October 2016 - Water Market Insights 205

Interconnecting The Flow Control and Treatment Industry to Large Multi Plant Purchasers

It is the digital age and it is the dawn of machine-to-machine communications. But we are in the dark ages when it comes to interconnectivity. Large flow-and-treat end users and large suppliers have minimum connectivity within their own companies. McIlvaine has created a Global Decisions Orchard structured to maximize interconnectivity between individuals in diverse groups. The new embellishment is to maximize intra-group interconnectivity.

More than half the flow control and treatment products and services are purchased by multiple plant owners. Custom websites and Decision Systems are being set up for these owners. The first such system is Berkshire Hathaway Power Generation “Wise Crowd” Decisions.

More than half the flow control and treat products and services are sold by companies providing multiple products from a number of locations. Interconnectivity has been slowed by divisional self-interest. The bottoms-up approach applied by McIlvaine avoids divisional rivalry. The interconnected owner/operator group with a bridge to the interconnected supplier conglomerate is now a reality.

Interconnectivity between the suppliers and end users needs to be expanded to include consultants, investors and regulators. This requires niche experts who, like bees, pollinate one flower after another.

Funding for experts in narrow niches has been impossible because there has not been global support. Many of the world’s most expert flow and treatment people retire each year and many become consultants. However, without a big demand for their niche specialty, they are soon involved in extraneous activities and soon lose their knowledge advantage. With the Global Decisions Orchard there are enough flowers to support a large hive.

The expanded interconnection allows the “wise crowd” to make more valuable contributions. Each person is a niche expert in a number of areas. In one of five “wise crowd” webinars for a Berkshire Hathaway project a senior engineer volunteered information from an obscure R&D project conducted several years earlier. This apparently minor contribution has become important to greatly reducing the project cost. The “wise crowd” is necessary to take advantage of the rapidly expanding world knowledge.

The Berkshire Hathaway Power Generation “Wise Crowd” Decisions is the beta site. But McIlvaine will be rolling this out to other utilities and invites those who are interested to contact McIlvaine. The success of the program depends on high quality input from suppliers.

Here is the view of the home page for Berkshire Hathaway. On the left side are links to all the Berkshire Hathaway power generating units for each type of fuel.

There is detailed information on the flow control and treatment components at each plant. The energy overview provides the forecasts of energy generation for the corporation and the major divisions. There is also data on projects in the planning stage. There are links to two decision systems in the center.

This continually updated decision system includes guidance for decisions on all power plant combustion, flow control and treatment products and services. The intelligence system has both a rigid keyword and global search engine. If you click on “title”, you see the latest postings first. A global search under Berkshire Hathaway is another useful approach.

The presentations made in webinars are accessed through the intelligence system. Hundreds of previous webinars on the range of power plant subjects can be accessed through the listing of recordings. Four newsletters are included (Fabric Filter, FGD & DeNO_x, Precipitator and Monitoring-Sampling). The search option at the top of the home page allows retrieval of articles since 1999.

There are subsidiary websites on CCR, Power Plant Valves and other subjects which are linked from the home page.

Gas turbine and reciprocating engine components and services are covered in this decision guide. The format is the same as the PPAQD which is described in the first column.

Some of the subsidiary websites e.g. power plant valves, cover both fuel types. One of the subsidiary sites covers gas turbine intake air treatment. There are a number of webinars and power point displays in this child web. Another site covers emission control.

Coverage of the control systems for gas turbine plants also provides useful information for the coal-fired power plant operators. Boiler feedwater control and monitoring have similar pumps and controls. Monitoring of NH₃ and other pollutants requires the same instruments.

Some products such as lubricants are used in the coal and gas plants but also the nuclear and wind turbines. So the analysis of total lowest cost of ownership in the GTRE decision guide can be used for global sourcing of lubricants for rotating parts in all the corporate generating facilities.

Utility E-Alert Tracks Billions of Dollars of New Coal-fired Power Plants on a Weekly Basis

• Progressive Water Treatment completes its Third Power Plant Water Treatment Project

• Air-cleaning Equipment being installed at Shawnee Units 1 and 4 in Paducah, KY

The 41F Utility E-Alert is issued weekly and covers the coal-fired projects, regulations and other information important to the suppliers. It is $950/yr. but is included in the $3020 42EI Utility Tracking System which has data on every plant and project plus networking directories and many other features.

DATE	HOT TOPIC HOUR AND DECISION GUIDE SCHEDULE *The opportunity to interact on important issues*
TBA *Markets*	Food - Analysis of 12 separate applications within food and beverage with analysis of valve, pump, compressor, filter, analyzer and chemical options; impact of new technologies such as forward osmosis.
TBA *Markets*	Municipal Wastewater - Quality of pumps, valves, filters, and analyzers in Chinese and Asian plants; new pollutant challenges; water purification for reuse.
TBA *Markets*	Mobile Emissions -Reduction in CO, VOCs, and particulate in fuels, oils, and air used in on and off road vehicles; impact of RDE and failure of NO_x traps and the crisis in Europe created by the focus on clean diesel.