Predictive Maintenance engineers dispatched to U.S. Gulf Coast

BOSTON, Sept. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Azima Inc. has sent expert teams and advanced technologies to the U.S. Gulf Coast to provide Predictive Maintenance services in the City of New Orleans on an emergency basis.  These teams and tools are expected to remain in place for the remainder of the 2017 Hurricane Season and beyond.

Azima is a tech-enabled services company that uses information technology to predict and prevent mechanical failure in mission-critical capital equipment on a global basis.  Azima monitors the reliability of heavy equipment for dozens of large companies and organizations around the world, including the United States Navy.

Azima's latest mission is to safeguard the reliability of critical pumps and motors in the drainage and levy support system for the City of New Orleans. New Orleans is bracing for periodic thunderstorms and heavy rain from Monday through Thursday of next week (September 4-7, 2017), according to AccuWeather™.

Azima first responders will deploy advanced sensors, data collection tools, software, and algorithms to help predict and prevent equipment failure in the New Orleans water and sewage system before it occurs.  NOLA-based personnel will collect equipment-condition data and send it to Azima via the internet.  In response, Azima will conduct remote analysis and fault-detection – and then send prioritized equipment repair recommendations back to New Orleans in real-time.

Azima will test over 100 pumps and motors throughout New Orleans on a regular basis, to monitor the local impact of Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath. Technology-enabled Predictive Maintenance will play a leading role in keeping pumps and basic infrastructure working in the wake of Harvey's destruction.

Hurricane Season started in New Orleans on June 1 and will last through November 30, 2017.   During last year's Hurricane Season, New Orleans experienced serious issues in its water & sewerage system; critical pumps failed to start, or failed once started, causing flooding in the city.  New Orleans is currently implementing a proactive plan to monitor the readiness and health of these critical municipal assets. 

The New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board faces a number of chronic issues in its pumping system. The issues were reported after an incident earlier this month that left several neighborhoods surrounded by flood waters. 

City officials said repairs continue to the pumping system, with several pumps and turbines out of service.  City work-crews have made some progress, but officials recently announced that the system is not yet ready to handle severe weather or significant rainfall.  About 93 percent of the drainage system's pumping capacity is now online, as New Orleans braces for heavy rain and thunderstorms throughout most of next week.

About Azima
Azima maximizes industrial productivity on a global scale. When our clients have capacity, they can sell it. They're serious about uptime, and rely on Azima to maximize it.

Azima delivers programs & results, not parts & pieces. We combine the efficiency of algorithms, the accuracy of data, and the judgment of experts. Azima gets results, and we do it at scale.

No one maximizes industrial productivity in more industries and places than Azima. We cover 100,000 assets in dozens of countries, on every inhabited continent. We even handle stuff on the oceans.

Azima is headquartered in Boston, with locations and experts across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. For more information, please visit www.azimaglobal.com.

About the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board
The mission of the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board is to provide safe drinking water to everyone in New Orleans; to remove waste water for safe return to the environment; to drain away storm water; to provide water for fire protection; and to do all of this continuously at a reasonable cost to the community.

The New Orleans pumping system - operated by the Sewerage & Water Board - can currently pump water out of the city at a rate of more than 45,000 cubic feet (1,300 m³) per second. The system's capacity is also frequently described as 1 inch (2.5 cm) in the first hour of rainfall followed by 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) per hour afterward. 

Heather L. De Jesus
Director, Operations & Safety
Office: 781-938-0707 x1724
[email protected] 
www.azimaglobal.com

SOURCE Azima Inc.