Five Industry Leaders Choose Asset Answers(SM) Equipment Benchmarking Solution

ROANOKE, Va., Aug. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Asset Answers, the online system for quick asset-performance comparisons with peer organizations, released version 1.0 of its innovative, hosted benchmarking solution, developed with substantive feedback and input by five charter customers: DuPont, Marathon Petroleum Company, NOVA Chemicals, Profertil, and The Dow Chemical Company.

Version 1.0 of Asset Answers delivers the only automated, data-driven global asset performance benchmarking solution that completely eliminates the need for manual data gathering and time-consuming benchmarking surveys.

"NOVA Chemicals has chosen to participate as an Asset Answers charter member because we see value in being able to work with industry peers to develop a solution that will measure our asset performance against similar assets and between facilities in our own organization," said Ed Bryant, Plant Availability Leader for NOVA Chemicals. "The ability to use data to optimize our maintenance and reliability processes, as well as influence our vendors, can do nothing but improve our overall performance over time."

Asset Answers is a hosted solution available through annual subscription, so there is no hardware or software to purchase, no database to support, and no software maintenance fees.  Asset performance data resides in a secure Asset Answers database from which users launch reports through a web browser.  The identity of peer organizations is kept confidential: peer data is only displayed in aggregate, and identities of member companies are never divulged.

"Keeping our data secure and company identity concealed were critical to our participation with Asset Answers," said Lou Miller, the Meridium Business Application Owner for DuPont. "Because of Meridium's data loading and encryption techniques, DuPont trusts that the data collection and management with Asset Answers is not only safe but that the benchmarking will also be valuable and useful for improving our business."

Asset Answers subscribers can easily drill down from company to region to site to area to unit, all the way down to the individual asset.  This will help users identify specific areas where opportunities for improvement exist.

"Asset Answers extracts the data it needs directly from our source systems, so there are no lengthy surveys to fill out or spreadsheets to complete," said Kevin Bauman, Maintenance Technology Improvement Leader for The Dow Chemical Company. "Most other benchmarking services publish benchmarks at the site level, and only update the reports every year or two.  With Asset Answers, data is updated monthly, so the benchmark metrics are always current.  Current data is more actionable, and because Asset Answers is based on source data, it provides much more granular benchmarks."

Asset Answers allows subscribers to compare asset performance metrics and historical trends with industry peers.  Metrics cover various aspects of asset performance, including maintenance costs, availability, the ratio of planned versus unplanned work, the timing of repairs and failure events, and maintenance effectiveness.

"Profertil is delighted to be part of the Asset Answers Advisory Council, working with other industry leaders on this very relevant initiative," said Jorge Kalocai, Reliability Supervisor for Profertil.  "Like other process industries, our business is heavily dependent on the performance of our physical assets.  The goal of our asset management program is to achieve optimal alignment between our business needs and our sustainability commitments.  Benchmarking our asset performance against other industries, regions, etc. helps us do that by giving us a fresh perspective on performance and reliability targets that are achievable."

According to Roy Whitt, former refining industry executive and current executive sponsor for Asset Answers at Meridium, "Asset Answers has really benefited from having these leading companies as members of our Advisory Council.  Their feedback and direction have been invaluable.  We're thrilled to be able to offer this service which aligns so well with their ongoing commitment to safe, reliable, efficient operations." 

For more information, please contact Asset Answers at 540.344.9205 x1180, [email protected] or www.assetanswers.com.

About Asset Answers                      
Asset Answers is a Meridium company. Meridium^® is the global leader in asset performance management software and services for asset-intensive industries. Meridium lowers the risk of harm to people, our planet and profits by predicting and preventing physical asset failures. With Meridium's unique enterprise analytics, our clients minimize production downtime while improving safety. Meridium is headquartered in Roanoke, VA, USA, with offices around the world including: Houston, TX, USA; Dubai, UAE; Bangalore, India; Ricasoli, Malta; and Perth, Australia. www.meridium.com

SOURCE Asset Answers