provides a true apples to apples comparison. In the end, that’s the goal that OSI is both pursuing and delivering with the help of Asset Framework.