OPG’s Monitoring and Diagnostic Centre recognized for industry-leading innovation
Imagine having a team of highly skilled mechanics constantly monitoring your car, telling you exactly when to change the oil and replace the spark plugs to optimize performance. Imagine the maintenance savings – you would never get service you did not need, and you would always be ahead of problems before they happen.
This is exactly what OPG’s Monitoring and Diagnostics (M&D) Centre in Pickering was developed to do for the company’s nuclear, hydro, and thermal fleet, in close collaboration with OPG’s Operations and Engineering departments.
Established in 2017, the M&D Centre leverages Data Analytics and remote continuous online monitoring to closely track critical components, utilizing more than 2,400 Advanced Pattern Recognition (APR) models and about 20,000 data points across the OPG fleet.
The M&D Centre works to provide early detection of reliability anomalies which supports the condition-based maintenance strategy to execute the right work at the right time.
The team also works closely with OPG’s Enterprise Innovation division to identify current gaps to help improve the monitoring program. This approach leverages the innovation department’s expertise in designing, building, and deploying wireless sensors to enhance the reliability of the fleet.
“This award exemplifies the hard work and dedication that the M&D Centre and OPG’s Renewable Generation operations staff consistently display to ensure safe and reliable operations.”Brian Mori, Director of Data Analytics at OPG
In 2022, the M&D Centre’s role was on full display as the team was able to provide early notice to operators of an unusual temperature increase in a thrust bearing inside a turbine-generator unit at one of OPG’s hydroelectric stations.
Through collaboration between the station’s staff and the M&D team, the maintenance crew investigated the unit and was able to find a blockage in the cooling water supply system which reduced flow to the bearing. The team cleared the blockage and temperatures subsequently returned to normal.
As a result of this shared win, OPG received the AVEVA Predictive Analytics Catch of the Year Award, which recognizes utilities that secure cost savings, prevent asset failure, and optimize operations through data-driven decision making.
“This award exemplifies the hard work and dedication that the M&D Centre and OPG’s Renewable Generation operations staff consistently display to ensure safe and reliable operations,” said Brian Mori, Director of Data Analytics at OPG. “It also underscores the value of online monitoring combined with diligent action from site maintenance teams.”
The M&D Centre also received the 2022 Canadian Nuclear Society Innovative Achievement Award in recognition of significant innovative achievements and the implementation of new concepts displaying clear qualities of creativity, ingenuity, and elegance in the nuclear field in Canada. As an example, beyond M&D’s routine monitoring, the Centre has used advanced time series algorithms to support operations with an automatic calculation of the remaining useful life of specific station components.
Currently, the M&D Centre is executing an ongoing strategy to become more integrated with all facets of OPG’s operations to ensure reliable and efficient generation.
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