they have traditionally come at the problem separately. PAM brings them together, unifying and organizing their efforts. 

“Traditionally, the maintenance organization was primarily concerned with asset availability, while operations was most concerned with asset utilization,” says Cotton. “These two functions are often at odds with each other. PAM enables you to manage both these factors in a holistic manner, which is more effective from a strategic business perspective. PAM systems provide the intelligence required to help you balance asset availability with asset utilization, helping you get the maximum possible productivity out of your plant.”

Getting started with a PAM strategy isn’t as complicated as it may seem. There is no need to launch into a plant-wide revolution right away, says Cotton. “Start with a criticality analysis. Look at what has the most impact on environment, production and safety. Start small, focus on a couple of projects, then expand, hopefully, to plant-wide strategy.”
At the core of any PAM strategy, adds Cotton, is integration. “It is important to integrate all the major components so they can be monitored and you can draw meaningful diagnostics from them. At Siemens, our Totally Integrated Automation approach delivers these elements – tying all the individual pieces together through networking then providing simple visualization and alarming through HMI tools, ultimately giving you more control over your operations.”

For further information on products within the Siemens Totally Integrated Automation approach, please click here.