Antarctica Business Article

Date Sent: 25/08/09 Draft:
Feedback Due Date: 28/08/09 Job Number: 8570

Feedback to: Focus: Software+Services
Metia Contact: Funded by:
Vertical: Government Country: New Zealand
Products: Microsoft Server Product Additional info: Business Article
Portfolio, Microsoft Office, Microsoft
Visual Studio, Microsoft .NET
Framework
<Title>
[Two lines maximum]
Software-plus-Services Help Antarctica-Based Research Station Keep Life-
Support Systems Up and Running At All Times
<Subtitle>
[Three lines maximum]
Power, heating and clean water are essential in Antarctica, where temperatures
can fall below –50 degrees Celsius. In these extreme conditions, new software is
helping to keep scientists safe and reduce costs.
<Summary> (for search page only)

<50-80 words>
Antarctica New Zealand has deployed SmartAsset software from The Online
Workshop to support maintenance and asset management at its Scott Base
research station. Using the software along with handheld devices, engineers
ensure that equipment essential to the well-being of employees in severe
conditions is always reliable. Better asset management also increases fuel
efficiency that reduces energy costs and minimise carbon emissions at the base
itself.
<Quote>
[50 words maximum]
“If we can keep more accurate readings there is a huge potential for savings.
Every kilowatt hour of energy that we save equates to 2,500 litres of fuel a year.”
<Quote Credit>
Kevin Rigarlsford, Maintenance Engineer, Antarctica New Zealand
<Body Copy>
[Between 2,000 and 3,000 words]
Ever grumbled about it being too cold in your office? Then spare a thought for
employees of Antarctica New Zealand who work at Scott Base on Ross Island in
the Ross Sea region of Antarctica. Temperatures outside the permanent research
support centre rarely rise above –0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) in
the summer. And in the winter it can be 50 degrees colder. In such conditions,
power, water, heat, and food aren’t just essential for employee morale, they can
potentially make the difference between life and death.
Although the weather conditions are severe, the base is home to about 80 people
during the summer and a skeleton staff of about 12 in the winter. Most support
staff are on one-year contracts and can support research, including ozone
depletion, and unique assignments such as the Andrill project, which studied the
impact of past climate change on the Antarctic and its ice shelves and is now
helping scientists to protect the environment in years to come.
The base itself comprises nine buildings, including three laboratories. The entire
complex is powered by diesel generators with a back-up generator system
providing 200% redundancy to ensure constant power.
Powering Life Support Systems

Kevin Rigarlsford, Maintenance Engineer at Antarctica New Zealand is
responsible for buildings, vehicles, water, and power production at Scott Base:
“These mission-critical systems are essential for life support. If they fail for an
extended period, it could result in extreme hardship—and possibly worse—for
personnel.” As a result, maintenance and asset management take top priority.
This means that engineers are constantly collecting detailed information about
the performance of equipment throughout the base so that they have up-to-the-
minute knowledge of the performance of these assets.
In the past, gathering this information put additional pressure on staff. Rigarlsford
says: “Every day engineers collect data on oil and engine pressure, fuel
consumption, power generation and more.” Staff used to gather this information
on clipboards and then enter it into spreadsheets and other documents on their
return to the office.
Once a month the spreadsheets were consolidated and passed on to Rigarlsford

for checking and analysis. While the spreadsheets were mainly accurate, minor
errors inevitably crept in during the note-making and data-entry processes. “The
worst-case scenario would have been if we’d performed out-of-date maintenance
or the wrong maintenance on a piece of equipment because it had been
upgraded or replaced by a different model,” he says.
And there was another significant human angle to the challenges facing
Rigarlsford and his team. “Employees typically work on one-year contracts. I
work at the base for three months a year so for the remaining nine months I rely
on their efficiency and knowledge,” he says. However, 100 per cent annual staff
changeovers can result in some operational issues. Rigarlsford says: “We were
using a traditional file network, which meant that people set up their own folder
hierarchies and file naming systems. There was always the risk that when the
new shift arrived, they would struggle to find the latest or historical versions of the
data and this would delay their attempts to settle in quickly to their new
workplace.”
Training was another issue. “It used to take a long time to train new staff to
gather the data, write it down and then enter it into our custom-built
spreadsheets, word processing documents, and project management files. For
the efficiency of the Scott Base and my own peace of mind I wanted a more
centralised storage system for asset management data. But at the same time I
didn’t want to deploy a technology that required substantial explanation for a new
engineer. In fact, I wanted to reduce our existing training workloads,” says
Rigarlsford.
Catching Up with the Vision

But it took a while for asset management software to catch up with Rigarlsford’s
vision. And even then it required an especially innovative approach to overcome
all the challenges facing employees at Scott Base. “It was apparent that there
were flaws in the system when I started working for Antarctica New Zealand in
1998. We almost managed to buy a good maintenance program in 2002, but
when that fell through we had to wait once more,” Rigarlsford says.
In fact, it was another four years before a solution was launched that met
Rigarlsford’s specific criteria. He says: “In 2006, I became aware of a product
called SmartAsset from The Online Workshop, which is a company based in
Australia. I was impressed by the fact it combined the accessibility of the Web
with every day desktop applications.”
SmartAsset is a software-plus-services solution based on the Microsoft® .NET

Framework development system and uses a browser-style interface for Internet-
based deployment. This includes an application services provider option for
customers that wish to minimise their IT investment.
While the solution offers sophisticated asset management tools for demanding
environments such as the Scott Base, there is a strong emphasis on ease of use.
For the most part, maintenance staff use familiar Microsoft desktop productivity
tools to set schedules and manipulate data. It is also straightforward to access
the underlying database which provides a flexible and reliable repository for the
asset data.
At the heart of the solution, Smart Asset uses software-plus-services to offer a

variety of deployment options including seamless integration with Internet-based
and enterprise systems, hosting options, and subscription-based pricing. The
solution is currently hosted at Scott Base, although Rigarlsford uses a secure
Internet log-in to access the system from the Antarctica New Zealand offices in
Christchurch, New Zealand.
Transforming Asset Management

The technology has transformed the way that staff at Scott Base maintain
engineering equipment on site. Maintenance staff no longer need to carry
clipboards during their surveys then go back to their desks and enter the data
before double checking the electronic entry against their handwritten document.
Instead, they simply enter data into a personal digital assistant (PDA) and then
dock and synchronise the data with the system when they return to their office.
As for integration with the Microsoft Office 2007 suite, Rigarlsford gives the
example of Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007, where task and calendar functions
can be overlaid with SmartAsset functions to navigate the asset hierarchy. In
addition, maintenance jobs are displayed as tasks and also show up in the
calendar based on their due dates. This means that staff at Scott Base can share
calendars for work that involves input from more than one employee.
A good example is when an employee discovers that a fault needs to be fixed

during a check up of the power generators. They use email to notify a member
of staff who can correct the problem. He or she can review details by clicking a
document review button added to the e-mail ribbon. The subsequent repair job
can be prepared and assigned without leaving the calendar.
Complex asset-related activities such as construction or refurbishment can be

seamlessly loaded into Microsoft Office Project Standard 2007 for critical path
analysis while corresponding activity dates are automatically recorded in the
SmartAsset database.
This is especially useful for large tasks that involve a wider range of employees,
including engineers, mechanics, carpenters, and electricians. “It all comes down
again to the safety and well being of staff. Detailed project planning means that
we can add to our existing facilities and maintain our reputation as a safe, state
of the art research facility,” says Rigarlsford.
Reducing Risk, Increasing Safety

The benefits that Rigarlsford expects to see from the deployment of SmartAsset
fall into two categories. Firstly, the system should reduce the risk of maintenance
errors because all data is captured electronically and automatically updated into
the SmartAsset database.”It’s another way of saying that the essential life
support systems of the base can continue to run, whatever the conditions, even
during staff handover periods. It means that we can guarantee the overall safety
and well-being of personnel at the base.
Rigarlsford has also seen significant improvements in training. “The whole

training package is based on the hierarchy of the programme, defining and
creating the maintenance activities. We can now give staff a two-day training
programme in New Zealand, which gives them enough experience to get straight
to business when they arrive at Scott Base,” he says.
Space for Savings

SmartAsset also helps Rigarlsford and the team in New Zealand respond more
quickly to short-term requests from engineers at Scott Base, while potentially
saving on expensive helicopter hours. “It costs about U.S.$2,000 an hour to have
a helicopter up in the air. With SmartAsset, we can ensure that it is only carrying
relevant supplies based on near real-time information and not from old allocation
sheets,” says Rigarlsford.
“As soon as the request for supplies comes over the radio or by e-mail, I can
enter it straight into the programme or the staff Office Outlook calendar ready for
the next helicopter resupply. Even if a helicopter is about to leave in one or two
days, I can be certain that they will be carrying the equipment that has been
requested.”
Another potential area for savings is fuel. Rigarlsford says: “Of course it’s a
critical resource and we use up to 270,000 litres of aviation fuel annually for the
generators. But if we can keep more accurate readings there is a huge potential
for savings. Every kilowatt hour of energy that we save equates to 2,500 litres of
fuel a year. In other words, if we can safely lower the base average temperature
by one degree, we would save approximately 10,000 litres per year.”
In the future, Rigarlsford believes that there is much more potential for
SmartAsset across Scott Base. He says: “It could definitely be useful beyond the
basic maintenance role where it is currently deployed. Our department now
wants to see if we can use it on the field operations side.” In addition, Scott Base
is also upgrading from a manual to an automated building management system
that will eventually be integrated with the SmartAsset solution. “In that scenario, it
would be possible for someone in the Antarctica New Zealand Christchurch office
to manage and control heating and ventilation remotely,” says Rigarlsford.
Whatever the outcome, it’s clear that SmartAsset and software-plus-services will
play a fundamental role in the future of Scott Base. “The original buildings were
opened in 1957, half a century ago,” says Rigarlsford. “We now have an
important technology that will support our vital work in Antarctica in the 21st
century, especially as we measure and try to address climate change.”
Fast Facts
Customer Details
Antarctica New Zealand
(+64) (3) 358 0200
www.antarcticanz.govt.nz
Country or Region
New Zealand
Number of employees
85
Industry
Government
Partner Details
The Online Workshop
(+64) (3) 358 0200
www.theonlineworkshop.com
Customer Profile
[200 character limit—with spaces]
Antarctica New Zealand is responsible for managing New Zealand Government
activities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, in particular the Ross
Dependency.
Business Situation
Engineers at the Scott Base research centre were using pens and paper to
collect equipment readings. Errors sometimes crept into this manual process and
added to the time and cost of asset management.
Solution
Antarctica New Zealand has deployed SmartAsset from The Online Workshop.
Thanks to the software-plus-services solution, employees can keep mission
critical systems running safely at all times.
Benefits
Reduced time and cost of training
Elimination of manual data errors
Lower fuel costs
Simplicity of use
Software and Services

 Microsoft Server Product Portfolio
– Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition
 Microsoft Office
– Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
– Microsoft Office Word 2007
– Microsoft Office Excel 2007
– Microsoft Office Project 2007
 Microsoft Visual Studio
– Microsoft Visual Studio 2008
 Technologies
– Microsoft .NET Framework
– Software-plus-Services

Antarctica Business Article

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Antarctica Business Article

Enviado por

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Formatos disponíveis

Date Sent: 25/08/09 Draft:

Feedback Due Date: 28/08/09 Job Number: 8570

<Summary> (for search page only)

Powering Life Support Systems

Once a month the spreadsheets were consolidated and passed on to Rigarlsford

Catching Up with the Vision

SmartAsset is a software-plus-services solution based on the Microsoft® .NET

At the heart of the solution, Smart Asset uses software-plus-services to offer a

Transforming Asset Management

A good example is when an employee discovers that a fault needs to be fixed

Complex asset-related activities such as construction or refurbishment can be

Reducing Risk, Increasing Safety

Rigarlsford has also seen significant improvements in training. “The whole

Space for Savings

Software and Services

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